Oras in English

Welcome to my virtual home. I am Oras Tynkkynen, a 32-year-old Green member of parliament, city councillor, activist and MSSc (major in journalism) living in Tampere, Finland.

Currently I represent the Greens in the parliament environment committee. I am also in charge of climate and energy policy in the Green parliamentary group and chair the party’s transport policy group. I have also been appointed climate policy specialist in the Prime Minister’s Office.

I first meddled with politics in local elections in 1996 as an 18-year-old high school student. Parliamentary elections I contested for the first time when I was 21. In 2003 I became a deputy member of parliament. When my predecessor Satu Hassi was elected to the European Parliament in summer 2004, I became the youngest and first openly gay member of the Finnish parliament.

I have been involved in non-governmental organisations ever since I was about 14. In 1996 I was one of the founding members of Friends of the Earth Finland and served as a vice-chairperson for two years. I was also one of the activists who first applied the Reclaim the Streets party concept in Finland.

I moved to Tampere after living for 15 years in Jyväskylä to study in the Waldorf high school. School was followed by a one-year stint as a publications editor in the Service Centre for Development Cooperation in Helsinki. In spring 2000 I lived three months in New Delhi, India. I spent the summer 2003 working for the Finnish Broadcasting Company radio news department.

There is not much spare time left over from work. When I do have time, I like to go to parties, hang out with friends, travel, listen to music, watch movies, cook and read. To balance all the long hours spent sitting at the computer or in meetings, I walk a lot, ride a bike and exercise at the gym.

I try to make an effort to minimise my impact on the environment. I don’t drive a car, prefer organic food and buy green electricity. I have been a vegetarian for more than half of my life. I buy mostly second-hand clothes, recycle, try to conserve energy and support environmental organisations.

Some things I like: David Lynch movies, wind turbines, lentil soup, Barbapapa comics, Björk, Japanese language, clubbing, fast trains, Holland and Aphex Twin.

Contact information
Oras Tynkkynen
Parliament of Finland
FI-00102 HELSINKI
FINLAND
phone +358 50 512 1584
e-mail firstname.lastname@parliament.fi

Assistant in the parliament (meetings, interviews and any issues dealing with the calendar)
Heikki Korpela
phone +358 9 432 4019
e-mail firstname.lastname@parliament.fi

More
Curriculum Vitae
12 Finnish records you should check out

External links about Oras
MP profile
Wikipedia article