Prime Minister Petteri Orpo

The National Coalition Party

Prime Minister's Office

Prime Minister Orpo directs the activities of the Government and coordinates the preparation and consideration of matters that fall within the Government’s mandate. He is also responsible for coordinating work between the Government and Parliament. As Prime Minister, Orpo oversees and directs the plenary sessions of the Government, represents Finland in the European Union and serves as chair of the statutory ministerial committees. Prime Minister Orpo is also the head of the Prime Minister's Office. 

Profile

Petteri Orpo was born on 3 November 1969 in Köyliö in the Satakunta region of Finland. He now lives with his family in Turku.

Orpo completed his matriculation examination at Säkylä upper secondary school and first became involved in political activities while studying at the University of Turku. He holds a Master’s degree in social sciences with a major in economics, and his Master’s thesis focused on service provision at the municipal level. In 1998, he left his position as Secretary-General of the National Union of Finnish Students to become Director of the Southwest Finland branch of the National Coalition Party.

Orpo was first elected as a Member of Parliament in the 2007 elections. He has served on several committees, including the Foreign Affairs, Finance and Environment Committees and the Parliamentary Office Committee. Orpo served as Chair of the National Coalition Party parliamentary group in 2012–2014.

Prior to serving as Prime Minister, Orpo held three different positions as a member of two Governments. “Every politician’s goal is to become a member of the Government, so being elected as a minister in the spring of 2014 was a great moment for me. In the years that followed, I served my country in three instructive and rewarding ministerial positions,” Orpo says on his website.

Petteri Orpo served as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in Alexander Stubb’s Government in 2014–2015. As a member of Juha Sipilä’s Government, he first served as Minister of the Interior in 2015–2016 and then as Minister of Finance in 2016–2019. Orpo was elected Leader of the National Coalition Party at the party conference in summer 2016. 

Orpo and his wife Niina have two children and two Italian water dogs, Pessi and Taavi. Orpo’s hobbies include exercising, hunting, fishing and reading. The family also enjoy spending time at their summer cottage in Kainuu.