Anneli Taina was born on June 21, 1951, in Imatra, Finland, which is located on the border with Russia in the east of the country.

She then worked for ten years between 1977 and 1987 as a social worker in Tampere, Southern Finland.

During this time, she won a seat on the Tampere City Council, and was a school board member.

as part of her council role, she sat on the Urban Planning Committee.

[2] This was only the second time that a woman had been named as a Minister of Defence in Finland, after Elisabeth Rehn, who held the post earlier in 1995.