Paavo Matti Väyrynen, was born on 2 September 1946 in Kemi. He was elected into the Finnish parliament at age 23 and has been playing hard ball on the highest level of Finnish politics ever since.
Over those years it has become clear to all who is the man that carries the biggest set of marbles around the halls of eduskuntatalo*.

Paavo Väyrynen is the best known political brand in Finland by a mile. Indeed, as Mr.Väyrynen’s shrewd tactics and bold political moves have landed him on the front page of the Finnish tabloids frequently, so has the cunning man with the fish eyes steadily cemented his status as the country’s most famous politician and a respected man the whole nation passionately loves to hate.

At the age of 60 Mr.Väyrynen is the minister of foreign trade, an established writer with several books published, he has introduced the word “mediapeli”** to the modern Finnish dictionary and has never done any hard time.

Paavo Being Paavo

 

More used to dodging allegations and scandals, this past Monday the hardest working civil servant in Finland pulled off a narrow escape of a different sort alltogether.

While preparing for a trip to Brussels the good minister sensed something was wrong and sought medical attention. Later that day at the Meilahti hospital Mr.Väyrynen was diagnosed to have suffered a coronary thrombosis.

In the hospital Mr.Väyrynen it was soon clear that death would be no match for the crafty politician this time around. Driven by a strong sense of duty towards his country and a solid commitment to his minister’s salary for the next 4 years, the hard boiled veteran simply refused to give in and is now already half way through a speedy recovery.

Known for both his unyielding and determined nature (as well as a dumbfounding physical resemblance to a baltic herring), the charismatic minister can be expected to keep swindling death out of sheer principle for years to come. The altruistic man of the people who will celebrate his 61^st birthday this September has said he is prepared to keep paying taxes until he reaches 200.

“V” stands for Väyrynen

 

(*) eduskuntatalo = the building in which the Parliament of Finland meets

(**) mediapeli = term conceived by Paavo to describe the both unfortunate and down right unfair treatment he suffered at the hands of the Finnish media during his campaign for the 1994 presidential elections.