As European commissioner for international partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen oversees the European Commission’s work on international cooperation and sustainable development. Before joining the commission, Urpilainen served as a member of the Finnish Parliament. In 2008, she became the first woman leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. She then served as Finland’s deputy prime minister and finance minister. During that time, she became closely involved in development issues, joining the Development Committee of the World Bank Group and IMF and chairing the Finnish National Commission on Sustainable Development. She then served as the foreign minister’s special representative on mediation and chaired the Finnish National Commission for UNESCO.