Who is Ted Apter?
My father pursued an international career as a doctor, so I saw a lot of the world as a child. However, my childhood home wasn't a typical bourgeois household, and early on, I found myself taking care of people and bearing responsibilities.
First, I found my place in scouting for over a decade and soon in politics, which I believe is largely due to those early childhood experiences.
Childhood experiences have a way of shaping us.
Overall, open, curious, humorous – and above all, humane.right-wing politician.
If you ask those close to me, they would say I aim to find solutions and build bridges. This shows not only in daily life but also in politics: diverse experiences help me understand different people.
I'm a philosophically inclined rower, hiker, and sailor; a former bailiff, techno-raver, and prison guard. Professionally, I'm a lawyer and growth policy advisor, representing employees' interests as a member of the National Coalition Party. I'm Finnish, with roots in both Poland and Lithuania. I'm also a Swedish-speaking Finn and Finnish-Jewish.
My background makes me a somewhat atypical National Coalition member.
I've grown into a blue-green, value liberal who believes in empathetic economic growth.
In practical terms, this means that blue-green and liberal values shape how we achieve economic growth. Empathy means that this economic growth must be fairly distributed among all of us.
"I'm 38 years old. I wonder what the world will look like when my own children are starting families."
The idealist in me dreams of a world where people become more empathetic toward each other over time, even as the world is changing. That humanism isn't just a veneer or surface layer, but that people grow to understand one another better.
In my personal life, I dream that my current one-person family will someday become a multi-person one. A dog, no car, no detached house—just a sufficiently spacious, minimalist apartment in central Helsinki. But still close enough to a park, forest, and sea. Sometimes you have to leave Töölö for nature.
Empathetic, humane and future-oriented economic growth.
I believe that humanity is constantly improving. At the same time, I know it won't happen on its own. It requires educated decisions. Last year, I read 59 books and gained many good ideas about how we can make the future better for all of us.
For me, the core values are relevance, hope, and ethics.
The things I detest most are injustice and betraying people's trust. I've sometimes wondered if I'm too kind for politics because of this. However, I want to believe that democracy has a place for those who aren't here to play games. That's why it's been essential that enough like-minded people have wanted to help me move forward.
In politics, I advocate for more sustainable institutions and intergenerational, smarter practices.
I want to build a system that eliminates the possibility of unfairI want to level the playing field and give people fair means and a well-founded belief.build a life that feels good. Regardless of whether it's useful to me. Itis not taken away from anyone, but is good for us all.