Kalevi Jaakko Holsti,FRSC (born 1935) is aFinnish-Canadian political scientist.
Kal Holsti and his elder brotherOle were born inGeneva, while their fatherRudolf served as Finland's ambassador to theLeague of Nations. Following the outbreak ofWorld War II, the Holsti family was unable to return to Finland, and instead settled in the United States, where Rudolf held a visiting professorship atStanford University. Kal and Ole lived with the families of Rudolf's Stanford colleagues after he died, as Liisa, their mother, had been hospitalized since 1943 with tuberculosis.[1][2]
Kal Holsti entered Stanford as an undergraduate in 1952 and completed a doctorate at the institution in 1961.[1][3] He later immigrated to Canada and became a professor at theUniversity of British Columbia (UBC) in 1970.[4] Between 1978 and 1982, Holsti was co-editor of theCanadian Journal of Political Science.[4] In 1983, he was elected a fellow of theRoyal Society of Canada.[3] Between 1984 and 1985, Holsti was president of theCanadian Political Science Association. Holsti subsequently led theInternational Studies Association as president from 1986 to 1987.[4] From 1997 to 1999, Holsti held the University Killam Professorship at UBC.[3][5]
