Who am I?

I am Mari Kousa-Kuusisto (born in 1985): an advocate for humane conduct, equality and multiculturality, a feminist and a forever optimist. Family, nature, humane conduct, an encounter with another person, good leadership and building a better world are close to my heart.

I am the chairman of the association Turun Vihreät (The Green League of Turku) and I am a member of the Culture Board of Turku and the first in reserve for the City Council. I currently work as director of human resources and administration. Before that I worked for nearly three years as the head of Finland’s Red Cross’ reception center in Rauma. My family includes a husband, two biological children and three foster children.

Finland’s Alien’s Act has been modified several times over the past few years – for the worse, without careful preparation and, for example, effectiveness evaluation. The premise for all legislative preparation should be to follow the principles of the constitution and the commitment to international agreements. I want to work for humane refugee policies and for effective acculturing.

The wellbeing of families, children and youth is close to my heart and I want to be a defender of high quality education. There’s no other way as effective as education to promote equality and prevent societal exclusion. Another important way is secured income. The labour market is changing significantly and in many fields permanent positions aren’t realistic anymore. Employment in the future labor market must be secured, for example, by improving the position of micro entrepreneurs.

What comes to nature, we have big decisions to make; climate change waits for no one and we need immediate actions to restrain it. These actions include, for example, functional solutions for public transportation and relinquishing governmental subsidies for causes that are harmful for nature. Each and every child and adult should have a possibility to form a relationship with nature. What one knows, one wants to protect! My relationship with nature was ignited in scouts. It all started with attending treks and camps which gradually grew into bigger projects and leadership roles in the Southwest Finland’s Scouts District. The district includes both Satakunta and Varsinais-Suomi regions, so I have come to understand the different challenges and possibilities of centers of growth and, on the other hand, of areas of declining population.

I want to bring the same openness and passionate will to save the world into the politics, that I have seen in scouts. When we work together to achieve important issues, we can leave this world for the next generation better than we found it.


Do you wish to know more? Don’t hesitate to contact!