Jaakko Nousiainen

Jaakko Nousiainen (1931–2022) was the first holder of the professorship in Political Science at the University of Turku. He served as Professor of Political Science from 1963 to 1993, as second Vice Rector in 1975–1978, and as Chancellor from 1994 until his retirement in 1997. He was also a Research Fellow at the Research Council of Finland in 1987–1992. In his research, Nousiainen focused on the Finnish political system, particularly on the positions of the Government, the Parliament and the President within it. In 2016, Nousiainen received the Finnish Cultural Foundation award for his extensive life’s work.

Nousiainen’s portrait was painted by contemporary artist Kaari Hilkka Könönen (b. 1952), who has painted several portraits in the University’s art collection, including that of Keijo Virtanen, Rector and Professor of Cultural History (2005). Könönen studied at the Turku Drawing School and the University of Helsinki in the 1970s and has worked as a teacher and as Rector of the Turku Drawing School (later known as the Degree Programme in Fine Arts at the Turku University of Applied Sciences / Arts Academy).

Emma Vuolaslempi 2024