member of Parliament for the Vaasa constituency
Which position did Jutta Urpilainen hold from Mar 2003 to 2008?
Jutta Urpilainen Jutta Pauliina Urpilainen ( born 4 August 1975 in Lapua ) is a Finnish politician . She was the first female chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland , which she led from 2008 to 2014 . She was the Minister of Finance of Finland from 2011 to 2014 . As of 1 December 2019 , she is a commissioner in charge of international partnerships in the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen . Early life and education . Born in Lapua , Southern Ostrobothnia , Urpilainen is the daughter of former politician Kari Urpilainen . She studied at the University of Jyväskylä , where she graduated as a Master of Education in 2002 . During her undergraduate studies , she spent an Erasmus year in Vienna . She worked as a school teacher until her election to Parliament . Political career . Early beginnings . Urpilainen served as president of the Young European Federalists of Finland in 2001 . She has been a member of Kokkola city council since 2001 . Member of Parliament and party leadership . Urpilainen was a member of Parliament for the Vaasa constituency from the 2003 national elections . In parliament , she was a member of the Committee on Education and Culture and a deputy member of the Finance Committee . In addition to her parliamentary work , she was also a member of the Advisory Council of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs . Urpilainen was elected as the chair of the Social Democratic Party in June 2008 , succeeding former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Eero Heinäluoma . She won on the second ballot , defeating former Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja by 218 votes to 132 . During her tenure from 2008 until 2014 , support for the Social Democrats fell from 21 to 15.5 percent . However , in the 2011 elections , she returned the party to government after four years . Minister of Finance . After the 2011 parliamentary election , in which the SDP became the second-largest party , Urpilainen was appointed Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet led by Jyrki Katainen . In this capacity , she also chaired the meetings of the Nordic Council Ministers of Finance in 2012 . The surge of the eurosceptic True Finns party in the 2011 elections sparked a move from the Social Democrats under Urpilainen to toughen their stance on the euro significantly , leading Finland to become the only country to demand collateral from Greece and Spain as part of their international rescues . On 6 July 2012 , Urpilainen said the following on her website : Finland would prefer to consider leaving the Eurozone rather than to pay other countries debts in the currency area . International news media , such as The Daily Telegraph , misinterpreted the statement as a threat that Finland would leave the eurozone . Urpilainens assistant Matti Hirvola later clarified her statements and that she had meant that Finland did not wish to be responsible for paying other countries debt deposits . Only one month later , Urpilainen had to revise the governments growth target for that fiscal year down to zero as exports slowed ; the only Eurozone countries that fared worse were Greece and Portugal . Urpilainen sought another term as party chair in the Social Democratic Partys 2014 party conference in May . She was narrowly defeated by her challenger , Antti Rinne , in a 257 to 243 vote . Urpilainen subsequently stepped down as the Minister of Finance in June . Ahead of the 2018 presidential elections , Urpilainen was widely mentioned as a potential candidate . By February 2017 , she announced she would not seek the presidency . From 2017 until 2019 , Urpilainen served as Minister of Foreign Affairs Timo Soini’s Special Representative on Mediation . European Commissioner . On 1 December 2019 Ms Urpilainen assumed the office of European Commissioner in the Von der Leyen Commission , with the portfolio of international partnerships . Other activities . European Union organizations . - European Investment Bank ( EIB ) , Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors ( 2011-2014 ) - European Stability Mechanism ( ESM ) , Member of the Board of Governors ( 2012-2014 ) International organizations . - Joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee , Member ( 2013-2014 ) - European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ( EBRD ) , Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors ( 2011-2014 ) - Nordic Investment Bank ( NIB ) , Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors ( 2011-2014 ) - Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency ( MIGA ) , World Bank Group , Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors ( 2011-2014 ) - World Bank , Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors ( 2011-2014 ) Corporate boards . - Veikkaus , Member of the Board of Directors ( 2017-2018 ) Non-profit organizations . - Crisis Management Initiative ( CMI ) , Member of the Board ( since 2019 ) - Finnish National Opera Foundation , Member of the Board ( 2017-2018 ) - Finnish Innovation Fund ( SITRA ) , Member of the Supervisory Board ( 2017-2018 ) - Finnish National Commission for UNESCO , Chair ( 2015-2018 ) Personal life . Urpilainen is married to Juha Mustonen , an official in the foreign ministry . In 2017 and 2019 , they adopted two children from Colombia . In 2002 , Urpilainen recorded a Christmas album called “Christmassy thoughts” featuring versions of “Winter Wonderland” and “Jingle Bells.” External links . - Official website - Official website