Paula Lehtomäki
Paula Lehtomäki is a Finnish politician. She started her political career in 1996, when she was elected to the Kuhmo town council. In 1999 she was elected to the Finnish Parliament, and again in 2003. In 2002, she was elected as the vice-chairman of Keskusta. In April 2004, she was chosen as the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, making her the youngest minister in Matti Vanhanen's first cabinet.
She is married and the mother of three children. Her hobbies include cross country skiing, cycling, Nordic walking, badminton, and karaoke.
On 17 April 2007 it was announced that she would be the Minister for Environment in Matti Vanhanen's second cabinet. At the same time it was also announced that she is pregnant, and would take her second maternity leave from a ministerial post later in 2007.
She became Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, 18 March 2019.She is the first woman to hold the position, as well as the first person under 50. In her free time she sometimes sings in a band called Punatähdet, which means Red Star.
