Heidi Hautala

Heidi Hautala is former Member and Vice-President of the European Parliament and former Minister for International Development and State Ownership Steering in Finland (2011-2013). She has master’s degree in agriculture and forestry from Helsinki University. She was elected as a Vice-President of the European Parliament in October 2017. As a Member of the European Parliament for altogether 20 years during 1995-2024, Heidi has served on a number of committees including the Committees on Development and International Trade. She has chaired the Subcommittee on Human Rights and been co-chair of the Euronest Parliament Assembly (EU Eastern Partnership). In 2017 Heidi established in the European Parliament the Working Groupon Responsible Business Conduct which was instrumental in passing the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. She was invited in 2023 to join the High Level Working Groupon the Environmental Consequences of the War in Ukraine which has delivered the Environmental Compact for Ukraine in 2024.

After her long political career Heidi continues to work as an independent expert on sustainability and corporate accountability. Her company Heidi Hautala Consulting offers advise and services on corporate sustainability. She is a well-known public speaker on issues relating to sustainability, human rights and geopolitics. Heidi also serves in the boards of Fair Trade of Advocacy Office, FERN and Business and Human Rights Resource Center. She is member of International advisory council of Institute for Human Rights and Business, member of stakeholder advisory council of Amfori – Trade with Purpose and member of the advisory council of NOVA Centre for Business, Human Rights and the Environment. Heidi is special advisor to UN Global Compact Finland and to Global Business Initiative on Human Rights.