Heikki Haavisto is a Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and lobbyist. He was the Finnish foreign minister in Esko Aho's cabinet between 1993 and 1995 representing Centre Party

Centre Party (Finland)

The Centre Party is a centrist and Nordic agrarian political party in Finland. It is one of the four largest political parties in the country, along with the Social Democratic Party , the National Coalition Party and the True Finns , and currently has 35 seats in the Finnish Parliament...

.

Haavisto was a long-term chairman of MTK

MTK

The three-letter acronym MTK may refer to the following:*Mississippi Thunder Kings a competitive minor hockey association, in Ontario Canada for the towns of Carleton Place, Almonte, Pakenham and surrounding areas....

, a lobby organization of rural professionals. He was the chairman between 1976 and 1994. He is an agronom by education.

Haavisto was one of the chief negotiators, when Finland negotiated the accession into the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

. He resigned as the foreign minister on 21.1.1995 due to a serious illness.