Vieno Simonen
Photograph of Simonen
Finland Minister of Social Affairs
In office
13 January 1959 – 13 April 1962
Prime Minister
Member of the Parliament of Finland
In office
22 July 1948 – 19 February 1962
ConstituencyKuopio East
Personal details
Born
Vieno Vartiainen

(1898-12-27)27 December 1898
Peräseinäjoki, Finland
Died20 June 1994(1994-06-20) (aged 95)
Pyhäselkä, Finland
Political partyAgrarian League
Spouse
Oskar Simonen
​
​
(m. 1922; died 1938)​
Children7

Vieno Simonen (née Vartiainen; 27 December 1898 – 20 June 1994) was a Finnish politician and farmer. A member of the Agrarian League, she represented Kuopio East in the Parliament of Finland from 1948 to 1962. After serving in deputy ministerial positions in the Kekkonen IV, Törngren, and Fagerholm II cabinets, she was twice appointed as minister of social affairs by prime ministers V. J. Sukselainen and Martti Miettunen, and held the position from 1959 to 1962.

Early life

Vieno Vartiainen was born on 27 December 1898 in Peräseinäjoki, Finland.[1] She attended a girls' school until 1914 and trained at a handicraft school in Kuopio.[2][3] After training as a postal worker in Pulkkila and Iisalmi, she was certified in 1921 and began working at the post office of Hammaslahti.[3] She became the treasurer of the Martha organisation of Hammaslahti that year, and married farmer Oskar Simonen in 1922; they had seven children.[4] After Oskar's death in 1938, the farm's responsibilities were assumed by Vieno, who had been the farm's hostess since their marriage.[4][5] She was involved in various organizations, including Lotta Svärd, during the 1940s.[3]

Political career

Simonen was elected to the Parliament of Finland in 1948 to represent the constituency of Kuopio East (now North Karelia) as a member of the Agrarian League (now the Centre Party).[4] She was a member of the Parliament from 22 July 1948 to 19 February 1962, and sat on various parliamentary committees, including the Education and Finance committees. Simonen was also a Finnish representative to the Nordic Council.[2] Her parliamentary work focused on providing support to women and poor families, particularly those living in rural areas.[3]

In 1953, Simonen was appointed second minister of social affairs by prime minister Urho Kekkonen, becoming the first female government minister from a non-socialist party in Finland.[3][6] She was reappointed to the same position the following year when Ralf Törngren became prime minister. In 1956, prime minister Karl-August Fagerholm selected her as the second minister of agriculture in his second cabinet.[7] Simonen worked on a 1957 reform of Finland's national pension system to authorize a flat-rate payments to women farmers.[3] From 13 January 1959 to 13 April 1962, she was the minister of social affairs in the cabinets of prime ministers V. J. Sukselainen and Martti Miettunen.[7] As minister, Simonen continued her efforts to reform Finland's social welfare services.[3]

Simonen was a presidential elector in 1950, 1956, and 1962.[2] She did not seek re-election to Parliament in the 1962 elections, but remained active in the Martha organisation.[3]

Death

Simonen died on 20 June 1994 in Pyhäselkä, at the age of 95.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Vieno Simonen". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 20 June 1994. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Vieno Simonen" (in Finnish). Eduskunta Riksdagen. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Vieno Simonen". Finnish Government. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 "Vieno Simonen" (in Finnish). Martat. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Marjomaa, Ulpu (9 October 2006). "Simonen, Vieno (1898–1994)". Kansallisbiografia (in Finnish). SKS Henkilöhistoria. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "Finn Cabinet Is Completed By Kekkonen". The Washington Post. 10 July 1953. ProQuest 152553029. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021 – via ProQuest.
  7. 1 2 "Ministerin tiedot: Simonen, Vieno". Valtioneuvosto Statsrådet. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
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