Tarja Halonen

Tarja Kaarina Halonen (born December 24, 1943) is a Finnish lawyer and politician. She has been the President of Finland since February 6, 2000.

Gay and lesbian issues

In 1980-1981 Tarja Halonen served as the chairman of SETA (Seksuaalinen Tasavertaisuus RY, Sexual Equality), the main gay and lesbian rights organisation in Finland. When she became Minister for Justice in 1990, there were high hopes among SETA members that she would stand up for gay rights, but many were disappointed when Halonen seemingly did nothing to advance their cause. http://www.helsinki.fi/~eisaksso/tarja.html

Related Topics:
1980 - 1981 - Chairman - SETA - Gay - Lesbian - 1990

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In 2003, a widely publicised incident occurred when member of parliament Tony Halme mistakenly referred to Tarja Halonen as a lesbian. In a radio interview, Halme referred to his background of growing up "on the streets", and said : "We have a lesbian as president and me as parliamentarian. Everything seems possible." http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=3417 Although Halme intended to refer to social mobility with his comment, it has been universally interpreted as an insult, both by the media and by Halonen's office, which considered legal action agaist Halme. Halme later apologized for his comments being misunderstood. http://ranneliike.net/artikkelit.php?alue=tapaushalme&juttu=erikoiset The text of the apology makes it clear that Halme did not intend to insult Halonen, but both the media and all public commentators simply assumed that calling a heterosexual person a lesbian must be intended as an insult. Halonen did nothing to counteract the idea that being called a lesbian is an insult, despite her background in the sexual equality movement.

Related Topics:
2003 - Tony Halme

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