Kimmo Kiljunen (born 13 June 1951) is a Finnish author and politician of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

. He served in the

Finnish parliament The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The P ...

from 1995 to 2011. 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 Vantaa (; , ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the north of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population of Vantaa is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Vantaa is part of the Helsinki Metropoli ...

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

Education and early career

Kiljunen was born in

Ruokolahti Ruokolahti (; ; literally translated the " Reed Bay") is a municipality of Finland, situated in south-eastern Finland, in the region of South Karelia. Neighbouring municipalities are Imatra, Lappeenranta, Taipalsaari, Puumala, Sulkava, Punkaharju, ...

. He obtained a PhD from the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

. 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 The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Political career

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 The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

. Kiljunen was a member and vice-chair of the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe 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 ...

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 Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva (born 23 August 1950) is a Kyrgyzstani politician and diplomat 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 ...

asked him, as Special Representative for Central Asia of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, to coordinate the process to establish it. 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 diplomacy, a ' (PNG) is a foreign diplomat that is asked by the host country to be recalled to their home country. If the person is not recalled as requested, the host state may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the diplo ...

. In addition to his role in parliament, Kiljunen has been chairing the Finnish delegation to the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up of ...

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 The Council of Europe was founded on 5 May 1949 by ten western and northern European states, with Greece joining three months later, and Iceland, Turkey and West Germany joining the next year. It now has 46 member states, with Montenegro being th ...

(Monitoring Committee); the Sub-Committee on External Relations; and the Sub-Committee on Conflicts between Council of Europe Member States. In the latter capacity, he is the Assembly's

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. Kiljunen is a member of the

AWEPA The Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA) is an international parliamentary association that is strictly non-partisan, founded by European parliamentarians in 1984. In cooperation with African parliaments, AWEPA works to s ...

Governing Council. 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 Parliament House may refer to: Meeting places of parliament Australia * Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia * Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia * Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland * P ...

. 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, 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.

Personal life

Kiljunen married

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Marja-Liisa Kiljunen Marja-Liisa Kiljunen is a Finnish diplomat. She has been Finnish Ambassador to Lithuania and Belarus from 2008 to 2012. Prior to that, she served as a circulating ambassador from Helsinki in 2004 to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan ...

in 1972. They filed for divorce on 21 October 2008. They raised two daughters, Rauha and Riikka and two sons, Veikko and Jaakko. In 2017, Kiljunen married Russian-born Svetlana Kiljunen ().

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiljunen, Kimmo 1951 births Living people People from Ruokolahti Social Democratic Party of Finland politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (1995–1999) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1999–2003) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2003–2007) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2007–2011) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2011–2015) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2019–2023) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2023–2027) Alumni of the University of Sussex Finland–Kyrgyzstan relations Finland–Russia relations Finnish expatriates in Kenya Finnish expatriates in the United States