Who is Nina Suomalainen? Since graduating with a Master of Political Science degree from the Åbo Akademi University in Turku, Finland in 1993, I have spent over 15 years working for various international organisations in the fields of human rights, democracy building and development. My experience is from the European Union, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. I´ve lived in Brussels, Riga, Sarajevo and Warsaw, and travelled on assignments to the Balkans, to countries formerly in the USSR, to Africa, the Middle East and Asia. I´m active in both local and national politics and in NGOs (non-governmental organisations). I´m a member of the National Coalition Party (www.kokoomus.fi). I hold various positions of trust in my party, in several NGOs and in organs of the City of Helsinki. I engage in a variety of outdoor and exercise activities, music, writing and gardening. I live in the suburb of Paloheinä in Helsinki with my dog named Tuuli. Nina’s values The things I value are work, study, enterprise and the desire to progress. I believe in equal opportunity for all and the acceptance of pluralism while at the same time honouring our own Finnish traditions. I’m a strong believer in internationalisation. Finland should play an active role on the international scene – both in the EU and globally. The natural environment is near my heart. I want that we Finns will always have the opportunity to enjoy the closeness of nature – even on our back doorstep. European parliament elections 2009 Municipal elections 2008 Nina’s career, leisure activities and politics I come from a small village close to the Eastern border of Finland that has a military base for the Finnish defence forces’ parachute troops. I studied political science and international law at Åbo Akademi University in Turku and I hold the degree of Master of Political Science. After graduating in 1993 I started a traineeship at the European Commission in Brussels, and continued working on European affairs for the next couple of years at the European Commission, European Parliament and American Chamber of Commerce. In 1995 I moved to Latvia where I started a two-year contract as a JPO (Junior Professional Officer) at the Riga office of the UNDP. Among other duties, I was in charge of a project supporting the establishment of the Latvian Human Rights Office and of gender equality activities. In 1998 I started a new job at the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a Political Party Development Coordinator. My task was to assist the diversification of the political party scene in Bosnia and I managed the political party support project for the OSCE Mission for two years. In spring 2000 I moved to Warsaw and continued working within the OSCE framework by starting a job at the ODIHR (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights). The office served as the human rights wing of the OSCE and was in charge of OSCE´s election observation missions, human rights monitoring and democratisation activities. I worked as an Adviser to the Director of the ODIHR and was thus able to get involved in all aspects of the office. I participated among other things in several of the election observation missions in the OSCE region. I returned to Finland in autumn 2002 after having spent almost ten years abroad. From spring 2003 until the end of 2004 I was seconded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland to work for the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, concerning the Balkan region, as Adviser to the Democratisation working table and to Mrs Elisabeth Rehn who then served as the Chairperson. In 2004 and 2005 I also carried out some short-term consultancy assignments in Palestine, Rwanda and Burundi. In autumn 2005 I started my current job at the FinnChurchAid, where I have a position working on development policy, human rights and peace building. I am currently on one-year leave from that position and work during 2008 as Senior Adviser to the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities in the Hague. I´m active in Finnish politics and in the National Coalition Party, which is a leading party in Finland at the centre-right of the political spectrum. In Helsinki the National Coalition Party has been the largest party with around 30 per cent support. I ran for the Finnish parliament in 2007 and am currently on the second reserve seat from Helsinki. In my leisure time I am active in NGO work in Finland. I hold the position of Chairperson of the National Development Committee which is a committee appointed by the Finnish government to provide advice to the government on development policy and development assistance. I also like to spend time at my country cottage surrounded by fields in South Eastern Finland, do gardening and take long walks with my dog. My dog is a six-year old Nova Scotian Duck Tolling Retriever named Tuuli. She is a very determined dog, sometimes quite wild, who loves children and all kinds of ballgames.