Jaakko Iloniemi

Jaakko Iloniemi   (diplomat)
Born	30 May 1932 Helsinki, Finland
Nationality	Finnish
Member of	Bilderberg/Steering committee, European Council on Foreign Relations, European Leadership Network

Jaakko Olavi Iloniemi is a Finnish member of the Bilderberg/Steering committee.

Biography

Jaakko Olavi Iloniemi (born May 30, 1932 in Helsinki) is a Finnish diplomat and influential economist.

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.

From 1971 to 1972, Iloniemi served as Deputy Permanent Representative of Finland to the UN. In order to organize 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 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 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 celebrates his retirement in the 2010s, but continues to be involved in social 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

Event	Start	End	Location(s)	Description
Bilderberg/1984	11 May 1984	13 May 1984	Sweden Saltsjöbaden	The 32nd Bilderberg, held in Sweden
Bilderberg/1985	10 May 1985	12 May 1985	New York US Arrowwood of Westchester Rye Brook	The 33rd Bilderberg, held in Canada
Bilderberg/1986	25 April 1986	27 April 1986	Scotland Gleneagles Hotel	The 34th Bilderberg, 109 participants
Bilderberg/1987	24 April 1987	26 April 1987	Italy Cernobbio	35th Bilderberg, in Italy, 106 participants
Bilderberg/1988	3 June 1988	5 June 1988	Austria Interalpen-Hotel Telfs-Buchen	The 36th meeting, 114 participants
Bilderberg/1989	12 May 1989	14 May 1989	Spain Galicia La Toja Island	37th Bilderberg meeting, 110 guests
Bilderberg/1990	10 May 1990	13 May 1990	New York US Glen Cove	38th Bilderberg meeting, 119 guests
Bilderberg/1991	6 June 1991	9 June 1991	Germany Baden-Baden Steigenberger Hotel Badischer Hof	The 39th Bilderberg, 114 guests
Bilderberg/1992	21 May 1992	24 May 1992	France Royal Club Evian Evian-les-Bains	The 40th Bilderberg. It had 121 participants.
Bilderberg/1993	22 April 1993	25 April 1993	Greece Nafsika Astir Palace Hotel Vouliagmeni	The 41st Bilderberg, held in Greece
Bilderberg/1994	2 June 1994	5 June 1994	Finland Helsinki	The 42nd Bilderberg, in Helsinki.
Bilderberg/1995	8 June 1995	11 June 1995	Greece Nafsika Astir Palace Hotel Vouliagmeni	The 43rd Bilderberg. Held at the Burgenstock Hotel in Burgenstock, Switzerland.
Bilderberg/1996	30 May 1996	2 June 1996	Canada Toronto	The 44th Bilderberg, held in Canada
Bilderberg/1997	12 June 1997	15 June 1997	US Lake Lanier Georgia (State)	The 45th Bilderberg meeting

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