H.E. Tarja Halonen (Co-Chair), Former President of the Republic of Finland

Early in her career, President Halonen was a trade union lawyer and worked with the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions between the years 1970 and 1979. During her political career, President Halonen was appointed to several ministries and served as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister of Justice and Minister at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, among many other appointments.

Over the years she also served as chair of the Parliamentary Grand Committee, vice-chair of the Parliamentary Law Committee, chair of the Parliamentary Social Affairs Committee and was a longstanding member of the Helsinki City Council.

President Halonen is known for her political knowledge of trade unions and commitment to human rights, and was also a strong advocate early on in her career for sexual rights and sexuality education.

To these ends, she has served in various capacities. She was co-chair of the Millennium Summit, ILO’s World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization and co-chair of the UN High-level Panel on Global Sustainability.

Currently she is co-chair of the Panel of Eminent Persons of UNCTAD (the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), chair of the Council of Women World Leaders, and member of the Board of Trustees of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights, where she also served as member of the board between 2006 and 2009. In Finland, President Halonen has been chair and member of the Board of Directors of the International Solidarity Foundation.

President Halonen holds 17 honorary degrees from universities, including from her alma mater Helsinki University, where she earned a Master of Laws.