Riikka Purra

Riikka Katriina Purra[1] (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈriːkːɑ ˈkɑtriːnɑ ˈpurːɑ]; born 13 June 1977) is a Finnish politician, currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Finns Party for the Uusimaa constituency.[2] In August 2021 she was elected the new leader of the party, after Jussi Halla-aho.[3]

Riikka Purra
Purra in May 2023
Leader of the Finns Party
Assumed office
14 August 2021
Preceded byJussi Halla-aho
Member of Parliament
for Uusimaa
Assumed office
17 April 2019
Personal details
Born (1977-06-13) 13 June 1977
Pirkkala, Pirkanmaa, Finland
Political partyFinns Party
SpouseMikko Välimaa
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Turku

Political career

In 2016, Purra joined the Finns Party as a political planner. She served as a campaign manager for the presidential candidate Laura Huhtasaari in the 2018 Finnish presidential election.[4]

She was elected as a Member of Parliament from the constituency of Uusimaa in the June 2019 election with 5,960 votes and became the first deputy leader of the Finns party.[5]

In March 2021, she criticised the government for overspending, when a 3 billion euro support package for municipalities was formed during the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland.[6]

In July 2021, Purra announced she would be running for the Finns Party leadership, aiming to become the first woman to lead the party. She declared that the party would never participate in a government where it would not be able to significantly change Finnish immigration policy.[7] She was elected leader of the party on August 14, 2021, at the party meeting in Seinäjoki.[3]

She wants to fight "harmful" immigration from developing countries, is in favour of a policy of economic austerity.[8]

Personal life

Purra is married and has two children. Purra lives with her family in Kirkkonummi,[9] where the local association belongs to the Finns Party.[10] She says her views on immigration were affected after she was sexually harassed in her early teens by persons with a refugee background, while she was living in Tampere.[11] She became interested in immigration policy when she read Jussi Halla-aho's blog Scripta and participated in discussions on Internet forums.[12]

Purra has a Master's degree in political science and she is completing her PhD studies on international politics at the University of Turku. She worked as a teacher and researcher before entering politics.[13][14]

References
  1. "Puoluerekisteriin merkityt puolueet ja niiden nimenkirjoittajat" (PDF) (in Finnish). Ministry of Justice. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  2. Profile as a Member of the Parliament of Finland
  3. "Suora lähetys: Riikka Purra on perussuomalaisten uusi puheenjohtaja". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 13 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  4. "Yle seurasi perussuomalaisten puoluekokousta Tampereella – Halla-aho jatkaa puheenjohtajana". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  5. "Ylen Vaalikone 2019 - Yles Valkompass 2019". vaalikone.yle.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  6. "Finns Party vice-chair: Government overspent on outsized Covid support for municipalities". Yle. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  7. "MP Purra joins Finns Party leadership race". Yle. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  8. "Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin concedes election". CNN. Reuters. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  9. "Kotiliesi: Äidin alkoholismin varjossa Riikka Purra kasvoi suorittajaksi, jolla on halu kontrolloida kaikkea: "Selviydyn kaikesta"". Seura (in Finnish). 17 February 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  10. Salo, Jussi (8 February 2023). "Perussuomalaisten Riikka Purra Kirkkonummella: – Toimeentulo, talous ja turvallisuus kuntoon". Kirkkonummen Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  11. Koivisto, Matti (7 August 2021). "Kuka on perussuomalaisten puheenjohtajaehdokas Riikka Purra? Aloitti työnsä puolueessa keskellä kaaosta, teini-iän kokemukset vaikuttivat ajatuksiin maahanmuutosta". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  12. Nurmi, Lauri (14 August 2021). "IL-erikoishaastattelu: Äidin kuolema mullisti Riikka Purran elämän 12-vuotiaana – "se muutti kaiken"". Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  13. Jantunen, Salla (30 August 2019). "Perussuomalaiset eivät avaisi rahahanoja korkeakouluille, mutta peruskoulussa olisi korjaamisen varaa – "Ongelmia ei korjata vain rahalla"". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  14. Karvala, Kreeta (9 July 2021). "Tällainen on perussuomalaisten puheenjohtajakisaan lähtevä Riikka Purra". Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 1 April 2023.
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