Pekka Tarjanne (1937–2010) was a scientist and politician who served as the chairman of the Liberal Party and minister of transport in Finland. He also headed the

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union ...

from 1989 and 1999.

Early life and education

Tarjanne was born in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropol ...

, Sweden, on 19 September 1937. In 1960 he obtained his master of science degree in engineering and a PhD degree in technology from

Helsinki University of Technology Helsinki University of Technology (TKK; fi, Teknillinen korkeakoulu; sv, Tekniska högskolan) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the metropolitan area of Greater Helsinki. The university was founded in ...

at age 24.

Career

Tarjanne carried out research and teaching in Denmark and the United States and returned to Finland in 1965. He was promoted to the professorship in

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experimen ...

at the

University of Oulu The University of Oulu ( fi, Oulun yliopisto) is one of the largest universities in Finland, located in the city of Oulu. It was founded on July 8, 1958. The university has around 13,000 students and 2,900 staff. 21 International Master's P ...

. From 1967 he worked as a professor in the same field at 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 ...

. He served as the chairman of the Liberal Party from 1968 to 1978. On 23 March 1970 he was elected to the Finnish Parliament where he served until 20 September 1977. He was the minister of transport and communications and the state minister responsible for Nordic cooperation between 4 September 1972 and 12 June 1975 in the cabinet led by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Kalevi Sorsa. In 1977 Tarjanne was appointed director-general of posts and telecommunications which he held until 1989. In 1989 he was elected secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union in the conference held in Nice, France. He was re-elected to the same post in the conference in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the cit ...

, Japan, in 1994 and held the post until 1999. He was the deputy CEO of a Bermuda-based company, Project Oxygen Ltd between 1999 and 2000. Tarjanne also served as the special advisor to the

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

on information and communication technologies at the beginning of the 2000s. As of 2003 and 2004 he was professor at the Academy of Technology and the chair of the eight-member International Award Selection Committee.

Personal life and death

Tarjanne was married. He died in

Hattula Hattula is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Tavastia Proper region and until 2010 it was located in the province of Southern Finland. Hattula is almost completely surrounded by Hämeenlinna, only in the north it shares the border wit ...

on 24 February 2010.

Recognition

Tarjanne and his wife, Aino, were named by Geneva State Council as the honorary citizens for their "major contribution to enhancing Geneva's reputation as an international centre".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarjanne, Pekka 20th-century Finnish engineers 21st-century Finnish businesspeople 1937 births 2010 deaths Academic staff of the University of Oulu Aalto University alumni Finnish physicists Leaders of political parties in Finland Liberals (Finland) politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (1970–72) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1972–75) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1975–79) Ministers of Transport and Public Works of Finland Politicians from Stockholm