President of the Republic appointed new Ambassadors

The President of the Republic appointed new Ambassadors on 6 April. Most of them will assume their functions on 1 September 2018.

Pirkko Hämäläinen

Pirkko Hämäläinen will continue as Under-Secretary of State for internal and external services until the end of 2018 and take up her position as Head of the Embassy of Finland to Vienna on 1 January 2019.

Hämäläinen has been Under-Secretary of State since 2014.

She served as Ambassador of Finland to Riga from 2012 to 2014 and has worked as Deputy Head of Mission in Finland's Embassy to Tallinn and Reykjavik and held positions in the Embassy of Finland in Vienna. In the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Hämäläinen has worked, among other things, as Deputy Director General for Personnel and Director of the Unit for Europe Information.

Hämäläinen joined the Foreign Ministry in 1989.

Liisa Talonpoika

Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Liisa Talonpoika was appointed Head of the Embassy of Finland to Stockholm starting on 16 May 2018.

Talonpoika will transfer to Stockholm from the Department for Europe where she is currently Director General.

In the diplomatic service, she has worked as Head of the Mission of Finland to The Hague and, in the Ministry, for instance as Deputy Director General of the Department for Europe.

In addition to The Hague, her diplomatic career includes positions in Finland's missions to Brussels and Paris. She has also worked in the Secretariat of EU Affairs at the Prime Minister's Office.

Talonpoika joined the Foreign Ministry in 1990.

The following Ambassadors will assume their functions in September:

Riitta Resch

Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Riitta Resch was appointed Head of the Embassy of Finland to Brussels.

She will transfer to Brussels from the Department for Development Policy, where she is currently Senior Adviser, a position that she has held in the Political Department, too.

Resch joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1982. In the diplomatic service, she has been Ambassador of Finland to Cyprus and to the Philippines.

She has also worked in the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations in New York and in the Permanent Mission of Finland to Geneva, and served in the Embassies of Finland to New Delhi and Paris. In the Ministry, Resch has worked, among other things, in the Legal Department, Department for External Economic Relations, Political Department, and Protocol Department.

Jari Sinkari

Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Jari Sinkari was appointed Head of the Embassy of Finland to Jakarta, Indonesia, where he will transfer from the Consulate General of Finland in Hong Kong where he is currently Finland's Consul-General.

Previously, he has worked as Deputy Director General of the Department for Communications and Culture and, among other things, as Editor-in-Chief of Kauppapolitiikka magazine.

He has also worked in the Department for the Americas and Asia, Department for Development Cooperation, and Department for External Economic Relations.

Sinkari has gained experience of work in the diplomatic service also from New York, where he has worked as Deputy Consul-General in the Consulate General of Finland, and from Tokyo, where he has worked in the Embassy of Finland.

Sinkari joined the Foreign Ministry in 1997.

Johanna Karanko

Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Johanna Karanko was appointed Consul-General in the Consulate General of Finland in Hong Kong.

Karanko is currently Director of the Unit for Sustainable Development and Climate Policy.

In the Ministry, she has previously worked, among other things, in the Department for Europe. In the diplomatic service, she has worked in Finland's Permanent Mission to the United Nations and in Finland's missions to Paris, Geneva and Caracas.

Karanko joined the Foreign Ministry in 1996.

Antti Rytövuori

Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Antti Rytövuori was appointed Head of the Embassy of Finland to Riyadh where he will transfer from the Ministry's Unit for Internal Audit.

Rytövuori joined the Foreign Ministry in 1990.

He has served as Head of the Mission of Finland to Morocco and worked in the Consulate General in Los Angeles, Embassy of Finland to Beijing, and served twice in the Permanent Mission of Finland to Geneva. In the Ministry, he has worked, among other things, as Director of the Unit for Personnel.

Rytövuori has also been both board member and chair of the Union of Civil Servants of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Riitta Korpivaara

Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Riitta Korpivaara was appointed Head of the Embassy of Finland to Riga, Latvia.

She is currently Director of the Unit for Human Resources Development and Wellbeing at Work.

Previously she has worked, among other things, as Head of the Mission of Finland to Nigeria, and held positions in Finland's missions to Brussels, Algiers, Bucharest and Moscow.

She has also served as Deputy Consul General in New York and St Petersburg. In the Ministry, she has worked in the Legal Department, Political Department, Department for External Economic Affairs and Protocol Department. In the Administrative Department she has served as Head of Training.

Korpivaara joined the Foreign Ministry in 1980.

Eija Rotinen

Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Eija Rotinen was appointed Head of the Embassy of Finland to Santiago de Chile. She is currently Deputy Director General of the Department for the Americas and Asia.

Previously, Rotinen has served as the Ambassador of Finland to Managua and as Head of the Representative Office of Finland in Ramallah.

Her diplomatic career includes positions in the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations in New York and in the Embassies of Finland to Stockholm, Pretoria and Madrid and in the Permanent Mission of Finland to the OSCE in Vienna.

In the Ministry, Rotinen has worked as Director of the Unit for the Middle East and North Africa and held various positions in the Legal Department, Political Department, Department for External Economic Relations, and Department for Development Cooperation.

Rotinen joined the Foreign Ministry in 1987.

Juha Ottman

Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Juha Ottman was appointed Head of the Embassy of Finland to Warsaw.

Ottman is currently Deputy Director General of the Department for Europe. Previously, he has worked, among other things, as Head of the Mission of Finland to Zagreb, and served in the Embassy of Finland to Belgrade and in the Permanent Representation of Finland to the European Union in Brussels.

In the Ministry, Ottman has served in the Department for External Economic Relations and held various positions in the Department for Europe.

Ottman joined the Foreign Ministry in 1996.

Side-accreditation

Risto Piipponen, Head of the Embassy of Finland to Zagreb, was authorised to represent Finland also in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Inquiries: Pirjo Tulokas, Deputy Director General for Personnel, tel. +358 295 351 413.