Government and ministries
  • Suomi
  • Svenska
  • English
Media
Skip to Content
Search page »
  •  Front page
  • Current issues
    • Press releases
    • News
    • Speeches
    • Webcasts
    • Social Media Newsroom
    • Themes
      • Government formation talks 2019
      • State funeral of former President of the Republic Mauno Koivisto
      • Migration
      • Open house 2019
    • Sign up
  • Rinne's Government
    • Ministers
      • Prime Minister
      • Minister of Economic Affairs
      • Minister for European Affairs
      • Minister for Foreign Affairs
      • Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade
      • Minister of Justice
      • Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality
      • Minister of the Interior
      • Minister of Defence
      • Minister of Finance
      • Minister of Local Government and Ownership Steering
      • Minister of Education
      • Minister of Science and Culture
      • Minister of Agriculture and Forestry
      • Minister of Transport and Communications
      • Minister of Employment
      • Minister of Social Affairs and Health
      • Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services
      • Minister of the Environment and Climate Change
    • State Secretaries to the Ministers
    • Special Advisers to the Ministers
    • Government Programme
      • 1 Introduction
        • 1.1 Our pledges to citizens on policy reforms
      • 2 Finland as a sustainable economy
        • 2.1 Taxation in a changing world
      • 3 Strategic themes
        • 3.1 Carbon neutral Finland that protects biodiversity
          • 3.1.1 Housing policy
        • 3.2 Globally influential Finland
          • 3.2.1 Policy on Europe
        • 3.3 Safe and secure Finland built on the rule of law
          • 3.3.1 Strengthening the rule of law
          • 3.3.2 Defence policy
        • 3.4 Dynamic and thriving Finland
          • 3.4.1 Transport network development
          • 3.4.2 Agriculture
        • 3.5 Finland built on trust and labour market equality
        • 3.6 Fair, equal and inclusive Finland
          • 3.6.1 Restructuring of health and social services
          • 3.6.2 Reforming social security
        • 3.7 Finland that promotes competence, education, culture and innovation
          • 3.7.1 Youth, culture and sport
      • 4 Governance
        • 4.1 Management of the strategic Government Programme
        • 4.2 Parliamentary committees
        • 4.3 Strategic ministerial working groups
        • 4.4 Ownership policy
        • 4.5 Best public administration in the world
        • 4.6 Government's communications strategy
      • Annexes
        • Annex 1. Summary of discretionary changes in permanent expenditure
        • Annex 2. One-off future-oriented investments
        • Annex 3. Spending limits rule
        • Annex 4. Work to combat the grey economy
        • Annex 5. Measures to combat international tax evasion and aggressive tax planning
        • Annex 6. Entries in meeting minutes
        • Annex 7. Memo of the working group on Europe regarding the key themes of Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union
        • Annex 8. Ideas of the working group on transport to develop land use, housing and transport
        • Annex 9. Fostering democracy
        • Annex 10. Impacts of benefit increases
        • Annex 11. Tables, Annex 1
        • Annex 12. One-off future-oriented investments, tables, Annex 2
      • Government communications strategy
        • Introduction
        • 1 Values in government communications
        • 2 Government’s core messages
        • 3 Cooperation in communications
        • 4 Measuring progress in achieving objectives
    • Division of responsibilities between ministers
    • Ministerial Committees
    • Ministerial working groups
    • Ministerial pay and allowances
    • Ministers and Parliament
    • Library Tour
  • About the Government
    • Appointment and organisation
    • How does the Government work?
      • Chancellor of Justice
      • Activities of the caretaker government
    • Role of the Prime Minister
    • Ministerial committees
    • Informal government meetings and ministerial working groups
    • EU affairs and the Finnish government
    • The Government and Parliament
    • Governments and Ministers since 1917
      • Ministers in Finland by gender
      • Governments' term in office
      • Prime Minister's age on the date of appointment
      • Finland's youngest and oldest ministers
    • History
      • Government Programmes since 1917
    • Premises
      • Government Palace
      • House of the Estates
      • Government Banquet Hall
      • Prime Minister's Official Residence
      • Königstedt Manor
      • Presidential portraits
  • Contact
    • Ministries
      • Safety information for visitors
    • State Secretaries to the Ministers
    • Special Advisers to the Ministers
    • Data protection
      • Request for personal data
    • Feedback
    • Ministries Communication deparment contact

Contact

Menu
Finnish Government
Search page »
  • Front pageFront page
  • Current issues
  • Rinne's Government
  • About the Government
  • Contact
  • en/
  • About the Government/
  • History/
  • Governments and Ministers since 1917/
  • Women as ministers in independent Finland/
  • Liisa Hyssälä/
« All female ministers
Cover photo of minister
“I have inherited the strong genes of a family of strong women, especially from my grandmother. These include the ethos of coping: one had to manage, be competent and keep going.”

Minister Liisa Hyssälä being interviewed on the MTV3 channel on the national preparedness plan for an influenza pandemic on 15 March 2006. Prime Minister's Office

Liisa Hyssälä

Liisa Marja Hyssälä was the first woman to serve as Director General of Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland.

Liisa Hyssälä first completed a Master’s degree in political science in 1974, but decided to change to the field of dentistry. She received her doctorate in 1992. Before entering politics, Hyssälä worked as a private dentist and as a public health instructor and researcher at the University of Turku.

Hyssälä was elected to Parliament for the first time in 1995. She belonged among others to the Social Affairs and Health Committee and the Finnish Delegation to the Nordic Council. Hyssälä, who was relatively unknown to the general public, served as Minister of Health and Social Services in the Jäätteenmäki Government and continued in that post in the first Vanhanen Government.

She was Minister of Social Affairs and Health in the second Vanhanen Government. During Hyssälä’s term as minister, legislation on access to healthcare prescribing a waiting-time guarantee system was adopted, and transfer of the National Agency for Medicines (currently the Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea) from Helsinki to Kuopio was prepared. She also made decisions on guarantee pensions and the reference price system for medicines.

Hyssälä’s term as minister was interrupted when she was selected to be Director General of Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, in 2010. She was the first woman to hold this post. As Director General, Hyssälä launched public debate on many themes, including the housing allowance system and the system of reimbursement for medical expenses. She retired from Kela at the end of 2016 but soon became a senior advisor at Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund. She also founded her own company so that she could work with healthcare and social issues.

Hyssälä served on the Municipal Council of the Municipality of Lieto from 1993 to 2008 and as vice-chairwoman of the Managing Board of the Regional Council of Southwest Finland from 1996 to 2003. She has had positions of trust on the Council and the Board of the Finnish Dental Association. In 1995–1996 and 1997–1998, Hyssälä was chairwoman of the Southwest Finland District of the Women’s Organisation of the Centre Party.

2595Days in office

Date and place of birth: 18.12.1948 Ii

Political party: Keskusta

Ministerial posts

  • 17.4.2003 - 24.6.2003
    Minister of Health and Social Services, Keskusta
  • 24.6.2003 - 19.4.2007
    Minister of Health and Social Services, Keskusta
  • 19.4.2007 - 24.5.2010
    Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Keskusta
basic public services Kela Ministry of Social Affairs and Health dentists directors general managers and executives

Photos

Photos
Liisa Hyssälä in 1995. Kari Hulkko/The Labour Archives

Texts by: Annika Puukka, Nevelyn Media Oy and Prime Minister’s Office

Finnish Government
Valtioneuvosto | Statsrådet

Snellmaninkatu 1 A, Helsinki PO Box 23

FI-00023 Government, Finland

Tel. +358 295 16001

About the site

Sitemap

Questions and feedback