Laura Huhtasaari

MP
Laura Huhtasaari
Member of the Finnish Parliament
for Satakunta
Assumed office
22 April 2015
Personal details
Born (1979-03-30) 30 March 1979
Mänttä, Finland[1]
Nationality Finnish
Political party Finns Party
Residence Pori, Finland
Education Master of Education
Alma mater University of Jyväskylä
Occupation Teacher

Laura Huhtasaari (born 30 March 1979) is a Finnish politician. A member of the Finns Party, she has represented Satakunta in the Parliament of Finland since April 2015.[2] She was the Finns Party candidate for the 2018 Finnish presidential election.

Life and career

Huhtasaari graduated as Master of Education in 2004. She has worked as a religion teacher and a special education teacher.[3] She was elected to the City Council of Pori with 1,064 votes in 2012[4] and again with 2,566 votes in 2017.[5] She stood in the 2014 European Parliament election and received 9,132 votes[6] but was not elected. In 2015 Huhtasaari was elected to the Parliament with 9,259 votes.[7] In the Parliament, she is currently member of the Legal Affairs Committee, the Education and Culture Committee and the Finnish Delegation to the Nordic Council.

Huhtasaari endorsed Jussi Halla-aho for president of the Finns Party.[8] She was elected first vice president of the Finns Party on 10 June 2017, the same day when Halla-aho was elected president.[9] On 4 August 2017, Huhtasaari was chosen as the presidential candidate of the Finns Party.[10] In the election, Huhtasaari placed third with 6.9 percent of the votes, while the incumbent president Sauli Niinistö went on to secure his second term with a majority of votes.[11]

Views

Huhtasaari believes that the European Union is going to collapse and Finland should leave it.[12] She also wishes for Finland to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty and Paris Agreement.[13][14] Huhtasaari opposes Finland becoming a member of NATO, but supports developing cooperation with the alliance.[15] Huhtasaari is a supporter of United States President Donald Trump.[16][17]

Huhtasaari is a creationist and has stated that the theory of evolution is a 'totally impossible theory'.[18] She has also said that Finland could reject international agreements in order to prevent economic migrants from migrating to Finland.[19]

Thesis plagiarism

During the 2018 presidential election campaign, Huhtasaari was accused of plagiarising parts of her 2003 M.Sc. thesis.[20] The matter was investigated by her alma mater, the University of Jyväskylä, with the conclusion that only 10 per cent of the thesis was plagiariased, and that the plagiarism was not particularly serious considering the policies of the university at the time.[21]

However, in May 2018, Finland's national public broadcasting company YLE reported that approximately 30 per cent of the thesis was plagiarised, after an YLE journalist identified a previously unknown source for the text in Huhtasaari's thesis.[22][23] Huhtasaari responded by claiming to have written the dissertation in good faith, relying on any shortcomings being detected during the review process.[24] She also claimed to have followed the university's own guidance regarding citing of earlier theses, namely that such citations were (allegedly) advised against, as dissertations could not be guaranteed to be of sufficiently high academic standards.[25] To support her assertion, Huhtasaari published a positive employment certificate for her 1-year-tenure as a second-grade teacher at an elementary school in the Marshall islands from April 2000.[26]

The University of Jyväskylä released its detailed report in August 2018, finding serious plagiarism and disregard for the scientific method throughout Huhtasaari's thesis.[27] As the statute of limitations had passed, the university will not pursue further action.[27]

Elections contested

Presidential elections

Year Votes % Result
2018 207,337 6.9 3rd

Parliamentary elections

Year Constituency Votes Result
2011 Satakunta 1,950 Backup
2015 Satakunta 9,259 Elected

European Parliament elections

Year Constituency Votes Result
2014 Finland 9,132 Not elected

Municipal elections

Year Municipality Constituency Votes Result
2012 Pori Satakunta 1,064 Elected
2017 Pori Satakunta 2,566 Elected

References

  1. ↑ Muurinen, Sakari (8 August 2017). "Lisää valtaa presidentille, toivoo Laura Huhtasaari". Satakunnan Kansa. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  2. ↑ "Laura Huhtasaari". Parliament of Finland. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  3. ↑ Huhtasaari, Laura. "Esittely". laurahuhtasaari.fi. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  4. ↑ "Candidates elected". Ministry of Justice of Finland. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  5. ↑ "Candidates elected". Ministry of Justice of Finland. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "Votes cast for candidates". Vaalit.fi. Ministry of Justice of Finland. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  7. ↑ "Candidates elected". Ministry of Justice of Finland. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  8. ↑ Laakso, Antti (3 January 2017). "Kansanedustaja Huhtasaari vaihtaisi Soinin Halla-ahoon". Yle News. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  9. ↑ "New leader Halla-aho to push Finns Party in nationalistic, Eurosceptic direction". Yle News. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  10. ↑ "Perussuomalaiset aikovat asettaa kansanedustaja Laura Huhtasaaren presidenttiehdokkaaksi". Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  11. ↑ "Presidentinvaali 2018, 1. vaali: Ehdokkaiden äänet" (in Finnish). Ministry of Justice. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  12. ↑ Tikka, Juha-Pekka (9 February 2017). "PS:n kansanedustajalta uusi idea EU-erosta: Voisiko hallitus tukea tätä?". Verkkouutiset. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  13. ↑ "Presidenttiehdokas Laura Huhtasaari: Maamiinat takaisin turvaamaan rajojamme". Suomen Uutiset. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  14. ↑ "Huhtasaari irtisanoutui ensitöikseen Pariisin ilmastosopimuksesta ja siteerasi Trumpia". Satakunnan Kansa. 23 September 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  15. ↑ "Presidenttiehdokkaat tukevat Nato-suhteiden tiivistämistä – Paitsi Merja Kyllönen, joka moittii Suomen ujuttautumista sotilasliiton kainaloon "salarakkaaksi"". Helsingin Sanomat. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  16. ↑ Laakso, Antti (9 November 2016). "Trumpin voittoa toivonut kansanedustaja: "Ennustin tätä jo vuoden alussa"". Yle News. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  17. ↑ Finland’s Marine Le Pen. POLITICO. Author - Reid Standish. Published 26 January 2018. Updated 29 January 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  18. ↑ Sandell, Markku (15 September 2015). "Kehitysopista kiistelty Darwinista lähtien – Laura Huhtasaari (ps.) jatkaa linjaa". Yle News. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  19. ↑ Laakso, Antti (11 November 2015). "Kansanedustaja: Turvapaikanhakijat käännytettävä keinolla millä hyvänsä". Yle News. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  20. ↑
  21. ↑
  22. ↑
  23. ↑ Yle report: Finns Party presidential candidate's master's thesis "systematically plagiarised" YLE 11.5.2018
  24. ↑
  25. ↑ "Räikeästä plagioinnista syytetty Laura Huhtasaari: Olin yksittäisen graduohjaajan varassa, ja graduihin viittaamista ohjeistettiin välttämään" [Laura Huhtasaari, accused of gross plagiarism: I relied on a single supervisor, and citing dissertations was against guidance]. Iltalehti. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  26. ↑
  27. 1 2 Savela, Sanna (27 August 2018). "Jyväskylän yliopisto: Laura Huhtasaaren gradussa enemmän plagiointia kuin aiempi selvitys osoitti" (in Finnish). Retrieved 3 October 2018.
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