Teuvo Hakkarainen

Teuvo Hakkarainen (born 12 April 1960 in Viitasaari) is a Finnish politician and member of the European Parliament, representing the Finns Party. Before being elected to the European Parliament in the 2019 election, he had been a member of the Finnish Parliament since 2011.[1]

Teuvo Hakkarainen
Member of the European Parliament
Assumed office
2 July 2019
Member of Finnish Parliament
for Central Finland
In office
20 April 2011 – 2 July 2019
Personal details
Born (1960-04-12) 12 April 1960
Viitasaari, Central Finland, Finland
NationalityFinnish
Political partyFinns Party
Websitewww.teuvohakkarainen.fi

On 10 June 2017, Hakkarainen was elected the Second Vice Chairman of the Finns Party.[2] He served in the position until December 2017, when Hakkarainen resigned the post after he had sexually harassed fellow MP.[3]

Views and comments

Sexual minorities

In May 2011, Hakkarainen was talking to junior high school students. When some students asked Hakkarainen's opinion about gay adoptions, he told students that "if two gays have a child, the child would become a double gay", and said that he did so jokingly because he would rather answer questions regarding government talks.[4]

In October 2011, Hakkarainen told the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat that homosexuals, lesbians and Somalis ought to be deported to the Åland Islands to form their own society.[5]

Death penalty

On 16 December 2015, a member of Finnish Parliament, a member of Finns Party, Hakkarainen inquired Minister of Justice, also member of the same party, if capital punishment could be re-enacted, referring to the court case against two asylum seekers.[6] They were suspected of 11 murders committed with terrorist intent in Iraq, but were released.[7]

Racism

In April 2011, Hakkarainen openly expressed his opinions towards black people and Muslims in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat. During the interview Hakkarainen used a pejorative word neekeriukko (which translates to male "negro" or "nigger" and is considered as an offensive racial slur). He also made a mocking imitation of the Islamic call to prayer.[8][9]

The Ombudsman for Minorities of Finland, Eva Biaudet, asked the Prosecutor General of Finland to investigate if Hakkarainen may be guilty in some crimes according to the criminal codex for example incitement to ethnic or racial hatred.[10] Later The Finnish Police announced that they did not feel that comments made by Hakkarainen give cause for a criminal investigation. Police proposed to the Prosecutor General that no criminal investigation should be launched, saying that Hakkarainen's comments were an exercise of free speech, and not hate speech.[8] Hakkarainen defended his statements by claiming that he comes from a rural background.[11]

In January 2017, Hakkarainen was convicted of incitement against an ethnic group.[12]

2017 sexual harassment case

In December 2017, Hakkarainen assaulted MP Veera Ruoho in the parliament house. The incident occurred at the parliament café where Ruoho was having a break during a debate, while the Finns Party were celebrating their Christmas party. Ruoho was sitting on a table as Hakkarainen grabbed her neck from behind and forcefully kissed her in the face. According to Ruoho, she was scared for her neck and her mouth hurt as well. Hakkarainen was under the influence of alcohol.[13][14] He was convicted of assault and sexual harassment for fines of 5,440 euros.[15]

Personal life

He was a co-owner of Haka Wood saw mill in Viitasaari, but sold his shares shortly after being elected.[16] Ilta-Sanomat reported that Haka-Wood has been granted 461 750 euros European union subsidies for a development project which has not be reimbursed fully emphasizing that Hakkarainen is eurosceptic[17] – though most of the national subsidies are forbidden on the bases of the EU regulation. Haka-Wood has and will receive during its development programme funds from European Regional Development Fund. Hakkarainen stated to Helsingin Sanomat that money is paid there and taken from there (the EU funds). Haka-Wood needs the subsidies for a new sorting line.[18] Hakkarainen has worked as a sawmill consultant in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador.[19]

In 1986, Hakkarainen was a member in a gang that broke into the Suomussalmi church and stole 125 eucharist chalices, 24 bottles of sacramental wine and the money offerings. He was given a 9 months suspended sentence.[20]

Sources
  1. "Tässä ovat Suomen mepit! MTV Uutiset esittelee kaikki 13 edustajaa Teuvo Hakkaraisesta Elsi Kataiseen". MTV Uutiset. 26 May 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  2. "Perussuomalaisten maahanmuuttovastaisen siiven värisuora: Teuvo Hakkarainen valittiin 2. varapuheenjohtajaksi". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 10 June 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  3. "Deputy head of nationalist Finns Party quits leadership post after harassment". Reuters. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  4. "Kohu-Hakkaraiselta taas erikoinen lausunto". Iltalehti. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  5. "Finns Party unlikely to punish controversial MP over recent slur". Yle News. 25 October 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  6. "Teuvo Hakkarainen ehdotti täysistunnossa kuolemantuomiota - "Eikö ole oikeus ja kohtuus?"" (in Finnish). Iltalehti. 16 December 2015.
  7. Rimpiläinen, Tuomas (24 May 2017). "Todistajien anonyymiys nousi ratkaisevaan asemaan – Irakilaiskaksoset syyttömiä joukkomurhaan" (in Finnish). Aamulehti. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  8. "Police find no evidence of crime in comments by True Finn MP Hakkarainen". Helsingin Sanomat. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  9. "Timo Soini reprimands new MP". Helsingin Sanomat. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  10. "MTVuutiset.fi". mtvuutiset.fi.
  11. http://www.kauppalehti.fi/5/i/mobiili/kl_mobiili/uutinen.jsp?oid=20110572661
  12. "Three Finns Party politicians in court over online hate speech". Yle News. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  13. Tuesday's papers: Parliament Christmas party mess, Niinistö poll lead and intelligence law latest, Yle News, 19 December 2019, retrieved 26 May 2019
  14. Finns Party's Hakkarainen charged with assaulting and sexually harassing fellow MP, Yle News, 24 April 2018, retrieved 26 May 2019
  15. Finns Party MP gets heftier fine for assault, sexual harassment, Yle News, 23 March 2019, retrieved 26 May 2019
  16. IS: Kansanedustaja Teuvo Hakkarainen luopui sahan osakkeista, Aamulehti, 27 May 2011, archived from the original on May 31, 2011, retrieved 31 May 2011
  17. http://www.iltasanomat.fi/vaalit2011/EU-vastustajan%20firma%20sai%20suurtuen%20EUlta/art-1288385474844.html
  18. http://www.hs.fi/politiikka/artikkeli/Edustaja+Hakkarainen+EU-tuista+Sinne+maksetaan+ja+sielt%C3%A4+otetaan/1135265729616
  19. "Hakkarainen on kulttihahmo Hondurasissa". Iltalehti. 28 Feb 2012. Retrieved 11 Aug 2012.
  20. "Teuvo Hakkarainen varasti ehtoollishopeat kirkosta" (in Finnish). Savon Sanomat. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
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