Paasio became member of the Parliament in July 1975, however, he lost the seat in the 1979 parliamentary elections.

[1] Paasio followed the path of his father, Rafael Paasio, when he was elected to succeed Kalevi Sorsa as the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party in 1987.

Paasio succeeded Sorsa in the government as the Minister of Foreign Affairs on 1 February 1989.

His daughter Heli Paasio was a member of the Parliament.

[4] This article about a Member of the European Parliament from Finland is a stub.