In any event, Finland's present foreign minister, Tarja Halonen, a Social Democrat who seems likeliest to face Mr Aho in the event of a run-off, is sceptical about joining the Atlantic alliance, and the idea has, for the moment, faded.

ECONOMIST: Finland

Our roster also includes incumbents, such as President Mary McAleese of Ireland, President Tarja Halonen of Finland and President Vaira Vike-Freiberga of Latvia, whose term is up next year but who is rumored to be a potential successor to Kofi Annan as head of the United Nations.

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The event was attended by French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault , UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet, former President of Finland Tarja Halonen, Director-General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Leila Zerrougui.

UNESCO: Office in Islamabad