Harri Holkeri

We have the tools, but we have to learn how to use them. That is my political philosophy.

When the problems in Northern Ireland started, it was not a question of Protestantism or Catholicism, because the Catholic church was the only church at that time-it was a nationalist conflict.

That is where consensus-building begins-with the idea that you have your own truth, but that the negotiator on the other side of the table has his own truth as well.

Discussion is just a tool. You have to aim; the final goal must be a decision.

In Finland we have equal political rights for women and men. We do not regard ourselves according to sex.

Finland had a civil war less than 100 years ago, just like in Ireland. If you look at the history of newly independent nations, civil war is almost every time present, even in the United States.

In Finland, we learned quite a lot from our own civil war. The wounds were visible when I was a boy, but my generation went into the Second World War and it united the Finnish nation, so I do not see any more wounds.

I think I can regard myself as a political decision-maker.

We Finns represent a very transparent and open-minded way of reaching political decisions.

Men and women have roles - their roles are different, but their rights are equal.

If there is something I would like to do as President of the General Assembly, it is to place more emphasis on the issue of education, which enables a better life for women.

The Baltic Sea is becoming more and more polluted. Not everybody living near the shore of the Baltic Sea is protecting it. It is the water of life for countries like Finland and Sweden.