Aaltola was born in Jämsänkoski on 2 May 1969.[5][6] He grew up in the village of Kintaus in Petäjävesi, where his mother Sinikka Aaltola worked as a primary school teacher since 1974. His father Juhani Aaltola was a professor of education at the University of Jyväskylä. Mika Aaltola's sister is animal philosopher Elisa Aaltola.[7]
In 2019, he published the book Poutasään jälkeen (English: After the dry weather) about international politics since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war in 2014.[9][10][11] The same year, Aaltola was elected director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, where he had been working since 2011 as leader of the research project on global security.[12]
Aaltola was named Tampere University alumnus of the year in September 2022.[13] In October, he released the book Mihin menet Suomi? Pelon aika Euroopassa, a collection of his notes and texts from June 2021 to July 2022.[14] His latest book, Havahtuminen (English: Awakening), is set to be released in early October.[15]
Upon the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Aaltola became a prominent voice in Finnish foreign policy.[16] Aaltola also gained popularity in culture and media.[17] In addition to being an active commentator on domestic and global affairs, Aaltola also appeared in numerous TV-shows, such as Elämäni Biisi.[18]
Owing to his high-profile during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Aaltola rose to the peak position of an October 2022 poll in anticipation of the presidential elections in 2024. Aaltola responded that he found it unlikely he would become president, but that if he ran, he would do so as an independent.[19][20]
On 3 August 2023, Aaltola announced in Luumäki his intention to run for president as an independent, saying he ”felt an obligation” to help Finland. In his speech, he mentioned that:
"One cannot refuse (the presidency) just because the road is narrow. You have to be ready to take on challenges, especially when the world is in great turmoil. Finland needs a reforming president and a new kind of leadership".[21]
Since his announcement, Aaltola has been actively campaigning, whilst being off duty from his role at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.[22] Since he is running as an independent, his team needed to collect the required 20,000 support cards.[23] This was later achieved.
His campaign is active on X (previously Twitter), Meta-platforms, LinkedIn and TikTok.[24]
Aaltola was running his 2024 Presidential campaign on a platform of support for Ukraine, increase in defense spending to 3%, support for NATO, and allowing for weapons from the United States to be stored in Finland for strategic purposes.[27]
On the Helsingin Sanomat political spectrum, Aaltola was labeled slightly economically centre-left, and socially neither conservative nor liberal.[28] He is currently running for the role of MEP in the upcoming European Union Parliament elections as a candidate by the centre-right National Coalition Party.
Aaltola is married to Kirsi Aaltola, and their first child was born in April 2022.[30][31]
At the age of 37, Aaltola had a benign brain tumor removed from the frontal cavity whilst in the United States. According to Aaltola, the probability of dying from the operation would have been as high as 80 percent. Aaltola survived, but his right eye was damaged, as a result of which he lost 30 percent of his vision.[32]
