A 34-year-old Deputy Member of Parliament, city councillor, and Master of Social Sciences. A blue-green champion of education and civility

I’m running to advance a society built on education, enterprise, equal opportunity, and sustainable development. I believe we have a duty to leave society in better shape for future generations.

Katso CV →
Janika Takatalo

What I believe in

01

Diligence

I promise to be diligent and to study the issues thoroughly. A decision grounded in knowledge, weighed from many angles and based on values, is one that is easy to stand behind.

02

Sustainable decision-making

I promise to make decisions that are as sustainable as possible – economically, ecologically, and socially.

03

Listening

I promise to listen, to be present and reachable between elections too. Sharing in people’s everyday joys and sorrows is a way of life for me, and something I do gladly.

Janika Takatalo

Roots and childhood in Salo

I come from an entrepreneurial family in Salo, which in time also led me to choose the National Coalition Party as my party. In our family we have always believed in work and in the idea that diligence should be rewarded. I was born at Salo hospital in 1992, the eldest of three children. Even then I was a great carer and someone who took responsibility. I remember watching over my little sister at daycare to such a degree that the staff reminded me that I, too, needed to be able to be a child and play.

I learned to read at the age of five, when I apparently declared, “now no one can fool me anymore.” I have been an eager reader ever since. Libraries became familiar to me from childhood. I remember also reading the opinion pieces my grandfather wrote for various newspapers, and they sparked my interest in social issues. Otherwise my family has never been especially political.

As a child I did well at school and was an active track-and-field athlete. Success in both required diligence and determination. At school I took part in many kinds of activities — I was, for example, chair of the student council and a peer supporter. In sport, knee injuries eventually moved me from competing to coaching, but I haven’t given up exercise. I still jog and go to the gym for my own enjoyment.

Janika Takatalo

Study years, career, and entering politics

Even though I always did well at school, applying to university was not a given, in the sense that I am the only person in my family to pass the matriculation exam, and there were not many highly educated role models in my immediate circle either. There was hardly anyone to ask, or through whom to glimpse the world of the university. Perhaps that was exactly why I wanted to learn and make the most of that world once I got there.

After upper secondary school I set off for my dream place of study, the University of Turku, to read political science. At the university I threw myself wholeheartedly into student activities. I have served, among other things, as vice-chair of the board of the University of Turku Student Union and as a member of its representative council, as well as chair of my faculty association, Index. At the same time I have taken part in the National Coalition Party’s activities at the local, district, and national levels. I have been involved in municipal affairs for close to 20 years, ever since my time on the youth council.

I have been a hard worker from a young age. In our family business I was helping my mother already in primary school, and I got my first proper summer job at the age of 13 at a promotional-gifts company in Somero. After that, every summer was spent in various jobs, from childminding to factory work, until, as an upper-secondary student, I landed my first steadier position at the Salon Suomalainen bookshop. I have always worked alongside my studies. Towards the end of my studies I also set up my own sole trader business, through which I have offered my skills in various communications assignments and by lecturing.

In my studies I have delved especially into political systems, such as the Finnish Parliament and the European Union. My bachelor’s thesis was on student politics, and my master’s thesis on the special advisers of ministers in the 2010s. I have been working on a doctoral dissertation about the “background players” of politics and their influence on the political process — I have always wanted to understand the dynamics of influence a little deeper than the surface. I have also studied economics and entrepreneurship, as well as social work and social policy. The best school of politics, however, has been my time as an assistant to the Minister of Education in Parliament.

Janika Takatalo

Values, motherhood, and the future

Politics has swept me along. I think of politics as the concrete things around us — schools, streets, and libraries. It is also more abstract things, such as a sense of security. I want to influence the environment in which I operate. I believe that things and places should always be left in better shape than one found them.

I believe that how people treat others — especially those in a weaker position — says a great deal about them. I also believe that hard work is rewarded. I would like to be remembered one day as an effective, warm-hearted, and responsible person.

Having children was, of course, a wonderful turning point in life. It made many of everyday life’s basic services even more meaningful, from the maternity and child-health clinic to early childhood education. It also reinforced the conviction that it is far from irrelevant what kind of decisions today’s decision-makers make. I want to build a world where children and young people are well, now and in the future.

Jos on kerran äidiksi syntynyt

”Joka kerran on äidiksi syntynyt,
hän äiti on kaikkien lasten,
ja kaikkia maailman lapsia
hän on painanut rintaansa vasten,
ja maailman lasten itkua
hän on korvissaan alkanut kuulla,
sillä maailman lapset puhuvat
hänen omien lastensa suulla.”

– Anne-Mari Kaskinen

Education & work experience

Education

2019 →

Valtiotieteiden tohtoriopiskelija

Turun yliopisto

2018

Valtiotieteiden maisteri

Turun yliopisto

2016

Valtiotieteiden kandidaatti

Turun yliopisto

Pääaine: yleinen valtio-oppi, poliittisten järjestelmien erikoistumislinja. Sivuaineet: liiketoimintaosaaminen, sosiaalipolitiikka ja sosiaalityö. Lisäksi opintoja mm. puheviestinnästä ja kielistä.

2011

Ylioppilas

Salon lukio

Work experience

2025 →

Pääsihteeri

Turun yliopiston ylioppilaskunta

2021–2024

MEP Henna Virkkusen avustaja

Euroopan parlamentti

EU-vaikuttamisen ja kansainvälisten asioiden asiantuntija

Suomen nuorisoalan kattojärjestö Allianssi ry

Puheenjohtaja

Kokoomuksen Opiskelijaliitto Tuhatkunta

Opetus- ja kulttuuriministerin eduskunta-avustaja

Eduskunta

Hallituksen varapuheenjohtaja, sosiaalipoliittinen ja kunnallispoliittinen vastaava

Turun yliopiston ylioppilaskunta

Positions of trust

Varsinais-Suomen hyvinvointialue VARHA

  • Hyvinvointialueen aluevaltuutettu, kokoomuksen valtuustoryhmän vpj (2022–2025)
  • Hyvinvointialueen hallituksen varajäsen ja aluehallituksen järjestämisjaoston jäsen (2022–2025)

Turun kaupunki

  • Kaupunginvaltuutettu, Kokoomuksen valtuustoryhmän vpj (2017–)
  • Turun kaupunkiseudun joukkoliikennelautakunnan puheenjohtaja (2021–2025)
  • Nuorisolautakunnan puheenjohtaja (2017–2021)
  • Kaupunginhallituksen varajäsen (2017–2025), varsinainen jäsen (2025–)
  • Konsernijaoston jäsen/varajäsen (2017–)
  • Maakuntavaltuutettu (2017–)

Kansallinen Kokoomus

  • Kokoomuksen Eurooppa-verkoston puheenjohtaja (2020–2022)
  • Kokoomuksen puoluehallituksen jäsen (2018–2019)
  • Kokoomuksen opiskelijaliitto Tuhatkunnan varapuheenjohtaja, puoluehallituksen varajäsen (2016–2017)
  • Varsinais-Suomen Kokoomuksen piirivaltuusto (2012–2017), piirihallitus (2023–)
  • Turun Kokoomuksen hallitus (2016–2017)
  • Turun Kokoomusopiskelijat – AKN ry, hallituksen jäsen (2013–2017)
  • Salon Kokoomuksen Nuoret, hallituksen varapuheenjohtaja (2012–2013)

Opiskelijajärjestöt

  • Turun yliopiston ylioppilaskunta, edustajistossa ryhmäpuheenjohtaja sekä lukuisia muita ylioppilaskunnan luottamustehtäviä toimikunnista yliopiston työryhmiin (2014–2018)
  • Index yhteiskuntatieteet ja kasvatustieteet ry, puheenjohtaja (2014)
  • Index yhteiskuntatieteet ja kasvatustieteet ry, tiedottaja ja työelämävastaava (2013)
  • Politiikan tutkimuksen klubi ry, tiedekuntajärjestövastaava (2013)
  • Suomen yhteiskunta-alan ylioppilaat / SYY Turku, viestintä- ja excursiovastaava (2012–2013)

Muita keskeisiä luottamustehtäviä

  • Turun Vesihuolto Oy, hallituksen varapuheenjohtaja (2022–)
  • Suomen Unesco-toimikunta, opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö (2019–2020)
  • Vapaaehtoisen maanpuolustuksen neuvottelukunta, puolustusministeriö (2019–)
  • Eurooppalainen Varsinais-Suomi ry:n hallitus (2018)
  • Turun nuorisovaltuuston kummivaltuutettu (2017–2021)
  • Turun ylioppilaskyläsäätiön hallitus (2016–2018), hallituksen vpj (2019–2022)
  • Turun kaupunkiliikenne Oy:n hallitus (2016–2018)
  • Varsinais-Suomen liitto, maakuntien yhteistyöryhmä MYR:n jäsen (2016–2018)
  • Turun yliopistokollegion varajäsen (2016–2018)
  • Suomen Nuorisovaltuustojen Liitto Nuva ry, edustajiston jäsen (2010–2012)
  • Salon Nuorisovaltuusto, sosiaali- ja terveyslautakunnan läsnäolo- ja puheoikeus (2008–2012)

Elections

Kuntavaalit 2025[xxx ääntä]

Eduskuntavaalit 2023[xxx ääntä]

Aluevaalit 2022[xxx ääntä]

Kuntavaalit 2021[xxx ääntä]

Eurovaalit 2019[xxx ääntä]

Eduskuntavaalit 2019[xxx ääntä]

Kuntavaalit 2017[xxx ääntä]

Language skills

SuomiÄidinkieli

EnglantiKiitettävä

RuotsiHyvä

SaksaHyvä

EspanjaAlkeet

Scientific publications

Kaunela, Paula, Janika Takatalo ja Matti Wiberg: Vallakkaat suuret: Äänestysvallan jakautuminen Euroopan parlamentissa 1979–2014, Politiikka 57(2015):2, 115–125.

Takatalo, Janika. 2010-luvun erityisavustajat – keitä he ovat, mitä he tekevät ja miksi sillä on väliä? 2018.

Ruohonen Sini, Takatalo Janika, Tolvanen Arvi. Läpi meni. Kuntavaalien 2021 ehdokkaat ja valitut ikäluokittain. 2022 Turku.

Ruohonen Sini, Takatalo Janika, Tolvanen Arvi. Aluevaalit 2022 – puolueiden menestys ikäluokittain. Helsinki 2022.