Pentti Väänänen (12 February 1945 – 17 July 2020) was a Finnish politician and Master of Laws from the Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP).

He worked in the Social Democratic Party of Finland as the secretary for international affairs between 1976 and 1983, and also as an advisor for Prime Minister Kalevi Sorsa from 1980 to 1983.

In 1983 Väänänen was elected as the Secretary General of the Socialist International to succeed Bernt Carlsson,[3] and served until 1989.

He is also the author of the book Purppuraruusu ja samettinyrkki (in Finnish).ISBN 9789525787115 On July 17, 2020, Väänänen died in his sleep with his wife by his side after battling cancer for a year.

This article about a Social Democratic Party of Finland politician is a stub.