It has been questioned whether President Tarja Halonen represented only Finland or the entire EU when she met with President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

In a cohabitation situation as with Matti Vanhanen's recent second government right-wing government and left-wing President Tarja Halonen, there can be friction between government ministers and the president.

In the second round, Halonen narrowly defeated her opponent with 51. 6 % against 48. 4 % thus becoming Finland's first female President.

American talk show host Conan O ' Brien made recurring jokes about Halonen on his show, Late Night with Conan O ' Brien, because of his own resemblance to her.

They faced each other in a runoff on 29 January 2006, where Halonen was re-elected with 51. 8 % of the vote against Mr. Niinistö's 48. 2 %.

Tarja Halonen ( right ) meeting with the third President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev and the then Prime Minister of Finland Mari Kiviniemi ( left ) in 2010.

He qualified for the second round runoff as one of the top two candidates in the first round, but was defeated by the incumbent Tarja Halonen with 51. 8 % of the vote against his 48. 2 %.

Autti attended the event with Mattila, where they met the President, Tarja Halonen — who was re-elected for a second term on January 29, 2006 — and her husband Pentti Arajävi.

File: Tarja Halonen 2003. jpg | Tarja Halonen candidate of the Social Democratic Party of Finland, winner of 1st round with 46. 3 % of votes.

The Green League's candidate Heidi Hautala suggested that the President be completely stripped of all powers relating to foreign affairs and foreign policy, but this proposal met with fierce resistance from the three candidates of the largest parties – Tarja Halonen, Matti Vanhanen and Sauli Niinistö.

* 1943 – Tarja Halonen, President of Finland

In 2004, Finnish President Tarja Halonen visited Nicaragua where she stated " The Finnish government and Parliament have decided that Nicaragua is one of the main targets of Finnish development aid.

Tarja Kaarina Halonen (; born 24 December 1943 ) was the 11th President of Finland, serving from 2000 to 2012.

Halonen announced in 1999 that she wished to stand as a candidate for President in the 2000 Presidential elections.

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

During the past 50 years, only once the President has not obeyed the Council of State consensus and Halonen was accused of cronyism.

President Halonen says her interests include art history, the theatre and swimming.

On 26 August 2000, President 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.

** Tarja Halonen, President of Finland

Esko Aho lost the bid for President of Finland to Tarja Halonen in 2000.

Ahtisaari invited Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Stubb and others to his Nobel event, but not President Halonen.

He held the position of Minister of Trade and Industry in Lipponen's 2nd government, and became the Minister for Foreign Affairs after Tarja Halonen was elected the President of Finland.

As the Centre Party candidate, Vanhanen challenged President Tarja Halonen in the 2006 Finnish presidential election.

He is the husband of Tarja Halonen, who was the President of Finland between 2000 and 2012.

" Finnish President Tarja Halonen stated, " The Finnish nation lost in Lennart Meri a close and sincere friend and the world, a great statesman who was one of the leading architects of the post-Cold War world.

In November 2003, the Simon Wiesenthal Center submitted an official request to Finnish President Tarja Halonen for a full-scale investigation by the Finnish authorities of the prisoner exchange In the subsequent study by Professor Heikki Ylikangas it turned out that about 2000 of the exchanged prisoners joined the Wehrmacht, but among the rest there were about 500 political officers or politically dangerous persons, who most likely perished in concentration camps.

After long and difficult government-forming negotiations, he was elected Prime Minister by the Finnish Parliament, and his government of six parties ( National Coalition, Social Democrats, Left Alliance, Greens, Swedish People's Party and Christian Democrats ) was formally appointed by President Tarja Halonen on June 22, 2011.

He represented the National Coalition Party, challenging the incumbent President Tarja Halonen.

Lordi were congratulated on their victory by both Finnish President Tarja Halonen and Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen.

This was reversed in the 2000s, when Tarja Halonen and Erkki Tuomioja made Finland's official policy to resist other EU members ' plans for common defense.

However, Halonen allowed Finland to join European Union Battlegroups in 2006 and the NATO Response Force in 2008.

The first female to hold the office, Halonen had previously been a member of the parliament from 1979 to 2000 until her election to the presidency.

Halonen is a graduate of the University of Helsinki, where she studied law from 1963 to 1968.

Halonen served in the parliament of Finland for six terms, from 1979 to 2000, representing the constituency of Helsinki.

Ineligible to run in the 2012 presidential elections due to term limits, Halonen left office on 1 March 2012.

Halonen is widely known for her interest in human rights issues.

In 1980 – 81 Halonen served as the chairman of SETA, the main LGBT rights organization in Finland.

Halonen is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an International network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.

5-year-old Tarja Halonen in 1948.

Tarja Halonen was born on 24 December 1943 in the district of Kallio which is 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.

Vieno Halonen was at the frontline and Lyyli Halonen was working in a shoe factory when their daughter was born.

After the war the couple decided to get a divorce, and 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.

When she entered politics, Halonen stated that these are also the qualities and attributes she respects in people.

In 1974 Prime Minister Kalevi Sorsa appointed Halonen as his parliamentary secretary.

Working in the Parliament made Halonen even more interested in politics and she decided to take part in the municipal elections of 1976.

In 1987, Halonen was appointed by Prime Minister Harri Holkeri to be the Minister of Social Affairs and Health in the government, a position she held until 1990.