Home Appointments Executive VP (Digital Age)
Executive VP (Digital Age)
European Commission
| Appointee | Henna Virkkunen |
|---|---|
| Role | Executive VP (Digital Age) |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Domain | EU Institutions |
| Start | 1 December 2024 |
| End | Currently in role |
| Notes | Replaced Vestager; Finnish; first woman in this specific VP role |
Institutional context
The Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy in the second von der Leyen Commission inherits a substantial part of the digital-policy portfolio previously held by Margrethe Vestager. Virkkunen is the first woman in this specific newly defined portfolio.
Career path
Virkkunen earned an MA in journalism from the University of Jyväskylä. She served in the Finnish Eduskunta from 2007, holding the cabinet position of Minister of Public Administration and Local Government and (briefly) Minister of Education and Science under Jyrki Katainen. She was elected to the European Parliament in 2014 for the National Coalition Party (EPP), serving on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee and on industrial-policy files.
Appointment
The Finnish government nominated her in mid-2024 as Finland's commissioner for the second von der Leyen Commission. Her portfolio assignment was announced on 17 September 2024. She took office on 1 December 2024.
Tenure
Active. Early focus has been on implementation of the Digital Markets Act, the Digital Services Act, the AI Act, and the European Chips Act, alongside policy on critical communications infrastructure.
Cluster context
Virkkunen's appointment is among the second-mandate von der Leyen Commission's continuation of the EU institutional cluster pattern. The Digital portfolio specifically — passing from Vestager (2014–2024) to Virkkunen (2024–) — is one of the few EU portfolios where female leadership has now been continuous for over a decade.