page_title: Tarja Halonen
section_title: Political views
hierarchical_section_title: Tarja Halonen / Political views
caption_attribution_description: English: Tarja Halonen, President of the Republic of Finland, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil Português: A presidente da Finlândia, Tarja Halonen, e o presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva durante encontro em Acra Suomi: Suomen tasavallan presidentti Tarja Halonen ja Brasilian presidentti Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
context_page_description: Tarja Kaarina Halonen is a Finnish politician who served as the 11th President of Finland, and the first woman to hold the position, from 2000 to 2012. She first rose to prominence as a lawyer with the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, and as the Prime Minister's parliamentary secretary and a member of the City Council of Helsinki. Halonen was a Social Democratic Party member of parliament from 1979 until her election to the presidency in 2000. She also served as a minister at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health from 1987 to 1990, as Minister of Justice from 1990 to 1991, and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 2000.
  Halonen was an extremely popular president, with her approval ratings reaching a peak of 88 percent in December 2003. She was re-elected in 2006, defeating National Coalition Party candidate Sauli Niinistö in the second round by 51% to 48%. Ineligible to run in the 2012 presidential elections because of term limits, Halonen left office on 1 March 2012 and was succeeded by Niinistö.
context_section_description: Early in her political career Halonen represented the far-left wing of the SDP. She publicly opposed the proposed free trade agreement of the European Economic Community in 1973, by signing a petition along with 500 other prominent social democrats and socialists. Otherwise she was loyal to President Kekkonen's foreign policy, which was founded on Finnish neutrality and good relations with the Soviet Union.
  Throughout her political career, Halonen has described herself as a supporter of international solidarity. She describes herself as a "relative pacifist", meaning that she doesn't support unilateral disarmament. She has strongly defended the President's role as the commander in chief of the military. She opposes NATO membership. Her strong stands on these issues have characterised her presidential term and shaped Finnish foreign policy, in part in cooperation with the like-minded former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Erkki Tuomioja.
  Halonen has publicly supported the involvement of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) in politics.
  The Constitution of Finland and Halonen's decision to take part in some European Union meetings with the Prime Minister has created the so-called "problem of two dinner plates" in Finland. Since most other countries only have their Prime Ministers representing them, it was also decided in Finland that the task is reserved for the Prime Minister in most cases.
  On 20 March 2013, Halonen publicly voiced her support for same-sex marriage.
caption: Halonen together with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, then President of Brazil.
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