Kimmo Kiljunen (born 13 June 1951) is a Finnish author and politician of the Social Democratic Party. He served in the Finnish parliament from 1995 to 2011. [1] He was a member of the Parliament's Grand Committee and chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee until his resignation in 2024. He also served as the chairman of the Vantaa city council.
Kiljunen was born in Ruokolahti. He obtained a PhD from the University of Sussex.
Early in his career, Kiljunen published books on Finnish politics, international relations and development. He focused on European integration and bringing a parliamentary dimension to the work of intergovernmental organizations. He also worked for the United Nations Development Programme in New York City and UNICEF in Nairobi.
Kiljunen was a member of the European Convention that drafted a constitution for the EU. He lost in the 2009 elections of the European Parliament.
Kiljunen was a member and vice-chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly [2] and led election observation missions in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In 2010, he was in charge of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry into the Events in southern Kyrgyzstan, established after the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Roza Otunbayeva asked him, as Special Representative for Central Asia of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, to coordinate the process to establish it. [3]
After broad consultation the terms of reference were established and endorsed. The KIC was mandated to investigate the facts and circumstances relevant to incidents that took place in southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010, qualify the violations and crimes under international law, determine responsibilities and make recommendations, particularly on accountability measures, so as to ensure the non-repetition of the violations and to contribute toward peace, stability and reconciliation. After publication of the report's findings, the Kyrgyz parliament announced Kiljunen as persona non grata.
In addition to his role in parliament, Kiljunen has been chairing the Finnish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe since 2019. As member of the Socialists, Democrats and Greens Group, he serves on the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy; the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee); the Sub-Committee on External Relations; and the Sub-Committee on Conflicts between Council of Europe Member States. [4] In the latter capacity, he is the Assembly's rapporteur on Armenia [5] and Belarus. [6] Kiljunen is a member of the AWEPA Governing Council. [7]
In November 2024, while serving as a chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee, a video emerged showing Kiljunen speaking to members of a pro-Russian association inside the Finnish Parliament House. [8] In the video, Kiljunen says that the closure of the Finnish eastern border, which was implemented after Russia allowed a surge of illegal migrants to cross the border, [9] is a violation of human rights, and the border should be reopened to passenger traffic. He also called the legislation restricting real estate transactions by Russians racist, and stated that the Finnish tabloid media coverage of Russia is a form of heavy hybrid influence. The comments were seen as being in stark contradiction with Finland's official foreign and security policy, and Kiljunen resigned as a chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee following the controversy. [8] [10] [11]
Kiljunen married ambassador Marja-Liisa Kiljunen in 1972. They filed for divorce on 21 October 2008. They raised two daughters, Rauha and Riikka and two sons, Veikko and Jaakko. [12] In 2017, Kiljunen married Russian-born Svetlana Kiljunen ( née Poroeva). [11] [13] [14]
The politics of Kyrgyzstan, officially known as the Kyrgyz Republic, takes place in the framework of a presidential system representative democratic republic, whereby the President is head of state and the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers is head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Kyrgyzstan an "authoritarian regime" in 2022.
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Kyrgyzstan elects on the national level a head of state – the president – and a legislature. The president is elected for a tenure of single six-year term by the people. The Supreme Council is composed of 120 members filled by proportional representation.
The president of Kyrgyzstan, officially the president of the Kyrgyz Republic, is the head of state and head of government of the Kyrgyz Republic. The president directs the executive branch of the national government, is the commander-in-chief of the Kyrgyz military and also heads the National Security Council.
Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva is a Kyrgyz diplomat and politician who served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 7 April 2010 until 1 December 2011, becoming the first female Central Asian head of state. She was sworn in on 3 July 2010, after acting as interim leader following the 2010 April Revolution, which led to the ousting of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. She previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as head of the parliamentary caucus for the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan. She is also known for the persecution of human rights activist Azimzhan Askarov and the failed policy that led to the clashes of June 2010.
Presidential elections were held in Kyrgyzstan on 10 July 2005. The result was a landslide victory for acting President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, marking the end of his interim government formed after the previous president, Askar Akayev, was overthrown in the revolution in March 2005.
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Marja-Liisa Kiljunen is a Finnish diplomat. She has been Finnish Ambassador to Lithuania and Belarus from 2008 to 2012.
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