Top
Skip to Content
LOGO(small) - Queen's University Belfast
  • Our x-twitter
LOGO(large) - Queen's University Belfast

The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute
For Global Peace, Security And Justice

  • Home
  • About us
  • Research and Impact
    • Research Areas
    • Research Impact
    • Publications
    • Digital Events & Public Engagement
    • Blogs
    • GFA25
  • Podcasts
    • Taliban Turbans and The Smartphone
    • Mitchell Institute Conversations Podcast
    • The Partition of Ireland: Causes and Consequences
    • Postgraduate MPod Podcast
  • People
    • Academic Staff
    • GRI Fellows
    • Research-Funded Posts
    • Visiting Scholars
    • Professors Emeriti
    • Honorary Professors
    • Honorary Professors of Practice
    • International Advisory Board
  • Study
    • LINAS Doctoral Training Programme
    • LINCS Doctoral Training Programme
    • MA Conflict Transformation and Social Justice
    • Previous Scholarships
  • News
  • Events
  • Annual Reviews
  • Policies
  • Contact us
  • Home
  • About us
  • Research and Impact
    • Research Areas
    • Research Impact
    • Publications
    • Digital Events & Public Engagement
    • Blogs
    • GFA25
  • Podcasts
    • Taliban Turbans and The Smartphone
    • Mitchell Institute Conversations Podcast
    • The Partition of Ireland: Causes and Consequences
    • Postgraduate MPod Podcast
  • People
    • Academic Staff
    • GRI Fellows
    • Research-Funded Posts
    • Visiting Scholars
    • Professors Emeriti
    • Honorary Professors
    • Honorary Professors of Practice
    • International Advisory Board
  • Study
    • LINAS Doctoral Training Programme
    • LINCS Doctoral Training Programme
    • MA Conflict Transformation and Social Justice
    • Previous Scholarships
  • News
  • Events
  • Annual Reviews
  • Policies
  • Contact us
  • Our x-twitter
In This Section
  • Home
  • About us
  • Research and Impact
  • Podcasts
  • People
  • Study
  • News
  • Events
  • Annual Reviews
  • Policies
  • Contact us

  • Home
  • News

News

Elina Valtonen MP delivers 10th Harri Holkeri Lecture at Queen's

13 March, 2025

We were delighted to welcome Elina Valtonen MP, the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Finland, to Queen’s University Belfast to deliver the 10th Harri Holkeri Lecture on 3 March 2025.

Pictured L-R: Professor Richard English, Director, Mitchell Institute, QUB, Tina McKenzie, Honorary Consul to Finland in Belfast, Professor Sir Ian Greer, President and Vice Chancellor, QUB, Elina Valtonen MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Finland, His Excellency Jukka Siukosaari, Ambassador of Finland to the UK and Dr Ryan Feeney, Vice-President Governance And External Affairs.

The Harri Holkeri Lecture Series is organised and hosted by the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice and the Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility Directorate at Queen’s, in partnership with the Embassy of Finland, with His Excellency Jukka Siukosaari, Ambassador of Finland to the UK, in attendance.

The Lecture Series recognises and celebrates the contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process of the late Finnish Prime Minister Harri Holkeri.  Holkeri’s aspiration to transform conflict and promote social justice in Northern Ireland and across the world is shared by the Mitchell Institute.

In her Lecture, entitled: ‘Peace Mediation in the Age of Geopolitical Contestation,’ Minister Valtonen explored the key principles, including fairness and inclusivity, that should undermine efforts to achieve sustainable peace.

She reflected on the lessons from the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and applied the lessons from global experiences of peacebuilding to the efforts to end the war in Ukraine, emphasising the importance of Ukrainians having the right to determine their own future and ensure the long-term security of Ukraine and Europe.

This event was introduced by Tina McKenzie, Honorary Consul to Finland in Belfast and chaired by Professor Richard English, Mitchell Institute Director.

Professor Sir Ian Greer, President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s said:

“We were delighted to welcome Minister Valtonen to deliver the 10th Harri Holkeri lecture at Queen’s.  This Lecture Series reflects the University’s commitment to global peace and honours the legacy of the late former Finnish Prime Minister and statesman, Harri Holkeri.

“Minister Valtonen’s thought-provoking lecture serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of dialogue and mediation in the pursuit of sustainable peace, and the critical role we all can play in shaping a more just and secure world for future generations.”

Commenting on the event, Mitchell Institute Director, Professor Richard English said:

“The Mitchell Institute was delighted to host Minister Valtonen, whose very thoughtful and insightful Lecture offered many points of timely significance.”

 

 

Previous Harri Holkeri Lectures include:

9th Harri Holkeri Lecture

6 June 2024

Pekka Haavisto MP

The New European Security: Lesson’s Learned from Finland’s Road to NATO

 

8th Harri Holkeri Lecture

24 April 2023

Dr Anne Anderson

Perspective; Conscience; Integrity: Reflections From a Career in Diplomacy

 

7th Harri Holkeri Lecture

21 May 2019

Bertie Ahern

Peace Process - In Light of Brexit Issues

 

6th Harri Holkeri Lecture

29 May 2018

President Michael D. Higgins

Remembering, Forgiving, Forgetting and Imagining

 

5th Harri Holkeri Lecture

9 May 2017

Tarja Halonen, Former President of Finland

Reflections on Women and Peace-building

 

4th Harri Holkeri Lecture

23 May 2016

Arlene Foster, Former First Minister of Northern Ireland

Women, Leadership and Peace-building

 

3rd Harri Holkeri Lecture

22 April 2015

Senator George J. Mitchell

Reflections on Brokering Peace in Divided Societies

 

2nd Harri Holkeri Lecture

29 May 2014

Ambassador Akbar S. Ahmed

Islam, Peace-building and Conflict Transformation

 

1st Harri Holkeri Lecture

21 May 2013

Martti Ahtisaari, Former President of Finland

Egalitarianism in Conflict Resolution

Share
Latest News
  • Law, Policy and Practice in Sustaining Peace
    19 May, 2025
  • Professor Kieran McEvoy Takes Up Visiting Scholar Position at Harvard
    19 May, 2025
  • Election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
    16 May, 2025
  • Palestinian Bedouins and the Risk of Forced Displacement
    15 May, 2025
  • Reflections on Kharkiv
    14 May, 2025
The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice
  • The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice
  • Home
  • About us
  • Research and Impact
  • Podcasts
  • People
  • Study
  • News
  • Events
  • Annual Reviews
  • Policies
  • Contact us
QUB Logo
Contact Us

The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice 

Queen's University Belfast
18-19 University Square
Belfast
United Kingdom
BT7 1NN

T: +44 (0) 28 9097 3609 / 1346 
E: mitchell.institute@qub.ac.uk

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Study
  • Research
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter

Social Media

© Queen's University Belfast 2024
  • Privacy and cookies
  • Website accessibility
  • Freedom of information
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
  • University Policies and Procedures
Information
  • Privacy and cookies
  • Website accessibility
  • Freedom of information
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
  • University Policies and Procedures

© Queen's University Belfast 2024

Manage cookies