IN ENGLISH

A father, a global citizen, and the chairman of International Kokoomus of Espoo

IMPORTANT! Even if you are not a Finnish citizen, as long as you are above the age of 18 on Sunday the 13th of April 2025, you may be eligible to vote in the double elections for Espoo City and Länsi-Uusimaa wellbeing area councils! You have the right if you have lived in Finland for more than 2 years and 51 days. Or if you have another EU country's citizenship, the limit is only 51 days. Find out more plus instructions at Espoo city election info website.

Of all things I may or may not be, first and foremost, I am a father. To three delightful children in pre-school and primary school ages who, on both sides of year 2030, will attend either good or bad schools in safe or unsafe communities, in 2040s start families and enter the workforce during good or poor times of healthcare and employment, and by the 2050s will first-hand experience the successes and failures of how we handle the emerging ecological crises. All of this is why, after 20 years of taking interest from the sidelines, I became personally active in politics in 2021 and haven’t regretted or looked back since.

I’ve intensely enjoyed all learning, networking, and engaging discussions and will continue to do so. I have summarized my learnings in the statement: “Prosperity equals responsibility”. Weather we seek prosperity in form of wealth, family, peace, friendship, health, clean nature, quality of life, education or arts and aesthetics, the common denominator is that the people and the decision makers have to acknowledge their responsibility and act accordingly. Such responsibility means crafting a balance in society for everyone, not forcing ideological agendas or spewing hate online.

I was born in Kirkkonummi, in 1976, where I lived for the first 17 years of my life, in a community built around a sugar factory. After that I relocated to the USA with my family and lived for a total of two years in Iowa and Connecticut. After coming back to Finland and completing my military service, Espoo has been my home for more than 80% of my adult life. Currently I live in Espoonlahti, enjoying the unbeatable quality of life offered by the combination of services of Lippulaiva, the subway, the seafront, and the rich nature. Besides the US where I visited 40 different states, I have spent several months in India and Türkiye and visited 40+ countries – a list I am always enthusiastic to expand.

In addition to my children and politics, my life includes working at Aalto University in research commercialization and singing in the internationally acclaimed Polytech Choir male chorus. In a period of time that I joke about being "my previous life," I worked for 15 years as an entrepreneur in entertainment promotion. The events I organized for students at the Otaniemi campus as a hobby, turned in to a full-time profession expanding to concert halls across Finland, three out of the four largest national TV channels, promoting Netflix’s top stand-up stars and the world's leading classical musicians in Finland, up to the scale of the Hartwall Arena. I do not think there is another engineer who has made one million Finns laugh – on purpose!

In my politically active years, I have dived headfirst into any challenge that has been available without pushing or scheming. At the turn of 2024-2025 I completed my third term on the board of National Coalition Espoonlahti chapter, and in the start of 2025 founded and was elected chairman of International Kokoomus of Espoo. In 2024-2025 I also serve as a deputy board member of Espoo National Coalition Party, and its various networks and task groups. I served a two-year term as co-chair of the party's environmental network alongside MP Saara-Sofia Sirén, during which I also had the opportunity to visit Brussels and the EU Parliament. Having been passionate about internationalism and equality since childhood, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my position as a member of City of Espoo Equality Committee for the past three years. As of October 2024, I’ll serve until the end of the electoral term as a member of Espoo Advisory Board for Promotion of Integration. Alongside these positions of trust, I’ve worked in various election campaigns of both the party and the teams of MP Jarno Limnéll and Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen and president Alexander Stubb.

I believe there is high demand in politics for someone like me to move from behind the scenes to council positions, also from the viewpoint of the international community. Firstly, having been an immigrant myself, my agenda with immigration is neither racist nor naïve. Instead, I want to genuinely involve people from all backgrounds to equal and respectful dialogue where both the strengths and weaknesses are openly addressed, opportunities maximized, and threats minimized. This is something that I am willing to do with any and all of the 156 nationalities living in Espoo, without prejudice. I am also capable of cross-party cooperation and have no interest in picking fights. And I have proof instead of only having promises; with my own initiative, I’ve helped set up a series of events where representatives from all parties regularly meet at my local library for open discussions. I’ve also worked in cross-party cooperation to develop democracy-promoting campaign materials for the 2024 EU elections. I also offer the opposite of sensationalist clickbait headlines; an ability to create and present clear and compelling visions for a positive future, where technology, humanism, and politics join hands to create unprecedented prosperity that will benefit people in all income levels and demographics. With my engineering education and entrepreneurial experience, I have a good understanding of measuring performance and acting on results, plus a quick grasp of numbers, whether they involve money or statistics, in hundreds of billions in EU budgets, or cents per individual in local matters.

I have been nominated by my party for April 2025 to serve as a candidate in both Espoo City Council and the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County Council elections. I hereby make a promise that I will not now or later seek to hold positions in these both plus the Parliament at the same time. Now is the time for me to get acquainted with the council level, increase my experience, knowledge and understanding, and only years later draw conclusions about larger elections. You can easily find me at events of the Espoonlahti or Espoo National Coalition or reach me via email (below) or on Facebook. Let’s meet up and talk!