Tarja Kaarina Halonen (pronounced [ˈtɑrjɑ (ˈkɑːrinɑ) ˈhɑlonen] ⓘ, born 24 December 1943) is a Finnish politician who served as the 11th president of Finland, and the first and to date only woman to hold the position, from 2000 to 2012.

She first rose to prominence as a lawyer with the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), and as the Prime Minister's parliamentary secretary (1974–1975) and a member of the City Council of Helsinki (1977–1996).

Ineligible to run in the 2012 presidential elections because of term limits, Halonen left office on 1 March 2012 and was succeeded by Niinistö.

In 2006, she was mentioned by various commentators as a potential candidate for the United Nations Secretary-General selection, but she denied an interest at that time, stating that she wanted to finish her term as president before thinking about other career options.

[7] Tarja Halonen was born on 24 December 1943 in the district of Kallio, which at the time was a traditional working-class area in central Helsinki.

Her mother Lyyli Elina Loimola was a set-dresser and her father Vieno Olavi Halonen worked as a welder.

[9] After the divorce, in 1950, Lyyli Halonen married her new husband Thure Forss, who worked as an electrician and was very active in the working-class community.

Halonen later said that her mother was a true survivor, always an extremely active and resilient person who valued good, honest and modest hardworking people.

In early 1970, she was elected to represent Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions in a committee that called for the recognition of East Germany.

In addition to this, she served as Minister for Nordic Cooperation from 1989 to 1991, the same year in which she was also appointed the chairman of the International Solidarity Foundation, a post she relinquished in 2000.

Halonen was a surprising candidate as she did not represent many traditional values: she was known as a left-wing social democratic party member, who lived in a domestic partnership, was a single parent and had resigned from the national church.

[16] On 19 November, the SDP's party council meeting was held; praised as "the president of the whole nation", she was unanimously chosen as the presidential candidate.

In a 2001 interview Halonen said that she was worried about the Russian response if NATO approved membership bids by Baltic countries.

[17] Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga asked what she meant and whether Halonen is actively opposing NATO membership of Baltic countries.

[18] In the Iraqgate scandal, Halonen's advisor Martti Manninen leaked confidential documents to the Centre Party leader Anneli Jäätteenmäki, who had become prime minister.

Over the course of the previous 50 years, the President had only once chosen to not obey the government's consensus, leading to Halonen thusly being accused of cronyism.

[26] At the end of her second term Halonen's presidency and economic views received harsh criticism from Björn Wahlroos, the chairman of the two largest banks in Finland.

She publicly opposed the proposed free trade agreement of the European Economic Community in 1973, by signing a petition along with 500 other prominent social democrats and socialists.

Otherwise she was loyal[citation needed] to President Kekkonen's foreign policy, which was founded on Finnish neutrality and good relations with the Soviet Union.

Markku Salomaa's 2021 book Tarza – Pasifistin odysseia voimapolitiikan maailmassa states that Chancellor Angela Merkel had a very negative attitude towards Halonen, precisely because of her pro-Soviet and far-left wing world of ideas.

"[29] In an interview with STT, Halonen herself has completely rejected the gossip, saying: "I have not given any May Day speech in Hakaniemi in 1976, nor can the text be found in the Informant.

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, when Finnish public opinion had turned, and the Parliament had debated the issue and decided, in favor of submitting an application for NATO membership, Halonen also voiced her support on Twitter, calling the move "a necessary measure in the changed security situation in Europe".

Halonen has publicly supported the involvement of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) in politics.

[40] On 26 August 2000, Halonen married her longtime partner, Dr. Pentti Arajärvi, in a civil ceremony at her official residence, Mäntyniemi, after a relationship of more than fifteen years.

[48] Former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves[49] and Finnish author Sofi Oksanen[50] have strongly criticized Halonen for perceived unwillingness to publicly condemn Russia’s hostilities in the past.

After joking about this for several months (which led to his endorsement of her campaign), O'Brien travelled to Finland, appeared on several television shows and met President Halonen.