The foreign relations of Finland are the responsibility of the president of Finland, who leads foreign policy in cooperation with the government. Implicitly the government is responsible for internal policy and decision making in the European Union. Within the government, preparative discussions are conducted in the government committee of foreign and security policy, which includes the Prime Minister and at least the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defence, and at most four other ministers as necessary. The committee meets with the President as necessary. Laws concerning foreign relations are discussed in the parliamentary committee of foreign relations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs implements the foreign policy.
Yleisradio Oy, abbreviated as Yle, translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock company, which is 99.98% owned by the Finnish state and employs around 3,200 people in Finland. Yle shares many of its organisational characteristics with its British counterpart, the BBC, on which it was largely modelled.
Matti Taneli Vanhanen is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2003 to 2010. He was also Chairman of the Centre Party in 2006. In his earlier career, he was a journalist. Vanhanen is the son of professor Tatu Vanhanen and Anni Tiihonen.
The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns, is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party.
The University of Oulu 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 Programmes are offered at the university. The university is often ranked as one of the best universities in Finland and in the top 400 worldwide.
Cai-Göran Alexander Stubb is a Finnish politician serving as the 13th president of Finland, in office since 1 March 2024, having won the 2024 presidential election. He previously served as prime minister of Finland from 2014 to 2015.
Giannis Valinakis is a Greek politician and university professor. He is the former Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is currently President of the Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence at the University of Athens, Jean Monnet Professor ad Personam, and a member of the Executive Board of the Centre for European Studies in Brussels.
Pekka Olavi Haavisto is a Finnish politician of the Green League who served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2023.
The Pan-European Institute (PEI) is a Finnish research institute operating at Turku School of Economics (TSE), which is part of the University of Turku. PEI focuses on the research and observation of the economic and social development, particularly in the Baltic Sea region economies and in the EU’s eastern neighbouring countries.
The Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) (Institute of International Affairs) is an Italian international relations think tank, and non-profit organisation founded in 1965 by Altiero Spinelli. It is ranked among the global top-20 think tanks in the "Foreign Policy and International Relations" category, according to the 2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index.
Elisa Aaltola is a Finnish philosopher, specialised in animal philosophy, moral psychology and environmental philosophy.
Monika Panayotova is a Doctor of Political Science, with interests in the field of the EU security and defence policy. Bulgarian politician – Monika Panayotova has been appointed as Deputy Minister for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU 2018, responsible for the relations with the European Parliament during the Bulgaria's presidency since June 28, 2017.
Ulkopolitiikka is a Finnish-language magazine of international relations studies published by The Finnish Institute of International Affairs. The quarterly has been in circulation since 1961. It provides a significant forum on global politics and economics in Finland and is one of the leading magazines in the country.
The European Institute of Peace (EIP) is an independent, non-profit public foundation that contributes to shaping conflict resolution. It is a philanthropic, non-profit organisation. It provides support to negotiators, mediators and policy makers within Europe. Since its creation in 2014, the Institute has operated in more than ten countries in the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe providing policy advice on conflict resolution.
Talip Küçükcan is Ambassador of Turkey to the Republic of Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Asean. He is a Turkish professor of sociology and a former politician from the Justice and Development Party (AKP), who has served as a Member of Parliament for Adana since 7 June 2015 until 24 June 2018. He was head of the Turkish Delegation to and the Deputy President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and member of Foreign Relations Committee at the Turkish Parliament between 2015 and 2017. Küçükcan served as the deputy chairman of Political and Legal Affairs of the Justice and Development Party until July 2016. He also served as member of the OSCE PA of the Turkish delegation.
The Latvian Institute of International Affairs is an oldest research center and think tank in Latvia. Founded on May 20, 1992, the organization seeks to provide “Latvia's decision-makers, experts, and the wider public with analysis, recommendations, and information about international developments, regional security issues, and foreign policy strategy and choices.” The Institute develops and publishes research, organises high-level international conferences and promotes cooperation with Latvian and foreign research institutions. The LIIA is a nonprofit and does not receive regular government funding. LIIA’s funding is project-based. Its projects are funded through close cooperation with a range of other organisations and foundations, both Latvian and foreign. The Institute implements international cooperation projects within the European Commission's Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ programs. International projects are also funded by such recognisable supporters as the National Endowment for Democracy, Freedom House, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, EEA and Norway Grants. LIIA’s research focuses on important topics such as Latvian foreign policy; transatlantic relations; security issues in the Baltic Sea region; European Union policies, including its neighborhood policy and Eastern Partnership; and multilateral and bilateral relations with Russia.
Dragoș Pîslaru is a Romanian economist and politician of REPER who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He was previously a member of USR PLUS/USR. He also held the position of Minister of Labor, Family, Social Protection and the Elderly in the government of Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș from 18 April 2016, until 4 January 2017.
Teija Helena Tiilikainen is a Finnish political scientist. She has been the Director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, Secretary of State at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, and a vice-chairperson of the executive board of the University of Helsinki. In August 2019 she was elected Director of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats. Her research focuses on European integration and European security policy.
Mika Petteri Aaltola is a Finnish political scientist and a member of the European Parliament. He was the previous director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. He has gained media attention since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which he follows and regularly comments on. Aaltola holds a doctorate in social sciences. He works as docent at Tampere University, and was a part-time professor at Tallinn University. He ran as an independent candidate for President of Finland in the 2024 presidential election.
Sinikukka Saari is a Finnish political scientist in the field of foreign and security policy.
