Olavi Johannes Mattila (24 October 1918 – 4 August 2013) was a Finnish politician who served twice as the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs, and also held several other ministerial positions in a number of cabinets in the 1960s and 1970s. He was also the CEO of state owned Valmet. He was considered as a close associate of Urho Kekkonen. He graduated as master of science in engineering in 1946 and as MBA in 1950. Mattila worked in the diplomatic missions in Beijing,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and Buenos Aires,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

from 1952 to 1960. Later he became a director in the ministry of trade and industry. For two short terms in 1960s and 1970s he hold the position of

Minister of Trade and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

as a non-partisan. He worked in the state-owned Valmet, first as the CEO from 1965 to 1973 and as the chairman of the board from 1973 to 1982. He was also the chairman of the board of

Enso-Gutzeit Stora Enso Oyj (from sv, Stora and fi, Enso ) is a manufacturer of pulp, paper and other forest products, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. The majority of sales takes place in Europe, but there are also significant operations in Asia and S ...

, another state-owned company. His son, Olli Mattila, who also worked as a diplomat in the foreign ministry, was convicted in the early 2000s for espionage. In 2002, he was visited by members of

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

studying the Bible with them, and he subsequently joined the religion. He died 4 August 2013 at the age of 94.http://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/a1376358543568?jako=549f6372ca999477cf32252c17e9fc06 News Article in Finnish by Helsingin Sanomat

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattila, Olavi J. 1918 births 2013 deaths People from Hyvinkää Deputy Prime Ministers of Finland Ministers of Trade and Industry of Finland Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Finland Finnish diplomats Valmet