Max Jakobson (September 30, 1923 – March 9, 2013) was a Finnish

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and

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of Finnish-Jewish descent. Jakobson was an instrumental figure in shaping Finland's policy of neutrality during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. Max Jakobson was born in 1923 in Viipuri,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

(now Vyborg,

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), as son of Finnish-Jewish lawyer Jonas Jakobson and his ethnic Finnish wife Helmi (née Virtanen). He began his career as a

. He worked at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. From 1953 to 1974 he was employed by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs eventually acting as Finland's ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

in 1965-1971 and Finland's Ambassador to Sweden in 1971−1974. Jakobson ran for

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

in the 1971 selection. He was one of three candidates to receive the required 9 votes in the Security Council, but he was vetoed by the Soviet Union. Jakobson was active as a commentator on Finnish politics, having written several books and numerous articles on Finnish political history and contemporary Finnish politics. He also acted as chairman of the Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity investigating Communist and Nazi crimes in

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

.Members of the International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity

Works

* * Englanti valinkauhassa (1952) * Diplomaattien talvisota (1955) * Kuumalla linjalla (1968) * Paasikivi Tukholmassa (1978). . * Veteen piirretty viiva (1980). . * 38. kerros (1983). . * * Vallanvaihto (1992). . * Finland in the New Europe (1998) * Väkivallan vuodet, 20. vuosisadan tilinpäätös (1999). . * Pelon ja toivon aika, 20. vuosisadan tilinpäätös (2001). (. * Tilinpäätös, 20. vuosisadan tilinpäätös (2003). . * Tulevaisuus? (2005). . * Kohtalonvuodet – Suomi nousi, taipui ja selvisi (2008). .

References

Sources

* Tarkka, Jukka: ''Max Jakobson – kansainvälinen suomalainen'' ("Max Jacobson - International Finn"). Otava, 1983.

Works

References

Sources

Further reading