Pasi Juhani Rutanen (born. 23 October 1936, in Jyväskylä) is a Finnish journalist and diplomat.

Rutanen studied at the University of Helsinki and did same time cartoons and columns at the Ylioppilaslehti. After graduating as a bachelor of political science he went to Finnish Broadcasting Company. In the mid-1960s, he was sent to the United States as the first Washington correspondent of the Finnish Broadcasting Company, until he moved to the diplomatic service in 1970.^[1]

Rutanen is especially remembered of the reports from Houston about of the Apollo 11 flight which landed on the moon.

Rutanen was an Ambassador from 1984 to 1987 in Manila^[2] and served as Deputy Director General of the Development Cooperation Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between 1987 and 1989, as a negotiating officer from 1989 to 1991, Ambassador to Bangkok in years 1984–1986^[3] Finland's ambassador to the OECD delegation in Paris^[4] 1991–1997 and Ambassador in Beijing 1997–2001^[5]

Rutanen lives with his American wife in Paris^[6]