Lieutenant General Pasi Välimäki

Commander Finnish Army

LTG Välimäki was born on 1st September 1965 in Turku, Finland. He graduated from the Finnish Military Academy in 1989. After graduation, he served in the Signals Regiment.

After graduating from the General Staff Officer Course, LTG Välimäki has served in the Defence Command in various positions (1998-2015): Army Staff (ISTAR, EW), J6 Division (EW), J5 (Strategic Planning) and J3 (Joint Fires and JC2). In 2013, he was assigned as the Branch Chief for Strategic Planning, J5 Division. During this assignment, he served as a permanent expert of the Parliamentary Assessment Group which achieved the Long- Term Challenges of Defence (2013-2014). He also served as a permanent member of the Finnish MoD- led pre-study on the Future Fighter Program (HX) for Finland (2014-2015).

LTG Välimäki served as a UN military observer in the Balkans from May 1995 to May 1996. In 2000, he served in KFOR Kosovo with the Finnish Battalion. From 2003 until 2005, he was assigned as the Finnish national liaison officer (J9) to the U.S. Joint Forces Command, Norfolk, VA. That is when he also graduated from the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College (CSCDEP). In 2012, he served in the Regional Command North HQ, ISAF.

As a lieutenant colonel, he commanded the Signals Battalion of the Karelia Brigade from 2007 to 2009. Later, LTG Välimäki became the Commander of the Karelia Brigade (2017- 2019) after which he was assigned as the Deputy Chief of Staff Operations at the Defence Command and promoted to major general.

He is an Executive MBA graduate (2010) from Aalto University (Helsinki School of Economics) and a graduate (2016) from the National War College (National Defense University, Washington D.C. U.S.A.) with an MSc in National Security Strategy.

LTG Välimäki was assigned as the Commander of the Finnish Army on 1st January 2022. He was promoted to lieutenant general in December 2021.

He is married to Eija Hannele Välimäki (née Linden). They have one daughter, Laura (2002).