Päivi Räsänen

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Päivi Räsänen
File:Päivi Räsänen 2015.jpg
Räsänen in 2015
Minister of the Interior of Finland
In office
22 June 2011 – 29 May 2015
Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen
Alexander Stubb
Preceded by Anne Holmlund
Succeeded by Petteri Orpo
Member of the Finnish Parliament
Assumed office
1995
Chairperson of the Finnish Christian Democrats
In office
October 2, 2004 (2004-10-02) – August 28, 2015
Preceded by Bjarne Kallis
Succeeded by Sari Essayah
Personal details
Born (1959-12-19) December 19, 1959 (age 64)
Sonkajärvi, Northern Savonia, Finland
Political party Christian Democrats
Occupation Physician
Profession Licentiate in Medicine
Website Official website

Päivi Maria Räsänen, née Kuvaja (born December 19, 1959, in Sonkajärvi, Finland[1]), is a Finnish politician. The chairwoman of the Christian Democrats from 2004 to 2015, she was the Minister of the Interior of Finland between 2011 and 2015.[2]

A physician by education, Räsänen entered politics in the early 1990s, running for parliament in 1991. She has been in the Riihimäki City Council since 1993, and in the Finnish Parliament since 1995. She was elected the chairperson of the Christian Democrats on October 2, 2004.[3] Following the government formation after the 2011 election, which led to the Christian Democrats joining the government, Räsänen was nominated by the party as the Minister of the Interior in the 72nd Finnish Cabinet led by Jyrki Katainen,[4] and she was inaugurated along with the government on June 22, 2011.[2]

Career and political positions

Räsänen has been characterized as a conservative. In 2004, she authored a small theological booklet concerning sexual related topics.[5] In 2020, the head of a church body which distributed the booklet was investigated for incitement under 2011 changes to a minority protection law.[6]

On October 12, 2010, Räsänen was one of the participants on a live TV debate on Ajankohtainen kakkonen's Homoilta special, with the topic of same-sex marriage and LGBT rights. As a protest, nearly 40,000 members left the state Evangelical Lutheran Church through the website eroakirkosta.fi over the next several weeks. At the time, this was the largest of such protests.[7][8] Räsänen was on the show representing her party and herself as a Christian individual along with five other proponents of heterosexual rather than homosexual marriage. The church membership resignations were attributed by the media as a protest against her and then-Minister of Culture and Sports Stefan Wallin.[9] Räsänen thinks homosexual acts are a sin[10] and she herself does not consider her views "specifically extreme".[11]

When interviewed by Ylioppilaslehti on October 29, 2010, Räsänen said that she would favor Christians over Muslims when selecting asylum seekers to Finland due, in her opinion, to Muslims' "difficulties to adjust to the Finnish culture".[12] Her comments were condemned as "incomprehensible and merciless" by then-Minister of Migration and European Affairs Astrid Thors and then-Minister of Culture and Sports Stefan Wallin.[13] Räsänen responded to the criticism, saying her comments were misinterpreted, since she did not consider religion as the main criterion for asylum seekers' admissions, but instead she wanted to highlight the benefits of refugees' integration through religious connections.[14] In practice, as minister in charge of immigration affairs Räsänen has advocated for increasing the number of refugees taken in by Finland, especially from Syria.[15]

In September 2012, Räsänen appointed a religiously conservative applicant, considered less qualified by the media, among six candidates to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior Affairs, which created considerable debate, especially as she had previously condemned political appointments of government officials.[16]

Trial

In 2019, she was investigated for incitement after criticizing the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland's official participation in Pride celebration events.[17] In April 2021, the Finnish Prosecutor General announced that three separate charges of incitements against a minority group were being filed against her.[18] The charges fall under a chapter of Finnish law which criminalizes "war crimes and crimes against humanity" and each charge can result in a prison sentence up to two years.[19] Representatives of 45 Lutheran church bodies called on the Finnish government to not prosecute her.[20] She was likewise supported by the European Evangelical Alliance and the Spanish Evangelical Alliance.[21] The first part of her trial was held on January 24, 2022.[22] The trial attracted international media, and the statements and testimonies of the trial were live-blogged in English by Christian Network Europe.[23] The second part of her trial is expected to occur on February 14, 2022.[23] Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland bishop Juhana Pohjola was tried along with Räsänen; Pohjola was tried as the publisher of the 2004 booklet. Five senators from the United States warned the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom that the decision to prosecute them risked creating a "secular blasphemy law" to persecute Christians, Muslims, and Jews.[24] Ten academics from the United States signed an open letter to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom stating that the "prosecutions are straightforward acts of oppression".[25]

Stance on abortion

She is pro-life on abortion. Räsänen contrasted abortion law to animal protection law saying that the latter gives better protection for animals than the former does to human fetuses:

"The law on animal protection gives better protection to an animal about to be put down than the law on abortion does to an unborn child. It is forbidden to cause the animal pain when slaughtering it, but no one dares to even discuss the painfulness of abortion. Abortion is defended on the grounds that the fetus is not a human person, even though it is a biological human individual from the moment of conception."[26]

About 6,500 abortion rights supporters formally renounced their state church membership in the first six days following the controversy. The average number leaving had been 70 persons a day previously.[27] [28]

Personal life

Räsänen is married to a Lutheran pastor and has five children. She lives in Riihimäki.[1] Räsänen is a physician and holds a Licentiate of Medicine.[29]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Male and Female He Created Them by Päivi Räsänen, Lutheran Heritage Foundation, Macomb, Michigan
  6. ↑ Leader of evangelical Lutheran churches investigated for distribution of booklet on homosexuality, Evangelical Focus, February 12, 2020
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Sisäministeri Räsänen ottaisi Suomeen 300 kiintiöpakolaista lisää ensi vuonna, Yle.fi, 9 July 2014, accessed 9 July 2014
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Finnish Christian MP under incitement investigation for quoting the New Testament by Samuli Siikavirta, Evangelical Focus, September 2, 2019
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ The unstoppable march of state censorship, Spiked, May 17, 2021
  20. ↑ A Protest and Call for Free Religious Speech in Finland, June 29, 2021, International Lutheran Council
  21. ↑ European Evangelical Alliance Sends Letter to Finnish Government Expressing "Dismay" Over Päivi Räsänen Case, European Evangelical Alliance news, May 17, 2021
  22. ↑ Freedom of Religion and Speech Is on Trial in Finland by Elyssa Koren, National Review, January 24, 2022
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Liveblog (stopped): Trial against Christian MP Pävi Räsänen will resume in February, Christian Network Europe, January 24, 2022
  24. ↑ US senators fear Finnish MP's trial could pave the way for more prosecutions of Christians by Julian Mann, Christian Today, 25 January 2022; text of letter at 01.24.22 Letter to IRF Ambassador
  25. ↑ A Letter to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom by Peter Berkowitz, Keegan Callanan, Carlos Eire, Robert P. George, Mary Ann Glendon, Sergiu Klainerman, John B. Londregan, Jacqueline C. Rivers, David Rivkin, and Adrian Vermeule, RealClearPolitics, May 28, 2021
  26. ↑ (Script error: No such module "In lang".: “Eläinsuojelulaki antaa paremman suojan lopetettavalle eläimelle kuin aborttilaki syntymättömälle lapselle. Eläimelle ei saa teurastettaessa tuottaa kipua, mutta abortin kivuliaisuudesta ei uskalleta edes keskustella. Aborttia puolustetaan sillä, että sikiö ei ole ihmispersoona, vaikka onkin hedelmöityksestä lähtien biologinen ihmisyksilö”) Räsänen's speech, Matskut.helsinki.fi
  27. ↑ Räsäs-kohun aikana yli 6500 eronnut kirkosta, Kaleva.fi, 17 July 2013
  28. ↑ Räsänen’s comments cause spike in church resignations, Yle.fi, 11 July 2013
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Minister of the Interior of Finland
June 22, 2011 —May 25, 2015		 Succeeded by
Petteri Orpo
Party political offices
Preceded by Chairperson the Finnish Christian Democrats
October 2, 2004 —August 28, 2015		 Succeeded by
Sari Essayah
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