Culture personality and Swedish People's Party deputy Member of Parliament Professor Jörn Donner is to take Astrid Thors’ place as a lawmaker. Thors, who is leaving the Finnish Parliament, was named High Commissioner on National Minorities for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (=SCE) on Wednesday.
The 80-year-old culture veteran, who was narrowly left out of the parliament in the 2011 elections, is not a newcomer to politics. Professor Donner has previously served as Consul General of Finland in Los Angeles, as a lawmaker for the Swedish People´s Party and as a Member of the European Parliament for the Social Democratic Party.
Donner is best known for his long and diverse career in film and literature. In 1985 he won Finland’s top literature prize for his novel Far och son (Father and Son). He is also the only Finnish person to receive an Academy Award. The honour was bestowed upon him after he produced Swedish director Ingmar Bergman’s film Fanny and Alexander, which won the Oscar for best foreign-language film in 1983.
