Minister of Science and Culture Mari-Leena Talvitie

The National Coalition Party

Ministry of Education and Culture

Minister of Science and Culture Talvitie is responsible for matters covered by the Department for Higher Education and Science Policy and the Department for Art and Cultural Policy, apart from religious affairs.

Profile

Born on 11 June 1980 in Vaasa, Mari-Leena Talvitie (nee Kairivaara) grew up in a family of entrepreneurs in South Ostrobothnia. Having completed her matriculation examination at the general upper secondary school of Ilmajoki in 1999, she then studied at the University of Oulu and graduated as a Master of Science in environmental technology in 2010.

Talvitie first became a Member of Parliament from the electoral district of Oulu in 2015. Since then, she has served as Vice-Chair of the Administration Committee and been a member of various parliamentary committees, such as the Education and Culture Committee, the Environment Committee and the Legal Affairs Committee. Talvitie has been a Member of the Finnish Delegation to the Arctic Parliamentary Conference throughout her years as a Member of Parliament. She has also served as vice-chair of the National Coalition Party's parliamentary group.

Over the course of her political career, she has held the position of vice-chair of the National Coalition Party and chair of the party council of the National Coalition Party. Talvitie has been a member of the Oulu City Council since 2005. She has also chaired the Oulu City Executive, Oulu City Council, Oulu Regional Environmental Committee, Educational Consortium OSAO, and North Ostrobothnia Regional Assembly. Talvitie was also chair of the executive board of the Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland TEK.

Before being elected to Parliament, Talvitie worked in the food industry and as an assistant to several Members of Parliament.

She has a husband and two daughters. Talvitie, who was a girl scout in her youth, enjoys physical exercise, outdoor activities and various cultural pursuits.