Niinistö not seeking re-election in 2011 Parliament race

Speaker of Parliament Sauli Niinistö (Nat. Coalition Party) will not run for another term in Parliament in next year’s elections.
      “I will not be in these elections”, he briefly told Helsingin Sanomat on Friday.
      He did not give any reasons for his decision. In the previous elections, Niinistö was a candidate in the Uusimaa electoral district, winning an all-time record number of 60,563 personal votes.
      Niinistö informed his party’s chairman, Minister of Finance Jyrki Katainen and Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb about his decision already in February.
     
Born in Salo in the southwest of Finland, the 61-year-old Niinistö served in Parliament from 1987 to 2003, and again from 2007 to the present. He served for an extended period as the Minister of Finance, and later as a vice president of the European Investment Bank.
      Niinistö is seen as a potential leading contender in the Presidential elections of 2012. In 2006 he ran an impressive second in the race against incumbent Tarja Halonen.
     
Niinistö’s term as Speaker of Parliament has been dominated by strong efforts for reform, which has not always been met with enthusiasm by high-ranking civil servants, or Members of Parliament - even though the administrative problems facing Parliament are generally recognised.
      During his term as Speaker, a number of reforms have been enacted. Niinistö has found the task to be a difficult one, as he does not see himself as a bureaucrat.
      The large amount of administrative work involved in the job has come to Niinistö as an unpleasant surprise. It is also apparent that the Speaker is less than enthusiastic about presiding over the endless speeches in Parliament.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Niinistö to continue as speaker after support from parliamentary party leaders (4.2.2010)
  Niinistö considers options after lack of support from MPs in Speaker´s election (2.2.2010)
  Niinistö organises inspection of finances of Parliament́s hobby clubs (8.10.2009)
  Speaker Niinistö wants to change Parliament́s pay system for MPś aides (22.2.2008)

See also:
  Poll: Speaker of Parliament Sauli Niinistö remains favourite choice for next president (10.8.2009)

Links:
  Parliament of Finland - Speaker