Finnish child psychiatrist and politician
Professori
Vappu Taipale
|
---|
Taipale in 2011
|
Born
| Vappu Tuulikki Puustinen
(
1940-05-01
)
1 May 1940
|
---|
Education
| Doctor of Medicine and Surgery
|
---|
Alma mater
| University of Helsinki
|
---|
Occupation(s)
| Psychiatrist, politician
|
---|
Years active
| 1966-2008
|
---|
Spouse
| Ilkka Taipale
|
---|
|
|
|
In office
1982?1984
|
|
|
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In office
1985?2008
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|
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Vappu Taipale
(
nee
Puustinen
; born 1 May 1940)
[1]
is a
Finnish
retired politician and
physician
.
Medical career
[
edit
]
In 1966, Taipale graduated with a
licentiate's degree
in medicine and qualified to practise medicine.
[1]
In 1980, she obtained her
doctorate
in the field of psychiatry from the
University of Helsinki
.
[1]
She worked as a
psychiatrist
in various roles at the
Helsinki University Central Hospital
throughout the 1970s. She has also held the positions of
Docent
(Associate Professor) at the universities of Kuopio (now the
University of Eastern Finland
) and
Tampere
, specialising in
child and adolescent psychiatry
.
[1]
In 1991, Taipale was awarded the title of
Professor
,
[1]
and in 1998 she received an
honorary doctorate
in
public administration
(
Hallintotieteiden kunniatohtori
) from the
University of Vaasa
.
Political career
[
edit
]
Taipale joined the
Social Democratic Party
in 1972.
[2]
[3]
She never stood for election to the
Parliament
,
[1]
but did run for the party's leadership in 1987.
[2]
Despite not being a member of Parliament, Taipale served as the
Minister of Social Affairs and Health
and the Deputy Minister, respectively, in
Kalevi Sorsa
's
third
and
fourth
cabinets, from July 1982 to November 1984.
[1]
[3]
Later she headed the National Agency for Welfare and Health (
Sosiaali- ja terveyshallitus
), and after that was replaced by the
National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health
[
fi
]
STAKES
in 1992, Taipale served as its Director-General until her retirement in 2008.
[1]
[2]
[3]
She also chaired her party's women's wing,
Sosialidemokraattiset Naiset
[
fi
]
, from 1984 to 1990.
[1]
Taipale unsuccessfully ran for her party's nomination in the
1994 Finnish presidential election
,
[1]
[4]
being beaten by
Martti Ahtisaari
, who eventually went on to win the presidency.
[5]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Vappu Taipale is married to fellow psychiatrist and politician
Ilkka Taipale
.
[1]
They met at medical school entrance exams in 1960.
[6]
The couple have four children.
[2]
In 2001, she caused controversy by admitting in a newspaper interview to having experimented with
LSD
during her student years and considering it a worthwhile experience,
[2]
for which she later apologised.
[7]
[8]
References
[
edit
]