Jaakko Iloniemi
 Jaakko Iloniemi    (diplomat) | |
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| Born | 30 May 1932 Helsinki, Finland |
| Nationality | Finnish |
| Member of | Bilderberg/Steering committee |
Jaakko Olavi Iloniemi is a Finnish diplomat and influential economist. He is a Finnish member of the Bilderberg/Steering committee.
Background
Iloniemi graduated with a Master of Social Sciences from the University of Helsinki in 1957 and served in various positions in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs between 1961-1983. From 1965 to 1971, he was office manager in the Development Aid Department under his boss Martti Ahtisaari.
Career
From 1971 to 1972, Iloniemi served as Deputy Permanent Representative of Finland to the UN. In order to organize Finnish President Uri Kekkonen's major project, the European Conference on Security and Cooperation (OSCE), Iloniemi served as Ambassador of the OSCE in Geneva from 1973 to 1975. From 1975 to 1977 he served as Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and from 1977 to 1983 as Ambassador of Finland to the United States in Washington.
Iloniemi was a member of the Executive Board of the Bank of Finland 1983-1990.
Shaping foreign policy
Already in 1957, Iloniemi was influencing Finnish foreign policy when he founded the Paasikivi Society to support President Kekkonen. Kekkonen was also a supporter of the OSCE process. He had only been working a year in his UN mission when Foreign Minister and fellow Bilderberger Kalevi Sorsa called from Helsinki and asked him to join a small group preparing a European Security Summit.
During the 1990s, Iloniemi supported Finland's EU membership project.
Iloniemi also had a strong influence on fellow Bilderberger Martti Ahtisaari's election as President of Finland in 1994, for example, as speech writer, although in the early days Iloniemi himself was proposed as presidential candidate for the same party. Ahtisaari stated about Iloniemi:
- Jaakko Iloniemi is a realistic analyst, one of the most important people in my life. ... We were Anglo-Saxon social liberals, enthusiastic about development aid and solidarity movements. We have been working together for decades and it continues.”
Jaakko Iloniemi officially celebrated his retirement in 2010, but continues to be involved in political activities through his positions of trust, lecturing, and international political and economic expertise. Iloniemi supported Sauli Niinistö in the 2006 presidential elections and Paavo Lippo in the 2012 presidential elections.
Iloniemi chaired the pro-NATO lobbying group Atlantic Council of Finland from 1999-2001.
Iloniemi was Finland's representative in the Bilderberg Group from 1991 to 1997.
Events Participated in
