Sauli Niinistö

Sauli Niinistö
Sauli Niinistö
	Niinistö in 2022
12th President of Finland
	In office; 1 March 2012 – 1 March 2024
Prime Minister	Jyrki Katainen; Alexander Stubb; Juha Sipilä; Antti Rinne; Sanna Marin; Petteri Orpo;
Preceded by	Tarja Halonen
Succeeded by	Alexander Stubb
Speaker of the Parliament of Finland
	In office; 24 April 2007 – 27 April 2011
Preceded by	Timo Kalli
Succeeded by	Ben Zyskowicz
Minister of Finance
	In office; 2 February 1996 – 17 April 2003
Prime Minister	Paavo Lipponen
Preceded by	Iiro Viinanen
Succeeded by	Antti Kalliomäki
Deputy Prime Minister of Finland
	In office; 13 April 1995 – 30 August 2001
Prime Minister	Paavo Lipponen
Preceded by	Pertti Salolainen
Succeeded by	Ville Itälä
Minister of Justice
	In office; 13 April 1995 – 2 February 1996
Prime Minister	Paavo Lipponen
Preceded by	Anneli Jäätteenmäki
Succeeded by	Kari Häkämies
Leader of the National Coalition Party
	In office; 1994–2001
Preceded by	Pertti Salolainen
Succeeded by	Ville Itälä
Member of the Finnish Parliament
	In office; 21 March 2007 – 19 April 2011
Constituency	Uusimaa
	In office; 21 March 1987 – 18 March 2003
Constituency	Helsinki (1999–2003) ; Southwest Finland (1987–1999)
President of the Football Association of Finland
	In office; 2009–2012
Preceded by	Pekka Hämäläinen
Succeeded by	Markku Lehtola (interim)
Personal details
Born	Sauli Väinämö Niinistö; 24 August 1948; Salo, Finland
Party	Independent (since 2012); National Coalition (until 2012);
Spouses	; Marja-Leena Alanko (m. 1974; died 1995) ; Jenni Haukio (m. 2009)
Children	3
Relatives	Ville Niinistö (nephew)
Alma mater	University of Turku
Signature
Website	Official website
Military service
Allegiance	Finland
Branch/service	Finnish Army
Rank	Captain

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Sauli Väinämö Niinistö (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈsɑu̯li ˈʋæinæmø ˈniːnistø], born 24 August 1948) is a Finnish politician who served as the president of Finland from 2012 to 2024.

A lawyer by education, Niinistö was Chairman of the National Coalition Party (NCP) from 1994 to 2001, Minister of Justice from 1995 to 1996, Minister of Finance from 1996 to 2003, Deputy Prime Minister from 1995 to 2001 and the NCP candidate in the 2006 presidential election. He served as the Speaker of the Parliament of Finland from 2007 to 2011 and has been the honorary president of the European People's Party (EPP) since 2002.

Niinistö was the NCP candidate in the 2012 presidential election, defeating Pekka Haavisto of the Green League (VIHR) with 62.6% of the vote in the decisive second round. Niinistö assumed office on 1 March 2012; he is the first NCP president since Juho Kusti Paasikivi, who left office in 1956. In May 2017, Niinistö announced that he would seek reelection in the 2018 presidential election, running as an Independent candidate. The NCP and Christian Democrats (KD) supported his candidacy. He won reelection in the first round on 28 January 2018 with 62.7% of the vote and his second term began on 1 February 2018.

In a 2023 poll conducted by MTV Uutiset, Niinistö was ranked as Finland's greatest president of all time.