Foreign Minister pulls out all the stops in 60th birthday bash
Celebrations focus on Turku - Thors fills in at EU meeting
Ilkka Kanerva
|
|
|
Minister for Foreign Affairs Ilkka Kanerva (Nat. Coalition Party) is celebrating his 60th birthday in the city of Turku in a manner that rivals the parties put on by local top business figures.
"Kanerva is very popular in Turku. If we had placed a general invitation into local newspapers, the 10,000-seat Turku Arena probably would not have been big enough. This is why we decided on these kinds of limited events", says consultant Olli A. Manni, former Turku Deputy Mayor and special assistant to Kanerva in Turku.
While Kanerva's birthday is on Monday, the celebrations were kicked off already on Saturday in Helsinki with a dinner at the Helsinki Bourse Club.
The celebrations will keep Kanerva away from the EU Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Brussels on Monday, where discussions will focus on the situation in Serbia and Kosovo.
Taking his place will be Astrid Thors (Swedish People's Party), the Minister of Migration and European Affairs.
On Monday Kanerva has an official reception for representatives of municipalities, organisations, and corporations at the Turku Fair Centre. Appointments have been reserved for about 400 well-wishers.
The celebrations continue with a dinner and a foreign policy seminar costing participants EUR 500 a plate, at the Hamburger Börs in Turku.
The event has been marketed to companies, and all of the approximately 100 available slots have been booked, mainly by the Turku business elite.
Helsingin Sanomat
|
| 28.1.2008 - TODAY |
 Foreign Minister pulls out all the stops in 60th birthday bash |
|
