Paavo Juhani Haavikko (January 25, 1931 – October 6, 2008) was a Finnish poet, playwright, essayist and publisher, considered one of the country's most outstanding writers.

As a result of his literary achievements, he became the leading writer of his generation and of the entire postwar period in Finland.

[4] Haavikko placed many of his works in historical context but included references to more modern politics, such as Juho Kusti Paasikivi and Stalin in his play Agricola ja kettu ('Agricola and the Fox'), or Urho Kaleva Kekkonen as a Viking ruler.

[1] He scrutinized Finland's leading politicians and civil servants in his column in weekly magazine Suomen Kuvalehti.

After the death of his first wife he started to write about subjects less discussed in poetry: economy, politics and society.

[4] The high opinion of Haavikko's poetry was not confined to his home country: John Ashbery considered The Winter Palace as "one of the great poems of the century".