She was a member of the Finnish parliament between 1983 and 1989, Governor of the Province of
Uusimaa between 1990 and 1996 and first female City Manager of
Helsinki between 1996 and 2005. She was a
Member of the European Parliament in 2009. She has B.Sc. (Econ.) from
Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration. She is Honorary Doctorate of the College of Veterinary Medicine (1995) and Honorary Doctorate of
Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration (2001). She was also married to Finnish pop singer, Matti "
Fredi" Siitonen and the mother of
Hanna-Riikka Siitonen, a Finnish singer and actress, and Petri Siitonen, a son that she had from a previous relationship. ==EU parliament memberships in (2009)==