Tarja Halonen was born on 24 December 1943 in the district of Kallio, Helsinki, traditionally a working-class area, the daughter of Vieno Olavi Halonen and Lyyli Elina Loimola. She obtained a Master of Laws degree from the University of Helsinki in 1968. Halonen served as the Social Affairs Secretary and General Secretary of the National Union of Students (SYL) from 1969 to 1970 and, partly due to having held this position, she obtained a post as a lawyer with the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) from 1970 to 1974. She joined the Social Democratic Party in 1971.
In 1974 Prime Minister Kalevi Sorsa appointed Halonen as a parliamentary secretary. She became acquainted with the world of Finnish politics and government and began her political career, going on to hold a number of public offices. From 1975 until 1996, she was a member of Helsinki City Council. Additionally, in 1979 she was elected to Parliament as a member for the Helsinki constituency. She served as a member of Parliament until her inauguration as President in 2000. In the Parliament her first formal post was as Chairman of the Social Committee from 1984 to 1987.
In 1987, Halonen was appointed Minister of Social Affairs and Health in the government of Prime Minister Harri Holkeri, a position she held until 1990. In addition to this, she served as Minister of Nordic Cooperation from 1989 until 1991, the same year in which she was also appointed chairman of the International Solidarity Foundation, a post she relinquished in 2000. From 1990 to 1991 she served as Minister of Justice, and from 1995 until her election as President she served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the government of her Social Democratic colleague Paavo Lipponen [1].