Erkki Liikanen

Chair for Trustees, IFRS Foundation

Mr. Erkki Liikanen is the chair of Trustees of IFRS Foundation. His initial three-year term began in October 2108. Mr. Liikanen is also the Chairman of the Board of Helsinki Graduate School of Economics. Mr. Erkki Liikanen, MPolSc (Econ.), was Governor of the Bank of Finland from July 2004 until July 2018 having served two full 7-year terms. He was 10 years Chairman of the ECB Audit Committee, with a mandate to enhance the corporate governance of the ECB and the Eurosystem. He was also Governor of the International Monetary Fund for Finland.

In 2012, Mr. Liikanen chaired a High-level Expert Group proposing structural reforms to the EU banking sector. At the European Commission, Mr. Liikanen was responsible for Enterprise and Information Society, and earlier for Budget, Personnel and Administration. In all, Mr. Liikanen was a member of the European Commission for almost ten years.

In the early 1990s, Mr. Liikanen was head of the Finnish Mission to the European Union. Before commencing his international career, Mr. Liikanen was Minister of Finance for Finland.

Mr. Liikanen is so far the youngest person ever to become a member of the Finnish Parliament, starting his parliamentary career in 1971 at the age of 21. He served more than 18 years as a member of Parliament. Mr. Liikanen is an economist by training. He holds a masters degree in Political Science (Economics) from the University of Helsinki. He also holds honorary doctorates from the University of Technology, Finland (2003), Aalto University School of Economics, Finland (2011) and University of Eastern Finland (2019).

Mr. Liikanen is married to Hanna-Liisa Liikanen PhD. They have two daughters. He is the Chairman of Association the Finnish Symphony Orchestras, an active member of civil society. Mr. Liikanen served as President of the Finnish Red Cross in 2008–2014. He is a member of the Finance Commission of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Erkki Liikanen will talk about his new book “Olin joukon nuorin” on Westin Stage on 16:45-17:15 August 29th. Check out the timetable!

Book Publication