Märta Elisabeth Rehn (; born 6 April 1935) is a Finnish former politician and diplomat. She served as the Minister of Defence of Finland during 1990 to 1995 and as an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations during 1998 to 1999. She was also a member of the Finnish Parliament and parliamentary leader of the Swedish People's Party of Finland, and a member of the European Parliament. Early life and education Rehn was born on 6 April 1935 in Helsinki, Finland. She spent her childhood in Mäntsälä, where her father worked as a community medical doctor. Rehn went to a local school in Mäntsälä before entering a boarding school in Kauniainen. Rehn received a master of science degree in economics from Hanken School of Economics in 1957 and has honorary doctorates in political science from both Hanken School of Economics and Åbo Akademi University and an honorary doctorate in military science from the National Defence University. In the early 1960s, she was recognized as the first person in Finland to import and market plastic Tupperware containers. Career Rehn was first elected as a member of parliament for Uusimaa in 1979. She was the parliamentary leader of the Swedish People's Party of Finland from 1987 to 1990. She was appointed as Minister of Defence to the Holkeri Cabinet, succeededing Ole Norrback, in 1990. Upon her assumption of office on 13 June 1990, she became the first female defence minister of a European nation and the sixth in the world. When Esko Aho succeeded Harri Holkeri as Prime Minister of Finland in 1991, Rehn was retained as defence minister and, in addition, was appointed Minister of Equality Affairs in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. During her tenure in office, a law was passed permitting women to perform voluntary national military service. Her popularity in office led to the Swedish People's Party candidacy in the 1994 Finnish presidential election. She earned enough votes in early elections to make it to the final round, in which she faced diplomat Martti Ahtisaari of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. She received 46.1% of the final vote. Rehn was appointed a member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Finland during the 1995–1996 period of the Fourth European Parliament, a position established as part of the 1995 enlargement of the European Union. Her term began on 1 January 1995 and she remained in office until 10