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Finnish Liberal Equality Leading the Way
April 28, 2003 12:00 AM
Sarah Ludford MEP, LibDem Euro-MP for London, has welcomed the appointment of a woman Prime Minister and equal numbers of male and female ministers in the new coalition government in Finland led by two ELDR member parties. These parties have 6 MEPs in the Liberal ELDR group in the European Parliament.
Anneli Jaeaetteenmaeki becomes Prime Minister, and her cabinet contains 8 female and 8 male ministers in the Liberal-led coalition of her own Centre Party, the Swedish People's Party (also ELDR) and the Social Democrats.
The parliament has 37.5% female members and Finland becomes the only country in Europe to have women as both prime minister and president, since Finns elected their first female president, Tarja Halonen, in February 2000.
Said Sarah:
"Under Liberal leadership, women are consolidating their strong grip on politics in Finland! It was the first country to grant women full voting rights, with female MPs elected since 1906, and now real political equality for women has been reached'.
"This is an example to us all. Clearly, political success lies in appealing to a diverse range of people, and the predominance of one gender (or race) means elected representatives are not truly reflecting the people they serve."
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