New Heads of Mission to Hanoi, Abu Dhabi and Alger

At the presidential session on Friday 20 March, the President of the Republic decided to appoint the  following new Ambassadors:

Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Ilkka-Pekka Similä is to serve as Head of the Embassy of Finland in Hanoi, Vietnam, from 1 September 2015. He will move to Hanoi from the post of Head of Mission in Abu Dhabi. Similä joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1989 and has worked in the Department for External Economic Relations, the Political Department and the Department for Development Cooperation. He has held posts in the Finnish embassies in Vienna and Cairo and in the Permanent Mission of Finland in Geneva, where he served as Head of the trade and economic sector in 2004–2007.

Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Riittamaija Swan is to serve as Head of the Embassy of Finland in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from 1 September 2015. Swan will move to Abu Dhabi from the Ministry's Unit for Communications on Europe and Neighbouring Areas where she serves as Director of Unit. She has also worked as Head of Training and held positions in the Department for External Economic Relations and the Department for Africa and the Middle East. Swan joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1987. She has held posts in the Finnish embassies in Stockholm and Budapest.

Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Tuula Svinhufvud is to serve as Head of the Embassy of Finland in Alger, Algeria, from 1 September 2015. Svinhufvud is currently working as Committee Counsel in the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament. Svinhufvud joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1989 and she has worked in the Department of Europe, the Department for Global Affairs, the Department for External Economic Relations and the Legal Department. She has also held posts in the Finnish embassies in Oslo, Santiago de Chile and Berlin.