Pasi Patokallio | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 29, 1949 |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
Pasi Patokallio (born 29 September 1949 [1] ) is a Finnish diplomat. He has served as the Ambassador of Finland to Israel, Canada and Australia, and led Finland's campaign for a seat on the United Nations Security Council in 2012. [2]
An expert on arms proliferation, Patokallio served as the Director for Arms Control and Disarmament at the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, [2] the Chairperson of the 2nd Biennial Meeting of States for the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms, [3] [4] the Chairman of the Nuclear Suppliers Group [1] and the Chair of two sessions of the Preparatory Committee of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. [5] [1] Patokallio was a candidate to head the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) weapons inspection organisation in Iraq, [6] a role that eventually went to Swedish diplomat Hans Blix.
He is also a noted critic of the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines, which Finland joined in 2012 during the presidency of Tarja Halonen. [7] Patokallio argues that given Finland's lengthy border with Russia, unilaterally signing the treaty when Russia did not caused “irreparable harm” to Finland's defence posture. [8]
