1959
The Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) was established in 1959. The decision to create its administrative head, the Foundation for Foreign Policy Research, was made by the Paasikivi Society in November 1959, giving the Foundation the task of setting up FIIA.
1961
The intention behind the decision was to establish a more politically independent organisation than the Paasikivi Society, with a mission to conduct research and foster informed public debate on foreign policy issues. The Foundation’s board appointed Jaakko Iloniemi as its representative, and initial attempts were made to secure additional funding from the corporate sector. However, corporate support was limited, and it was not until the Ministry of Education granted 500,000 Finnish Marks that the institute was able to begin its operations in August 1961.
1965
Osmo Apunen was appointed as the Institute’s first director in 1965. During this period, the focus was on organising occasional working groups. FIIA established a library and launched a publication series titled Maailma tänään (The World Today) in collaboration with the publishing house Tammi.
1972
The journal Ulkopolitiikka (The Finnish Journal of Foreign Affairs), originally founded by the Paasikivi Society in 1961, ceased publication in 1968. However, in 1972 FIIA revived the magazine. That same year the Institute received increased government support which enabled the appointment of a full-time director and a publicist. Jaakko Kalela was initially appointed as director, but he soon took a leave of absence and the role was taken over by the publicist Kari Möttölä.
1987
The Institute aimed to solidify its identity as a research institute by defining three priorities for its research: Finnish foreign policy, neutrality, and the general theory of foreign policy and the foreign policy of other states. However, FIIA did not have a full-time researcher until 1987. The Institute’s activities began to expand and solidify when Paavo Lipponen became the director in 1989.
2006
Discussions about nationalising the Institute began as early as the 1970s and 1980s with plans to bring the Institute under the auspices of either the Finnish Parliament or the Ministry of Education. In 2006, the tenure of the Institute was officially transferred from the Foundation for Foreign Policy Research to the Finnish Parliament. The Parliament passed the Act on the Research Institute for International Relations and European Union Affairs, expanding the Institute’s responsibilities to include new tasks.
2024
The director of FIIA is Hiski Haukkala (2024-2029). Previously, the Institute has been led by Mikael Mattlin (served during the leave of absence of Aaltola in 2024), Mika Aaltola (2019–2024), Teija Tiilikainen (2010–2019), Raimo Väyrynen (2007–2009), Tapani Vaahtoranta (1991–2007), Tuomas Forsberg (served during the leave of absence of Vaahtoranta in 1998–2001), Paavo Lipponen (1989–1991), Kari Möttölä (1973–1988), Jaakko Kalela (1972–1973), and Osmo Apunen (1965–1972).
Sources: Mikko Metsämäki’s article ”UPI:n oppivuodet. Informaation välittäjästä tutkimusinstituutiksi” (FIIA’s Apprenticeship Years: From Information Broadcaster to Research Institute), published in Ulkopolitiikka magazine, issue 3/2001, and the Finnish Institute of International Affairs’ 2006 annual report.