Jaakko Tapani Laajava (born 23 June 1947 in

Joensuu Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. Th ...

) has served as Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for Finland from 1 April 2010. Prior to that, he served as Ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 2005.

Career

Between 2001 and 2004, Laajava worked as the political under-secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Laajava has been an Ambassador in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1996–2001. He moved there as Deputy Director General of the Political Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as Head of the 1990–1996. He was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to the Embassy of Finland in 1986–1990. For the first time in 1971, he was employed by the Foreign Service. In the 1970s, he worked as a broadcaster, assistant secretary and secretary of state in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. In 2011, Laajava was chosen as the facilitator of the Conference on the Middle East Nuclear Non-Proliferation Conference.

Other activities

In the early 1970s Laajava was represented by the Finnish Student Union in the DDR Recognition Committee. In that case, he was a member of the Liberal People's Party. The bachelor's degree is bachelor's degree (B.A.) from the

University of Stockholm Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, soci ...

in 1972 and a master's degree (M.A.) from the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

for the same year.

References

External links

Embassy of Finland, London
1947 births Living people Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 2nd Class Ambassadors of Finland to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Finland to the United States {{Finland-diplomat-stub