Maria Ohisalo

I am Maria Ohisalo, Chairperson of the Greens, Finland’s Minister of the Interior, Member of the Finnish Parliament and Doctor of Social Sciences.

I grew up in East Helsinki. I’ve been living, working and studying also in Uppsala and Stockholm and I’ve studied in Paris and Oxford. I have a Master’s degree in social sciences (social politics). Summer 2017 I finished my PhD in social sciences (sociology) at the University of Eastern Finland.

I am a daughter of a nurse and woodworker. I got involved into politics with a strong desire to defend and reform the welfare state and by the will to put poverty and inequality issues at the core of all politics. This is combined with work to tackle the climate change.

Besides working as Minister of the Interior and Member of the Finnish Parliament, I am also a member of the Helsinki city council, a member of the city board, a member of the Uusimaa regional council, as well as a member of Social Science Professionals. I love to exercise and collect retro video games.

My goal is to lead the Greens as a movement to which fighting poverty, tackling the climate change and protecting the environment are at the core of all our actions. I want to build a movement that is based on research and offers everyone a place to take action.