Kalevi Hemilä was born in Kärsämäki in 1952 into a farming family.
In the early 1980s he worked as a project researcher at the Finnish Agricultural Economics Research Institute. In 1985 he was the full-time secretary of the Agriculture 2000 committee, after which he was named director-general of the Finnish Farm Administration. When that institution was abolished in 1992 Hemilä took up a top position at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Hemilä served as a special expert on agriculture, fisheries, and forestry at the Finnish mission to the European Union in 1993 - 1995.
From 1995 to 2002 Hemilä held the post of Minister of Agriculture and Forestry - the only government minister at that time without a political party affiliation.
After leaving the government, Hemilä became the director general of the Finnish Food and Drink Industries’ Federation, and later, he was briefly the director general of the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers (TT), up to the time of his illness.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 20.8.2004
