PRIME Minister of Finland from 1987 to 1991, Mr Harri Holkeri (59) was the first member of the conservative National Coalition Party to hold that position since the second World War.
Pragmatic and moderate in approach, he oversaw a government of disparate right and left forces at a sensitive time when the Soviet Union was undergoing the turmoil of perestroika.
He has a reputation as a skillful negotiator and a good and patient listener who is noted for having no enemies in Finnish politics. But his somewhat distant manner did not make him a favourite with voters.
He was a member of Helsinki City Council for 19 years until 1988, and was its chairman from 1981 to 1987. In 1970 he entered the Finnish parliament where he served as a member of its foreign affairs committee as chairman of the parliamentary supervisors of the Bank of Finland and as vice chairman, and later chairman of the European Free Trade Area parliamentary body.
He became secretary general of the National Coalition Party in 1965 at his age of 28.
He was its chairman from 1971 to 1979 and played an important role in bringing his party into accord with the Kekkonen Line the official foreign policy of the day which centred on good relations with the Soviet Union.
Since then, he has been noted for his expertise in foreign policy matters.
On a visit to Dublin in March 1990 during the Irish presidency of the European Community he held talks on trade issues with the then Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey.
In an address to the Royal Irish Academy, Mr Holkeri argued that Finnish neutrality was of more value than ever in an integrating Europe. "Neutrality does not mean stagnation," he said.
He has been a Bank of Finland board member since 1978.
He is married with a son and a daughter.