Pentti Väänänen (12 February 1945 – 17 July 2020) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

politician and Master of Laws from the Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP).

Career

He was a Master of Laws. He worked in the Social Democratic Party of Finland as the secretary for international affairs between 1976 and 1983, and also as an advisor for Prime Minister

Kalevi Sorsa Taisto Kalevi Sorsa (21 December 1930 – 16 January 2004) was a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland three times: 1972–1975, 1977–1979 and 1982–1987. At the time of his death he still held the record for most day ...

from 1980 to 1983. In 1983 Väänänen was elected as the Secretary General of the Socialist International to succeed

Bernt Carlsson Bernt Wilmar Carlsson (21 November 1938 – 21 December 1988) was a Swedish social democrat and diplomat who served as Assistant-Secretary-General of the United Nations and United Nations Commissioner for Namibia from July 1987 until he died on ...

, and served until 1989. Later he worked in the

OSCE Parliamentary Assembly The Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE (OSCE PA) is an institution of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The primary task of the 323-member Assembly is to facilitate inter-parliamentary dialogue, an important aspect of the o ...

until 2004. He is also the author of the book Purppuraruusu ja samettinyrkki (in Finnish).

Personal life

On July 17, 2020, Väänänen died in his sleep with his wife by his side after battling cancer for a year.

References

1945 births 2020 deaths Social Democratic Party of Finland politicians Socialist International {{SocialDemocraticPartyFinland-politician-stub