Iiro Viinanen

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Iiro Viinanen (born September 27, 1944, Kuopio, Finland) is a Finnish politician. He was a Member of the Finnish Parliament (Eduskunta) from 1983 to 1996. His political party was National Coalition Party. He served as the Minister of Finance from 1991 to 1996.

During his term as a Minister, Finland went through its worst recession in history. As the Minister of Finance in Prime Minister Esko Aho's cabinet he lead strict budget discipline. He stated that unless budget is cut, Finland can no longer borrow money from foreign countries. Reactions towards his actions caused either strong approval or strong disapproval. Some felt he saved the treasury and some felt he ruined the Finnish welfare.

In 1996 he was elected to the CEO of insurance company Pohjola. At the end of 90's he was also member of the board of Nokia, Kone, UPM-Kymmene, YIT, Finnair, and Orion. He served as a vice chairman of Nokia from 1996 to 2000.

He was diagnosed Parkinson's disease in 2000, forcing him to retire.

Preceded by Matti Louekoski

Minister of Finance (Finland) 1991–1996

Succeeded by Sauli Niinistö

Persondata
NAME	Viinanen, Iiro
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Finnish politician
DATE OF BIRTH	September 27, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH	Kuopio, Finland
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH