Maria Raunio 1872-1911

Maria Raunio was a Finnish educator and politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party, she was elected to Parlia- ment in 1907 as one of the first group of female MPs. She remained an MP until 1910.
Raunio contested the 1907 elections on the Social Democratic Party’s list in East Vaasa and was one of 19 women elected to parliament. She was
re-elected in 1908 and 1909. However, she lost her seat in the 1910 elections after being removed from the party’s lists due to differences with party
officials. During her time in parliament she sat on the Audit Committee, the Education Committee, the Grand Committee and the Pensions Committee.

After leaving parliament, she moved to the United States, where she was an activist for workers’ rights before committing suicide aged 39 in 1911.