Jyrki Katainen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jyrki Katainen
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Katainen in 2023
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| European Commissioner for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness | |
| In office 1 November 2014 – 30 November 2019 |
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| President | Jean-Claude Juncker |
| Preceded by | Ferdinando Nelli Feroci (Industry and Entrepreneurship) |
| European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro | |
| In office 16 July 2014 – 1 November 2014 |
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| President | José Manuel Barroso |
| Preceded by | Siim Kallas (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Pierre Moscovici (Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs) Valdis Dombrovskis (Euro and Social Dialogue) |
| 42nd Prime Minister of Finland | |
| In office 22 June 2011 – 24 June 2014 |
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| President | Tarja Halonen Sauli Niinistö |
| Deputy | Jutta Urpilainen Antti Rinne |
| Preceded by | Mari Kiviniemi |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Stubb |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Finland | |
| In office 19 April 2007 – 22 June 2011 |
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| Prime Minister | Matti Vanhanen Mari Kiviniemi |
| Preceded by | Eero Heinäluoma |
| Succeeded by | Jutta Urpilainen |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 19 April 2007 – 22 June 2011 |
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| Prime Minister | Matti Vanhanen Mari Kiviniemi |
| Preceded by | Eero Heinäluoma |
| Succeeded by | Jutta Urpilainen |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jyrki Tapani Katainen
14 October 1971 Siilinjärvi, North Savo, Finland |
| Political party | National Coalition Party |
| Spouse | Mervi Kuittinen |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Tampere |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Finland |
| Branch/service | Finnish Army |
| Years of service | 1989–1990 |
| Rank | Senior 1st Lieutenant |
Jyrki Tapani Katainen (born 14 October 1971) is a Finnish politician. He held important roles in both Finland and the European Union. From 2011 to 2014, he was the Prime Minister of Finland. After that, he became a Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness in the European Commission until 2019. He was also the leader of the National Coalition Party in Finland for ten years.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Jyrki Katainen was born in Siilinjärvi, a town in Finland. He finished high school in 1990. He then studied at the University of Tampere, where he earned a master's degree in political science. He also spent a year studying in England at the University of Leicester.
Jyrki Katainen is married to Mervi Kuittinen and they have two daughters, Saara (born 2005) and Veera (born 2009). Besides his native Finnish, he can speak English, French, and Swedish. He is also known for being a good chef!
Political Beginnings
Katainen started his political journey after a short time as a teacher. His first political job was in 1993, as a member of the local council in Siilinjärvi. This is like being on a town's governing board.
In 1999, he was elected to the Finnish Parliament, which is Finland's main law-making body. He became the vice-chairman of his party in 2001 and then the leader of the National Coalition Party in 2004.
From 1990 to 2000, he was also involved with the Youth of the European Peoples Party, which is a group for young people interested in European politics. He was later elected vice president of the larger European People's Party (EPP) in 2006 and again in 2009.
Becoming Minister of Finance
In the 2007 election, Katainen's party came in second place. He then became the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. This meant he was in charge of Finland's money matters and was the second-in-command in the government.
As Finance Minister, he talked about how European leaders needed to prepare people for tough economic decisions. He said that even though it would be hard, they had to do "painful things" when economies started to get better.
Prime Minister of Finland (2011–2014)
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After the parliamentary election in April 2011, Katainen's National Coalition Party became the biggest party in Finland for the first time ever. On 22 June 2011, he was chosen by the Finnish Parliament to be the Prime Minister. His government was made up of six different political parties.
Economic Challenges and Reforms
In 2013, Katainen invited many different groups, like political parties and researchers, to a meeting at the Heureka science center. The goal was to discuss big changes needed to improve Finland's economy. Katainen said that everyone showed interest and commitment, and he believed these discussions would help solve difficult problems.
Finland faced economic challenges, and the government had to delay some important changes because not all parties in the government agreed. In September 2013, they finally made plans for reforms, but Katainen warned that more changes were still needed.
Katainen also encouraged more investment in Finland. He pointed out that Finland has an excellent education system and a stable government, which makes it a good place for businesses to invest. He also wanted universities to work closely with society to help Finland become more competitive globally.
He was hopeful about Finland's economy, mentioning big investments from companies like Google and Yandex in Finland. However, he also noted that Finland was still losing more jobs than it was creating. In November 2013, he said Finland needed more foreign investment to boost its economy, especially in the ICT sector, like data centers.
Views on the European Union
As Prime Minister, Katainen believed that European leaders needed to bring the European Union closer together again. He felt that the euro zone debt crisis had caused people in different countries to resent each other, which could harm the EU's unity.
He also said that calls for more European involvement were not popular because many people were worried about losing their jobs and their standard of living due to globalization.
Katainen thought that the main changes needed to make the euro zone stable had been achieved. These included stricter budget rules and creating a banking union to handle failing banks without taxpayers having to pay.
He also called for a single market for clean technology in Europe. He explained that Finland was making new types of biofuels, but they couldn't be sold in some EU countries because the rules hadn't caught up with the new technology.
Regarding the situation in Ukraine, Katainen stated that Finland would not put economic sanctions on Russia. He believed that such sanctions could hurt Finland's own economy.
European Commissioner (2014–2019)
In June 2014, Katainen stepped down as the leader of his party and as Prime Minister of Finland. He was then chosen to be a European Commissioner on 16 July 2014. He became the Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness in the European Commission.
In this new role, Katainen's job was to suggest ways for EU countries to create jobs and grow their economies in a lasting way. He also oversaw the EU's common currency, the euro, and helped create economic forecasts.
A Swedish politician, Marita Ulvskog, said that Katainen's strength was that he understood the importance of workers and businesses working together. Katainen was given the task of finding €300 billion to invest in the European Union's growth and economy.
In an interview in 2015, Katainen said that "investment is truly a golden thread that weaves together everything that we do." He meant that investing in people, partnerships, and the planet is very important. This includes giving people the right skills for today's economy and helping people move around the EU to support economic growth.
Before the 2019 European Parliament election, some thought Katainen might run for a very high position in the European Commission. However, in June 2018, he announced that he would not seek the role and planned to leave politics after his term ended.
Life After Politics
After leaving his role as European Commissioner, Jyrki Katainen was appointed president of SITRA for five years. SITRA is a Finnish public fund that works on future-oriented projects. In June 2023, he was also named the head of public affairs for Nordea, a large financial group.
Other Activities
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2007–2011; since 2014)
Cabinets
- Katainen Cabinet
Images for kids
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Jyrki Katainen's signature.
See also
In Spanish: Jyrki Katainen para niños
