Career
The chairwoman of the Christian Democrats since 2004, she was the Minister of the Interior of Finland between 2011 and 2015. She has been in the Riihimäki City Council since 1993, and in the Finnish Parliament since 1995. She was elected the chairperson of the Christian Democrats in October 2, 2004.
Räsänen has been characterized as a conservative.
On October 12, 2010, Räsänen was one of the participants on a live television debate on Ajankohtainen kakkonen"s Homoilta special, with the topic of same-sex marriage and LGBT rights. Räsänen thinks homosexual acts are a sin and she herself does not consider her views "specifically extreme".
Her comments were condemned as "incomprehensible and merciless" by then-Minister of Migration and European Affairs Astrid Thors and then-Minister of Culture and Sports Stefan Wallin. Räsänen responded to the criticism, saying her comments were misinterpreted, since she did not consider religion as the main criterion for asylum seekers" admissions, but instead she wanted to highlight the benefits of refugees" integration through religious connections.
In practice, as minister in charge of immigration affairs Räsänen has advocated for increasing the number of refugees taken in by Finland, especially from Syria.
In September 2012 Räsänen appointed a religiously conservative applicant, considered less qualified by the media, among six candidates to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior Affairs, which created considerable debate, especially as she had previously condemned political appointments of government officials. Räsänen contrasted abortion law to animal protection law saying that the latter gives better protection for animals than the former does to humans (fetuses):
"The law on animal protection gives better protection to an animal about to be put down than the law on abortion does to an unborn child. lieutenant is forbidden to cause the animal pain when slaughtering it, but no one dares to even discuss the painfulness of abortion.
In total 6,500 persons left the church in the first six days following the controversy, while the average number had been 70 persons a day prior to lieutenant