Jaakko Itälä
Finnish politician (1933–2017)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jaakko Itälä (1933–2017) was a Finnish politician. He served as the minister of education for two terms in the 1970s. He was also a member of the Parliament and head of the Liberal People's Party.
Jaakko Itälä | |
|---|---|
| |
| Chairman of the Liberal People's Party | |
| In office 1978–1982 | |
| Minister of Education | |
| In office 1970–1971 | |
| In office 1978–1979 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 May 1933 Porvoo, Finland |
| Died | 9 November 2017 (aged 84) Helsinki, Finland |
| Party | Liberal People's Party |
| Spouse | Helena Itälä |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Helsinki |
Early life and education
Itälä was born in Porvoo on 7 May 1933.[1] He graduated from the University of Helsinki receiving a degree in economics.[2] During his university studies he was a contributor to the student newspaper Ylioppilaslehti.[2]
Career and activities
Following his graduation Itälä founded a middle school in Yläne and directed it.[2] He became an advertising manager and textbook editor at the publishing house K. J. Gummerus in 1958.[2] He continued to write articles in various publications often dealing with the education reform.[2]
In the 1960s Itälä became the general secretary of the school reform committee which developed a model for the elementary schools and headed the committee in late 1960s.[3] During his term he contributed to the basic education reform in Finland.[4][5] In 1968 Itälä was named as executive director of the Mannerheim Children's Protection Association.[3]
Itälä served as minister of education for two terms: from 1970 to 1971 and from 1978 to 1979.[4] He was elected to the Parliament in 1979 obtaining the second highest vote nationwide in the elections.[3][6] He served at the Parliament until 1983.[3] He led the Liberal People's Party between 1978 and 1982.[4]
Itälä was the secretary general of Mannerheim Children's Protection Association from 1990 to 1997.[2]
