Pasi Patokallio

Pasi Patokallio (born 29 September 1949 ) 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.

Biography Early life (1949–1974) Patokallio was born in Kangasala in the Pirkanmaa region of Finland

He joined Finland's foreign service in 1974. He was posted to the Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C. (1978–1981), the Embassy of Finland in Tokyo (1981–1983), the Permanent Mission of Finland in Geneva (1986–1988) and the Permanent Mission of Finland in New York City (1989–1993). a role that eventually went to Swedish diplomat Hans Blix.

After completing a one-year fellowship dedicated to Middle Eastern issues at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Patokallio served as Finland's ambassador to Canada and the Bahamas from 2004 to 2008.

In March 2009, he was appointed by Finland's foreign minister Alexander Stubb as his special representative to head the task force on Finland's bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in 2013–2014, and "to ease access to political decision makers abroad". He travelled widely in this role to meet with high-level representatives of other UN member states, including several presidents, and established Finland's diplomatic relations with Kiribati and South Sudan.

Patokallio is a noted critic of the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines, which Finland joined in 2012 during the presidency of Tarja Halonen. He has argued that given Finland's lengthy border with Russia, unilaterally signing the treaty when Russia did not caused "irreparable harm" to Finland's defence posture. In 2024, he was one of the authors of a successful citizens' initiative to withdraw from the treaty. Finland formally notified the UN of its intent to withdraw in July 2025.

Publications Minä, aseet ja maailma. Diplomaattiset muistelmat, Jyväskylä: Docendo, 2023,