Jan Vapaavuori
Jan Pellervo Vapaavuori is a Finnish politician, the former Minister of Economic Affairs, and mayor of Helsinki as of June 2017. Vapaavuori was Minister of Housing and Minister of Nordic Cooperation in Matti Vanhanen's second cabinet and Mari Kiviniemi's cabinet. He was a candidate for the head of his party in the June 2014 election, and as part of that the likeliest interim Prime Minister of Finland. However he eventually failed to make the eventual head-to-head round within the Coalition Party, which saw Alexander Stubb defeat Paula Risikko.
Vapaavuori has been a Helsinki City Council member since 1997. He has been a member of the Parliament since 2003, from the constituency of Helsinki, and he represents the National Coalition Party. From 2011 to 2012 he was the chairman of the party's parliamentary group. Vapaavuori was elected Mayor of Helsinki in 2017. His term started on 1 June 2017.
Vapaavuori acquired a law degree from University of Helsinki in 1989. He continued his studies in Helsinki, Uppsala, The Hague and Hanken School of Economics as well. He has worked in the National Union of University Students in Finland.
Vapaavuori was born into a bilingual family: his father, Panu, is a Finnish jurist and mother, Gun, was a Swedish teacher. He is married to Outi Laitinen-Vapaavuori, a doctor of veterinary medicine.
Vapaavuori has been convicted of assault, theft and driving under the influence of alcohol.
