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Elina Valtonen

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Elina Valtonen
Valtonen in 2023
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 June 2023
Prime MinisterPetteri Orpo
Preceded byPekka Haavisto
Member of the Finnish Parliament
for Helsinki
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 July 2014
Personal details
Born
Elina Maria Valtonen

(1981-10-23) 23 October 1981 (age 43)
Helsinki, Finland
Political partyNational Coalition Party
ResidenceEspoo
Alma mater
Websiteelinavaltonen.fi

Elina Maria Valtonen (formerly Lepomäki; born 23 October 1981)[1] is a Finnish politician who has served as Minister for Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Petteri Orpo since 2023. A member of the National Coalition Party (NCP), she has represented the constituency of Uusimaa in the Parliament of Finland since 2014.[2] In the 2021 municipal election she collected the second-highest number of votes in Helsinki and was elected a member of its city council.[3]

Early life

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As a child, Valtonen lived with her family in Bonn, West Germany; she completed A-levels (Reifeprüfung diploma) at the Deutsche Schule Helsinki.

Education

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Valtonen holds a master's degree in both technology and financial economics from the Helsinki University of Technology and Helsinki School of Economics.[2] She is an shareholder in several technology start-ups;[4] she chaired the board of the pro free-market think tank, Libera, from 2015 to 2021.[5]

Career

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Prior to entering politics in 2014, Valtonen spent 10 years in investment banking, as a director at Royal Bank of Scotland and as a senior analyst at Nordea.[6] She has developed a model for transforming the welfare state into a digital sharing economy, called the Life Account.[7] In 2018, she participated in a Bilderberg Meeting in Turin.

In April 2016, Valtonen announced her candidacy for the leadership of the National Coalition Party. In the first round of the leadership election on 11 June 2016 she received 15% of the vote and thus failed to be elected.[8] In September 2020, Valtonen was elected as a new deputy chair of the National Coalition Party.[9]

In the parliamentary elections of 2023, Valtonen raised the largest election campaign budget, 179,000 euros.[10] Her biggest funders were Chaim Poju Zabludowicz and Björn Wahlroos.[11][12]

Elina Valtonen on 24 August 2023

Minister of Foreign Affairs

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In June 2023, she was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Orpo Cabinet.[13]

In January 2024, 79 Finnish diplomats signed a letter to Valtonen, criticising the official response to the Israeli attacks on Gaza.[14]

Valtonen and her Nordic counterparts signed a joint letter in late October 2024 condemning Israel's planned bill that would seek to ban the UNRWA from operating in the country and in effect the Palestinian areas. Furthermore, they urged the Knesset to reconsider passing the bill.[15]

Writing

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Valtonen has co-authored several reports on economics and the society such as "The Future of the Euro – The alternatives for Finland" (2014) and "The Life Account – A Social Security Reform" (2013).[7] In 2018, she published her book Vapauden voitto (Victory of Freedom, Otava), on how to reform the Nordic welfare model and the European Union.

Other activities

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Personal life

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In September 2020, Valtonen filed for divorce from Jukka Lepomäki; in April 2021 she announced that she had changed her surname back to her maiden name.[17] Valtonen and Lepomäki had two children together.

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ Minister for Foreign Affairs, valtioneuvosto.fi.
  2. ^ a b "Elina Lepomäki". Parliament of Finland.
  3. ^ "Municipal election 2021 Result service". Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  4. ^ Elina Valtonen, www.nordicbankingforum.com.
  5. ^ "Mikä Libera?". Libera.
  6. ^ "NCP MP had €100k offshore in 2014, denies wrongdoing", Yle. 5 October 2021.
  7. ^ a b "The Finnish model of welfare for the digital age". Financial Times. 17 March 2016.
  8. ^ "Stubb and Orpo fight in the second round - Orpo only needs 11 votes to win". Yle News. 11 June 2016.
  9. ^ "Häkkänen, Lepomäki and Ikonen become vice-chairs of the Coalition Party". Yle. 6 September 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Ulkoministeri Elina Valtosen vaalirahoitus ilmoitettu yli 40 000 euroa liian pieneksi, HS kertoo – onkin eduskuntavaalien suurin". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 20 August 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Miljonäärit tukivat ehdokkaita avokätisesti kevään vaaleissa – Nämä kansanedustajat saivat "Nallelta" täydet 6 000 euroa". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  12. ^ Waris, Olli (6 June 2023). "Kokoomuksen Valtosella yli 136 000 euron kampanja – sai Wahlroosilta ja Zabludowiczilta 6 000 euroa". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Prime Minister Orpo's Government appointed". Valtioneuvosto. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Finnish diplomats urge foreign minister to reconsider Finland's stance on Gaza conflict". Helsinki Times. 13 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Nordic statement on the draft legal bills in the Knesset related to UNRWA". government.no. 23 October 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  16. ^ Members European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
  17. ^ "Elina Lepomäki vaihtoi sukunimeään". Ilta-Sanomat. 25 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Ruotsalainen tyyliasiantuntija HS:lle: "Suzanne Innes-Stubbin puku korkeaa Hollywood-tasoa"". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 23 April 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
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Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Foreign Affairs
2023–present 		Incumbent
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