Tarja Halonen served as the 11th President of the Republic of Finland from 2000 to 2012. She was Finland’s first female president. Halonen was actively involved in the Council of Europe, initially serving as the Deputy-Chair of the Finnish Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly from 1991 to 1995. Later, she became a Member of the Committee of Wise Persons of the Council of Europe in 1998–99, tasked with developing the activity of the organization.
Halonen took part in the Parliamentary Assembly during a period when Eastern and Western Europe were gradually uniting. The Monitoring Committee of the Assembly was established upon Halonen’s proposal, leading to the adoption of Order 488 (1993), commonly known as the “Halonen Order”. Halonen was instrumental in Finland’s initiative for establishing the institution of the Human Rights Commissioner.
Halonen is well known for her long and extensive experience in the civil society and her interest in human rights issues, especially regarding women’s rights, LGBT rights and minority rights, including the Roma. She has played an important role in strengthening gender equality – according to her, active involvement and leadership of women are crucial. She is still very active in the field of social rights and on the UN Agenda 2030.
Tarja Halonen, the former President of Finland, shares some of her proudest memories, including her participation in the establishment of a monitoring system bearing her name and the creation of the European Roma and Travellers Forum.
The project “75 women in 75 years of Council of Europe history” is organised by the Delegation of the European Union to the Council of Europe with the Council of Europe and the Permanent Representations of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
