Marjatta Rasi

Biography

Marjatta Rasi was born in Punkalaidun, Finland on 29 November 1945. She graduated from the Helsinki University in 1969 with a degree in law (LLB). She joined Finland's foreign service in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1970 and was posted as Attaché at Vienna. In 1972, she was Second Secretary, in the Finland Embassy in London. She then moved back to Finland and worked from 1977 as Secretary of Section, Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Her next first posting in New York City was in 1979 as Counselor to the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations. She was back in Finland from 1983 as Counselor in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, where, from 1986 she became Director, Political Department (UN sector). In 1987, she was posted in New York City as Deputy Permanent Representative (Ambassador) of Finland to the United Nations Chairman of the Security Council Sanction Committee. From 1991, she became Ambassador of Finland to New Delhi, Dhaka, Colombo, Kathmandu and Thimphu. She was back in the Finland Ministry for Foreign Affairs as Director General, Department for International Development Cooperation, from 1995. She became a Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations in New York from 1 June 1998 till 2004. On 20 October 1998 she presented the "Nordic view" on expansion of the membership of the Security Council. On 3 October 2001 in her address to the UN she stated the action plan of the European Union to eradicate international terrorism. From 2000 she was also a Member of the Board of the International Peace Academy. From 2002 to 2003 she worked as Vice President of the Economical and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations and was involved in planning post war aid. In a report to the Security Council presented on 28 May 2004 she stated: "Humanitarian assistance, rehabilitation, recovery and reconstruction can and will overlap. These actions must often be accompanied by continuous crisis mitigation and prevention to avoid setbacks. Peacekeeping and security must be part of a coherent approach." In 2004, she presented to the Economic Council a "draft resolution on the Status of non-governmental organizations and other groups accredited to the World Summit on Sustainable Development". In 2004 she also presented a report on "smooth transition strategies for countries graduating from the list of least developed countries". When she was Under-Secretary of State for Development Policy at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, she was invited to be a member of the advisory group for the UN Peace building Fund, and in 2006, she was Chair of this fund which whad been established in 2005. Finland contributed 1.6 million Euros to this fund which covered assistance to Sierra Leone and Burundi. In October 2009, she took charge as Ambassador to Austria in Vienna, replacing Kirsti Kauppi; she was the eleventh Ambassador from Finland to Austria. During this period she also served as Finland's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organizations located in Vienna such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the International Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). She retired from foreign service in 2013 after a long career.

Following her retirement, the conservative National Coalition Party nominated Rasi for the 2014 European elections along with Kai Pöntinen. She secured 17 of 240 votes.