Kari Juhani Karanko (12 March 1941 in Suomussalmi – 9 May 2020 in Helsinki) was a Finnish diplomat. He was Master of Science (Economics) by education.[1] He was Finnish Ambassador to Dar es Salaam from 1988 [2] to 1993 and then the Development Counselor of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.[3] He was Finnish ambassador to Windhoek (Namibia) from 1998 to 2000.[4] From there, Karanko had to return to Finland because he had criticized the Namibian government because it had taken part in the Second Congo War.[5] After that, he was the head of the Department for International Environmental Policy at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. From 2006 to 2007, Karanko was Finnish Ambassador to Kathmandu.[6]