My family becomes originally from Ostrobothnia, but I was born in Helsinki and lived my childhood in Espoo, Haukilahti. I went school in Tapiola and matriculated from Tapiola Upper Secondary School 1988. I studied Political Science, Sociology and Philosophy in the University of Helsinki and University of Edinburgh and mastered politics in 1995. After that I have been researcher and teacher mainly in the University of Helsinki and Jyväskylä. I received the doctorate from the Helsinki University 2012 and the Title of the Docent 2013.

From the year 1988 I have been living in Helsinki Töölö, where I still live in Museokatu with my current family. My spouse Annaleena Hakatie is designer and we have two children.