Minja Koskela Explained

Minja Koskela
Office1:Member of the Parliament of Finland
Constituency1:Helsinki
Term Start1:5 April 2023
Party:Left Alliance
Residence:Herttoniemi
Alma Mater:Sibelius Academy
University of Tampere
Occupation:Musician, author, politician

Minja Koskela (born 1987) is a Finnish musician, author, politician and member of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature. A member of the Left Alliance, she has represented Helsinki since April 2023.[1]

Koskela was born in 1987.[1] Her father was a policeman and her mother a dental hygienist.[2] She has three younger sisters.[2] Aged three, she joined the Päijät-Häme conservatory's play school in her home town of Lahti.[2] In the second year of high school she moved to Helsinki to study at Sibelius High School.[2] After high school she founded the Mitäs työt collective.[2] Koskela studied music at the Sibelius Academy and gender studies at the University of Tampere.[2] She has master's degree in social sciences and a doctorate in music.[1] [3]

Koskela was a music teacher for fiver years before taking a leave of absence to write her dissertation, Democracy Through Pop? Thinking with Intersectionality in Popular Music Education in Finnish Schools (2022).[3] [4] Koskela started writing her social-feminist blog Bluestocking in 2015 and is the author of Ennen kaikkea feministi (2019) and Äidiksi tuleminen (2021).[2] [4] [5]

Koskela was asked by several parties to contest parliamentary elections but declined in order to finish her book.[5] [4] She was political secretary to the Feminist Party group on the City Council of Helsinki.[2] She was a political expert for the Left Alliance before becoming executive director of the Association of Finnish Music Education Schools in 2021.[5] [6] She was elected to the City Council of Helsinki at the 2021 Finnish municipal elections.[3] [5] [7]

Koskela married film director Oskari Sipola in December 2019.[2] [8] She gave birth to a daughter, Else, in 2020 after earlier suffering a miscarriage.[2] [5] The family live in the Herttoniemi suburb of Helsinki.[2] She is a member of the Team Play band.[2] [9] Koskela and Sipola jointly filed for divorce in July 2024.[10]

Election! scope=col
Constituencyscope=col colspan="2"Partyscope=colVotesscope=colResult
2021 municipal[11] Elected
2023 parliamentary[12] Elected

Notes and References

  1. Web site: MPs: Minja Koskela . . 10 April 2023 . Helsinki, Finland .
  2. News: Myllymäki . Laura . Rakenteet, rakenteet ja rakenteet – niistä vasemmistopoliitikko Minja Koskela puhuisi loputtomiin, mutta miltä näyttää feministinen tulevaisuus Ukrainan sodan varjossa? . 10 April 2023 . . 27 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220527054313/https://www.apu.fi/artikkelit/minja-koskela-rakenteet-rakenteet-ja-rakenteet . 27 May 2022 . Helsinki, Finland . fi.
  3. News: Karhu . Otso . Näin Minja Koskela voitti somevaalit ja tavoitti huolestuneen kulttuuriväen: "Häkellyttävän upea tulos" . 10 April 2023 . . 14 June 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230406005514/https://yle.fi/a/3-11982098 . 6 April 2023 . Helsinki, Finland . fi.
  4. News: Vasemmistoliiton poliittinen asiantuntija Minja Koskela kaipaa lisää luokkapuhetta: "Eiväthän luokat ole kadonneet mihinkään" . 10 April 2023 . . 22 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230405192124/https://www.ku.fi/artikkeli/4218477-vasemmistoliiton-poliittinen-asiantuntija-minja-koskela-kaipaa-lisaa-luokkapuhetta-eivathan-luokat-ole-kadonneet-mihinkaan . 5 April 2023 . Helsinki, Finland . fi.
  5. News: Oksanen . Emmi . "Meillä on täällä näitä joka päivä", kätilö sanoi – se hetki mullisti Minja Koskelan elämän . 10 April 2023 . . 29 August 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230406000752/https://www.iltalehti.fi/perheartikkelit/a/83cb7e39-87e9-4ecc-9f8a-c7a23c28619c . 6 April 2023 . Helsinki, Finland . fi.
  6. News: Minja Koskela Suomen musiikkioppilaitosten liiton toiminnanjohtajaksi . 10 April 2023 . . 22 November 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230404200147/https://www.sttinfo.fi/tiedote/minja-koskela-suomen-musiikkioppilaitosten-liiton-toiminnanjohtajaksi?publisherId=69819048&releaseId=69925282 . 4 April 2023 . Helsinki, Finland . fi.
  7. Web site: Helsinki City Councillors . . 10 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221230101817/https://www.hel.fi/helsinki/en/administration/decision/council/members/ . 30 December 2022 . Helsinki, Finland.
  8. News: Hnnila . Lilja . Minja Koskela: Avioero . 28 July 2024 . . 12 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240717183136/https://www.iltalehti.fi/politiikka/a/fe67b8d9-1246-4fd5-be1e-bd9fcc9762fe?_gl=1*ga35sp*_ga*MjExNDE4NjE0MS4xNjk2MzQ0MTMy*_ga_3L539PMN3X*MTcyMTE5NzA0OC4yODYuMS4xNzIxMTk3MDU2LjAuMC4w . 17 July 2024 . Helsinki, Finland . fi.
  9. News: Linkola . Hannu . Levyarvio: Tumma, yksinäinen ja kaunis kokonaisuus – Team Playn Wishes And Desires on kuin kokoelma pienoisnovelleja . 10 April 2023 . Soundi . 26 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220813033757/https://www.soundi.fi/levyarviot/levyarvio-tumma-yksinainen-ja-kaunis-kokonaisuus-team-playn-wishes-and-desires-on-kuin-kokoelma-pienoisnovelleja/ . 13 August 2022 . Tampere, Finland . fi.
  10. News: Pokki . Silja . Minja Koskela: Avioero! . 28 July 2024 . . 12 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240718142637/https://www.is.fi/politiikka/art-2000010561729.html . 18 July 2024 . Helsinki, Finland . fi.
  11. Web site: Parliamentary Elections 2023: Results - Electoral district of Helsinki - Helsinki - Elected . vaalit.fi . . 10 April 2023 . Helsinki, Finland.
  12. Web site: Municipal Elections 2021: Results - Electoral district of Helsinki - Elected . vaalit.fi . . 10 April 2023 . Helsinki, Finland.