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You are here: Home i Articles i Portrait i Portrait 2018 i OECD Deputy Secretary-General Mari Kiviniemi: Sticks to facts and fears protectionism

OECD Deputy Secretary-General Mari Kiviniemi: Sticks to facts and fears protectionism

Former Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi has spent nearly a lifetime in Finnish politics. As OECD Deputy Secretary-General she has spent most of her time advising the world’s governments on development and growth. At year’s end it is over. Now she wants to help Finland prosper as leader for the Finnish Commerce Federation.
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One minute interview

What are you reading? 

I mostly read during holidays, but I always have a book on my bedside table. Right now it is ‘Lempi’ by the Finnish author Minna Rytisalo. It is a novel set in 1944 about the impact of war on Finland.

What is your favourite tool in the office?

My iPad.

What did you want to become when you were a child?

There were so many things – first I wanted to be a musician, then an actor. I play the piano and flute and I have been singing in a choir. 

What is your hidden talent?

Washing. I like washing and cleaning. We have two apartments in Finland and a summer house, so there is a lot to keep on top of. And here too. This everyday kind of training is good. Hoovering is good exercise, she laughs.

Facts
  • Mari Kiviniemi was born in 1968 and grew up in the village of Alavalli in Jalasjärvi, the daughter of a chicken farmer.
  • She moved to Helsinki to study economy and got a Master's Degree in social science in 1994.
  • She became an MP in 1995, and was a member of the Helsinki city council from 2005 to 2012.
  • She has held several government ministerial posts, was party leader for the Center Party from 2010 to 2012 and Prime Minister from 2010 to 2011.
  • In the 2011 parliamentary elections, the Centre party lost votes and Kiviniemi had to step down as Prime Minister.
  • In 2014 she was elected Deputy Secretary-General for the OECD, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
  • From 2019 she will be the Managing Director for the Finnish Commerce Federation.  
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