Niinistö first became a member of the Finnish Parliament in the 2007 elections.
From 2011 until 2014, Niinistö served as Minister of the Environment in the governments of successive Prime MinistersJyrki Katainen and Alexander Stubb. During his time in office, Niinistö reignited a long-running debate about Finland's relationship with Russia in 2014 by saying his own government's decision to approve a Russian-built nuclear reactor invoked "a sense of Finlandization".[2] Shortly after, he quit in protest at the project, accusing the government of favouring Russia.[3] As a consequence, his Green League equally quit the five-party Finnish coalition government.[4]
By 2017 Green League party congress, Niinistö had served two full terms as the chairman and stepped down according to the rules of the party. He was followed by MP Touko Aalto, who won the leadership election on 17 June 2017.[5] In October 2018, Niinistö announced that he would not seek another term in the parliament in the 2019 election.[6]
In addition to his committee assignments, Niinistö is part of the European Parliament Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development,[8] the European Parliament Intergroup on Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas,[9] the European Parliament Intergroup on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs),[10] and of the European Parliament Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals.[11]
Other activities
Finnvera, Member of the Supervisory Board (since 2016)[12]
In 2013 it was revealed that he drove his Swedish wife's car with Swedish number plates in Finland on minor occasions, while she was absent. The Finnish customs imposed a €4800 tax on him. The Finnish tax code does not allow Finnish citizens to drive a foreign car in Finland without it being thus considered an imported car and therefore under Finnish car tax.[14]
