Ambassador Klaus Korhonen

Mr Korhonen is currently Ambassador for Policy Planning at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. He is also Chairman of the Board of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA).

He was Ambassador of Finland to NATO 2019-2023 and, after Finland’s accession to the Alliance, the first Finnish Permanent Representative 4 April – 31 August 2023 .

He served as Ambassador for Arms Control at the MFA 2013-2017.

He was President of the international Arms Trade Treaty 2016-2017 (ATT Third Conference of States Parties).

Ambassador Korhonen was Head of Finnish Delegation to the 2015 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).  He was Chairman of the Plenary of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) in Helsinki 2015 and served as Finland’s Sherpa to the Nuclear Security Summits in The Hague 2014 and in Washington 2016.

Mr. Korhonen was Ambassador to the Netherlands and Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) from 2009 to 2013. In The Hague he led negotiations on the 2012 Budget of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as Facilitator of the Assembly of State Parties.

He was Deputy Director-General of the Department for Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, MFA, 2006-2009,  Director and Head of Unit for Policy Planning and Research 2001-2004, MFA, and in 2005 Visiting Research Fellow with Helsinki University Network for European Studies. From 1996 to 2000 Mr. Korhonen worked as Senior Desk Officer for General Security Policy and NATO affairs, MFA.

In 1991-1992 and 1993-1996 he served with the Permanent Mission of Finland to International Organisations in Geneva heading the Human Rights Section. In 1992-1993 he attended the International Training Course on Security Policy and Arms Control at the Graduate Institute of International Studies of Geneva. In 1988-1991 he was posted to the Finnish Embassy in Moscow. He joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1987.

Ambassador Korhonen holds MSc from Helsinki University 1986. He has been Chief Instructor at the Finnish National Defence Courses 2002-2003 and 2018-2019.

He was born in Helsinki on 3 May 1961. Ambassador Korhonen lives in Helsinki. He is married and has three children.