Paavo Tapio Lipponen (; born 23 April 1941) is a Finnish politician and former reporter. He was prime minister of Finland from 1995 to 2003, and chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland from 1993 to 2005. He also served as speaker of the Parliament of Finland from 2003 to 2007 and was his party's nominee in the 2012 Finnish presidential election but received only 6.7% of the votes, making it the biggest defeat the Social Democratic Party had ever received in Finnish presidential elections at the time. Lipponen is currently the oldest living former prime minister of Finland. Career Lipponen was born in Turtola (subsequently renamed Pello), son of Orvo Lipponen and his wife Hilkka Iisalo. Paavo's maternal grandparents were Jaakko Antero Ingman/Iisalo (a distant relative of count Adolf Fredrik Munck af Fulkila and Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim) and his wife Siiri Törnroos. Paavo Lipponen spent his childhood and youth in Kuopio. Receiving his gymnasium diploma from the Lyceum of Kuopio in 1959, he then studied philosophy and literature at Dartmouth College for one year on a Fulbright scholarship. Soon after returning to Finland he moved to Helsinki where he eventually attained a master's degree in international relations from the University of Helsinki in 1971. He was the editor of the student newspaper Ylioppilaslehti 1963–1965 and a freelance reporter for the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) 1965–1967. Lipponen made various controversial statements that angered groups such as Estonian refugees. According to Alpo Rusi's book Vasemmalta ohi, Lipponen began cooperation with the East German secret police Stasi in 1969. The book suggests that Lipponen is the code name Mungo XV/326/71 in the Rosenholz files. In a 2008 interview Lipponen said that he had been a "target of East German manipulation". It is rumored that Lipponen is on the so-called Tiitinen list. Alpo Rusi has also suggested that Lipponen had an alias, code, and operation in the KGB. He held various posts in the Social Democratic Party organisation from 1967 to 1979. Lipponen's opinions were changed. In a speech in 1978 Lipponen asserted that he had lost his belief in socialism. Lipponen first came into the political limelight when he was secretary to prime minister Mauno Koivisto from 1979 to 1982. Frequently having to substitute for the busy prime minister, Lipponen was soon dubbed vara-Manu ("deputy Manu" — Manu being short for Mauno). Lipponen was a member of the Parliament of