Alumni Stories: Lt Gen Esa Pulkkinen

Lieutenant General Esa Pulkkinen, Director General of the EU Military Staff (EUMS), paid a visit to the GCSP. His discusses his previous experiences and engagements with the GCSP.
General Pulkkinen is an esteemed ITC 1995-96 alumnus, a former participant of the nine-month GCSP course. The ITC is currently referred to as the LISC (Leadership in Security Course). General Pulkkinen vividly described his time in Geneva in the aftermath of the Cold War as an important moment in building and designing multilateral security and in strengthening international institutions. He noted that the course brought him both a deep knowledge of international security as well as put him into contact with high level experts which gave him an important and impactful international network that lasted throughout his career. Presently, he still interacts with former course participants who have become part of his international network. Many of them have also reached senior positions. He also mentioned that learning French in French-speaking Geneva helped him to gain greater access in Brussels and has helped him build more meaningful interaction and collaboration with his counterparts in Western Africa and the Sahel