Who's Who – Pekka Haavisto: A diplomat without a diploma

Finnish politician Pekka Haavisto is mentioned as a potential successor to Miroslav Lajcak as the EU's Special Envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue. He has previously dealt with the region as Finland's Foreign Minister, as well as in his role with the UN.

The newspaper "Helsingin Sanomat" recently reported, based on its sources, that Finland is ready to support Haavisto for this high-level EU position.

So far, these remain rumors, as there has been no confirmation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Haavisto himself.

Haavisto is a politician who, despite not having a degree (he dropped out after just a year of studies), possesses extensive diplomatic experience, partly acquired in this region.

As Finland's Foreign Minister from 2019 to 2023, he had the opportunity to engage with the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

In 2019, he stated that Kosovo's import tariffs on Serbian goods were "unacceptable," but he also noted that Serbia's lobbying for the withdrawal of recognition negatively affected the process of finding a solution.

In Pristina, he emphasized that relations between Kosovo and Finland were good.

"We have no issues that could hinder the development of these relations," Haavisto noted.

Alignment with the EU

Last year, he declared that Finland strongly supports the European path of its partners in the Western Balkans, but also expects them to fully align with the European Union's foreign and security policies and uphold its core values—human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.

In an op-ed for Euractiv, Haavisto stressed that these core values, which the EU stands for, apply to both member and candidate countries and are also reflected in the Union’s foreign policy.

Moreover, he added that when candidate countries fulfill their obligations, there should be no excuses in the EU for delaying the process, nor should bilateral issues be part of the EU enlargement process or negotiations.

"We expect both Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (particularly Republic of Srpska) to fully align their foreign and security policies with those of the EU. This is not just an obligation of an EU candidate country, but also a clear message of support for Ukraine's sovereignty and against the illegal and unacceptable war," Haavisto said.

Love in Bogota

Haavisto was also in charge of Finnish diplomacy when Finland joined NATO last year, personally handing over the official document to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at NATO headquarters in Brussels, marking the completion of the accession process.

He has previously served as the EU Special Representative for Sudan, involved in negotiations on the peace agreement in Darfur. In the Balkans, he worked for UNEP within the UN’s environmental program.

In addition, he coordinated the UN investigation into the effects of depleted uranium in Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This politician from the ranks of the liberal Green Party has held several ministerial positions. If he had won the elections in Finland this year, he would have become Finland's first openly homosexual president.

His sexual orientation was an open secret in the 1990s until 2002, when he officially registered a partnership with Ecuadorian Antonio Flores, whom he met at a nightclub in Bogota.