The Embassy of Finland in Ottawa is pleased to welcome and introduce Ambassador-Designate Mr. Jari Vilén!

Mr. Vilén was appointed as the Head of Mission to the Embassy of Finland in Canada as of 1st of September 2023.

Prior to his posting to Canada, Mr. Vilén served as the Ambassador of Finland to the Barents and Northern Dimension, This posting included serving as a chairman in Finnish Barents Euro-Arctic Council presidency. In these capacities he was focusing on a wide range of arctic and Barents issues and regional cooperation formats. 

Mr. Vilén has previously served as an Ambassador of Finland in Hungary and Poland.

He has also served as an Ambassador of the European Union as an Ambassador to the Council of Europe as well as the Ambassador and Senior Adviser for Arctic Policy at the EU Commission in president Jean-Claude Juncker’s in-house think thank EPSC.

In addition to Mr. Vilén’s experience in postings abroad, he has also served as the Minister for Foreign Trade, Minister for European Affairs and a member of the Parliament of Finland in where he served as chairman of the Grand Committee and member of foreign affairs committee.

 Mr. Vilén holds a Master of Education degree from the University of Oulu. He has also studied  EU politics at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

Ambassador-Designate Vilén is grateful and excited for this opportunity to represent Finland in the second-largest country of the world, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic Ocean. 

“Finland and Canada share the same values, work together in numerous international organizations, have committed to the same international treaties, and are now allied as security guarantors within NATO. Soon, our youth can also find new ways to connect when the Canadian-Finnish youth mobility agreement becomes operational.

I am looking forward to exploring various parts of Canada from its thriving cities to its vast wilderness, to getting to know Canadians, and to building even more bridges between our two nations.”