Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen to divorce after long marriage
Centre Party does not believe development will affect possible run for
Presidency in 2006
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre Party) and his wife Merja Vanhanen are to divorce after 20 years of marriage. Merja Vanhanen broke the news to the Finnish News Agency (STT) on Wednesday afternoon.
Within the Centre Party, the decision is not thought likely to have an impact on Matti Vanhanen's possible run as the Party's candidate in the 2006 Presidential Election.
Merja Vanhanen reported in a brief written statement that she would be moving to a residence of her own by the end of May, in Klaukkala, north of Helsinki. The couple's separation will begin from that point onwards.
The Vanhanens' two teenage children will remain registered at the family's home in nearby Nurmijärvi. It seems likely the couple will have a joint custody agreement. By the nature of their work, each parent is away from home quite a lot. Merja Vanhanen is a flight attendant by occupation.
"My decision has come as the result of a lengthy process", said Merja Vanhanen, and she stressed that she has no additional comment to make about the matter. Ms. Vanhanen pointed out that she and her husband had not hitherto aired their private matters in public, and that she had no intention of doing so now or in the future.
She merely considered that it was necessary to give notice of the impending divorce. She also said pointedly that no other individuals were involved, but that the couple had "moved in different directions".
It is believed that the timing of the statement was related to the signing of public documents in connection with the acquisition of a separate home, and that the announcement thereby pre-empted a possibly embarrassing leak to the media.
The Prime Minister and Merja Vanhanen were married in 1985, and they have two children, born in 1991 and 1994.
The essentially private matter of the breakdown of a marriage takes on a more public dimension, given Vanhanen's position as the Centre Party's anticipated number-one candidate in next year's Presidential Election.
Vanhanen commented on Wednesday that the announcement would have no effect on the carrying out of his political duties. "I have not thought that there would be any consequences as a result of this", said Vanhanen at a press briefing after a Cabinet session on Wednesday evening.
He would not comment on whether the impending divorce would affect his candidacy in the Presidential Election. Equally he chose not to go into the causes for the break-up, reminding reporters that it was a private matter relating to questions of the relationship between two individuals.
He acknowledged that as he was in public office, it was good for people to know what was happening. However, this is roughly where he drew the line on his obligations to report the matter.
In response to a question of whether a third party was involved, Vanhanen commented briefly that at least on his side he had no knowledge of such a thing.
Centre Party Secretary Eero Lankia stressed on Wednesday that the matter was a personal one for the Vanhanen family, and commented that he did not believe it would influence the Prime Minister's decision about running for the office of President.
Lankia noted that he had heard of the separation from the Prime Minister's Office only shortly before the matter was made public.
According to the Party Secretary, Vanhanen remains a good choice as the Centre Party candidate and has not changed in any way as a person. He also noted that Vanhanen was and remains an excellent father to his children.
Matti Vanhanen has promised to announce his position on the candidacy later this month, before the Centre Party Executive Committee Council meeting to be held in Hämeenlinna on April 23rd and 24th.
It has been considered a racing certainty within the party that his response will be positive.
Vanhanen took office as Prime Minister of the three-party coalition government of Centre, SDP, and Swedish People's Party in June 2003, following the resignation of Ms. Anneli Jäätteenmäki, then the Chairman of the Centre Party.
Vanhanen later succeeded Jäätteenmäki in this post. Merja Vanhanen took an 18-month leave of absence from her job on her husband's appointment to the Prime Minister's office, but she returned to work in December of last year.
Interestingly, neither party in the marriage showed much initial enthusiasm for Matti Vanhanen's abrupt rise to the position of PM. "Fortunately it is a post with a fixed-term contract", said Matti Vanhanen, and Merja Vanhanen described the news as "like Nightmare on Elm Street".
The announcement of their impending divorce came as a considerable shock to the Finnish population: the Vanhanens have had the image of a very ordinary family, and neither partner has been the subject of tabloid headlines. What impact, if any, the latest developments may have on more conservative elements within the Centre Party remains to be seen.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 7.4.2005 - TODAY |
 Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen to divorce after long marriage
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