Harri Holkeri
Harri Holkeri
Harri Hermanni Holkeri was a Finnish statesman representing the National Coalition Party of Finland. He was the Prime Minister of Finland 1987–1991, speaker of the UN General Assembly 2000–2001 and headed the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo from 2003- 2004...
NationalityFinnish
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth6 January 1937
CountryFinland
against bring domestic fighting instead involved people together work
When I was involved in Finnish domestic problems, I used to bring people together and make them work together instead of fighting against each other.
certain confidence create political rule rules trust
There are certain rules that are very important in political negotiations. The first rule is to create more trust and confidence between the parties.
concerned environmental facing grave though urgent
I think we have grave problems. I am very much concerned about environmental questions, even though in Finnish society, we are not facing the most urgent problems.
cannot commit hard unless
You cannot make easy decisions unless you first commit yourself to hard solutions.
We have the tools, but we have to learn how to use them. That is my political philosophy.
accepting cannot further help
Without accepting the other person's thinking, you cannot further your own interest. You need the other's help to get results.
civil learned quite second united visible war wounds
In Finland, we learned quite a lot from our own civil war. The wounds were visible when I was a boy, but my generation went into the Second World War and it united the Finnish nation, so I do not see any more wounds.
forget personal subject view
Your personal view on the subject is not always so important. To get a decision, you sometimes have to forget your own ideas, your own views.
people together facts
My opinion on who's wrong or who's right has nothing to do with the fact that we have to bring together people who are against each other, to transform antagonism into cooperation.
enforcement kind operations
Peace enforcement is a much more difficult kind of operation than peacekeeping.
problem has-beens nations
In every European nation, there have been problems in history when the society was too divided.
issues president better-life
If there is something I would like to do as President of the General Assembly, it is to place more emphasis on the issue of education, which enables a better life for women.
thinking decision political
I think I can regard myself as a political decision-maker.
thinking years differences
I recently reread an article of mine written in 1964, and I think it is still valid. There is not much difference. Many of the items on the agenda 37 years ago are still there.