Pär Stenbäck (born 12 August 1941 in

Porvoo Porvoo (; ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located on the south coast of the country, on the Gulf of Finland. Porvoo lies in the eastern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Porvoo is approximately , while the Porvoo sub-region, sub-re ...

) is a Finnish

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and debater. Stenbäck was elected to the Finnish parliament at the age of 28 and functioned as the party chairman for the

Swedish People's Party The Swedish People's Party of Finland (SPP; , SFP; , RKP) is a Finnish political party founded in 1906. Its primary aim is to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finland. The party is currently a participant in ...

1977–1985. He was Minister of Education and then Foreign Minister in two governments, 1979–1983. This was followed by significant roles within the

International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a aid agency, humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of Law of ...

, International Youth Foundation, the

Nordic Council of Ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers is an intergovernmental forum established after the Helsinki Treaty. The purpose of the Nordic Council of Ministers is to complement the Nordic Council and promote Nordic cooperation. Structure The governm ...

, the

Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and several other organisations.

Career

Stenbäck studied political science at

Helsinki University The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Tsar Al ...

. He worked as a journalist for

YLE Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...

from 1964 to 1967. Stenbäck has been a member of the city council of

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

, and also 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 ...

(1970–1985). He was the Minister of Education (1979 to 1982),

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

(1982 to 1983) and Party Leader of the

(1977 to 1985). He received an Honorary Minister title in 1999. He has also been the general secretary for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

from 1988 to 1992. He received the prestigious

Henry Dunant Medal The Henry Dunant Medal is the highest award of the Red Cross Movement. It is named after Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross Movement. The medal is presented every two years by the Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. Th ...

of the International Red Cross in 2009. Between 1992 and 1997 he functioned as the Secretary General of the

in Copenhagen. In 1991, he took part in the founding of the International Youth Foundation (IYF), now situated in Baltimore, as a director 1991–1996, thereafter as VP for Europe until 2005. In 1995, he became a founding board member of the

International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a global non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, conducting research and analysis on global crises. ...

. In 2001, together with ambassador , he founded the European Cultural Parliament, where he is the Chairman of the Senate. In the same year, he founded the Finnish Children and Youth Foundation and acted as its board chair until 2012. In June 2017, he founded the foreign policy association Nya Utrikespolitiska Samfundet.

Publications

Stenbäck has published two books depicting his career in politics and in the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement (2007 and 2009). He is a regular columnist in the daily ''

Hufvudstadsbladet ''Hufvudstadsbladet'' (abbr. ''HBL'') is the highest-circulation Swedish language, Swedish-language newspaper in Finland. Its headquarters is located in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The name of the newspaper translates approximately into "Jo ...

'' (Helsinki). * 2021, * 2018, * 2009, * 2007,

Awards and recognition

* 2009,

, International Red Cross/Red Crescent * 1999, Honorary Minister title in Finland

References

External links

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stenback, Par 1941 births Living people People from Porvoo Swedish-speaking Finns Swedish People's Party of Finland politicians Ministers of education of Finland Ministers for foreign affairs of Finland Members of the Parliament of Finland (1970–1972) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1972–1975) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1975–1979) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1979–1983) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1983–1987)