Raimo Ilaskivi 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. He holds a doctor's degree of economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

 from the University of Helsinki

University of Helsinki

The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...

 and has also studied in the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

Ilaskivi is best known as the mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

 from 1979 to 1991. Previously he was Managing director of the Finnish Banker's Association, the Industrial Bank of Finland and the Helsinki Stock Exchange. He has also held management positions in several Finnish companies. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland

Parliament of Finland

The Eduskunta , is the parliament of Finland. The unicameral parliament has 200 members and meets in the Parliament House in Helsinki. The latest election to the parliament took place on April 17, 2011.- Constitution :...

 from 1962 to 1974 and member of the European Parliament 1996-99 as well as the presidential candidate of the Conservative Party 1994. He is author of 9 books in the field of economics and politics. Ilaskivi has also been 20 years docent (senior lecturer) of economics at the University of Helsinki. Ilaskivi has earned several high awards and decorations both from Finland and from other countries. Since 1999 he has been the Chancellor of the Ordo Sancti Constantini Magni

Ordo Sancti Constantini Magni

Ordo Sancti Constantini Magni is an self-styled international, ecumenical Christian Order under the Auspices of the Patriarch and Pope Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa. The Master of the Order is H.S.H. Friedrich, Duke and Prince of Beaufort-Spontin...

 and since 2009 Deputy Master.

He was born as Raimo Hämäläinen and changed his surname to Ilaskivi in 1947.