New Heads of Embassies: Luoto to Brasília, Hiltunen-Toivio to Prague, Heiskanen to Santiago, Jortikka-Laitinen to Tunis, Ottman to Zagreb, and Arponen to Hong Kong

The President of the Republic appointed today, 29 January, the following Heads of Embassies:

Counsellor of Foreign Affairs Jari Luoto to serve as Head of the Finnish Embassy in Brasília, Brazil, as from 1 September 2010.

Luoto currently serves as Ambassador for Baltic Sea Issues at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, a position he has held since 2008. Luoto worked as Special Adviser to Minister for Foreign Affairs Pertti Paasio from 1989 to 1991 and as Special Adviser on EU Affairs to Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen from 1996 to 2003.

Luoto served as State Under-Secretary and as State Secretary of the Government Secretariat for EU Affairs from 2003 to 2006 and from 2006 to 2008, respectively.

Counsellor of Foreign Affairs Päivi Hiltunen-Toivio to serve as Head of the Finnish Embassy in Prague, the Czech Republic, as from 1 September 2010.

Hiltunen-Toivio has worked at the Unit for General EU Affairs of the Department for Europe since 2008.

Hiltunen-Toivio, who entered the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1979, has worked for the Finnish Embassy in Paris and for Finland’s Representation to the EU in Brussels. In addition, Hiltunen-Toivio has served as Deputy Secretary General of the Secretariat for the Finnish Presidency of the EU and as Special Adviser on EU Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office, and worked in the Department for External Economic Relations, the Political Department and the Department for Legal Affairs. In 2000-2004, she held the post of Director of the Unit for EU Enlargement of the Department for Europe. She served as Consul General of Finland in Shanghai from 2004 to 2008.

Counsellor of Foreign Affairs Ilkka Heiskanen to serve as Head of the Finnish Embassy in Santiago, Chile, as from 1 September 2010.

Heiskanen joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1972. He has held the position of the National Security Authority since 2008.

Heiskanen has served as Deputy Director General of the Department for Global Affairs in 2007-2008, and worked in the Department for External Economic Relations and the Political Department, where he was Director of the Security Policy Unit in 1995-1997. Heiskanen served as Head of Mission in the Finnish Embassy in Mexico from 2002 to 2007 and as Consul General in the Consulate General of Finland in Hong Kong from 1998 to 2002. Heiskanen has also worked in the Finnish Embassies in Brussels, Washington, Madrid, Canberra, Warsaw and Geneva. In 1987-1988, Heiskanen held a Research Professor's post at Georgetown University in the USA.

Counsellor of Foreign Affairs Tiina Jortikka-Laitinen to serve as Head of the Finnish Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia, as from 1 September 2010.

Jortikka-Laitinen entered the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1988. Since 2007, she has worked as Head of the Unit for International Environmental Policy of the Department for Development Policy. Jortikka-Laitinen has also worked in the Political Department in 1997-2000 and served as Deputy Director of the Civilian Crisis Management Unit in 2004-2007. In addition, she has worked in the Finnish Embassy in Budapest, held the post of Deputy Permanent Representative of Finland in Strasbourg and served as Minister-Counsellor in Paris. In 2000-2001, Jortikka-Laitinen studied at ENA, the French national school of administration.

Counsellor of Foreign Affairs Juha Ottman to serve as Head of the Finnish Embassy in Zagreb, Croatia, as from 1 May 2010.

Ottman entered the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1996. He has served as Director of the Unit for EU Enlargement and Western Balkans of the Department for Europe since 2008. Prior to this position, he worked as Director of the Unit for Western Balkans in 2006-2008.

Ottman has also worked in the Department for External Economic Relations and the Department for Development Policy, as well as in the Administrative Department. He has served the Finnish Embassy in Beograd and in Finland’s Representation in Brussels.

Counsellor of Foreign Affairs Annikki Arponen as Head of the Finnish Consulate General in Hong Kong, China, as from 1 September 2010.

Arponen currently serves as Head of the East Asia and China Team in the Unit for Asia and Oceania, a position she has held since 2007. Prior to this position, she followed Chinese politics in the same unit in 2003-2007.

Arponen has worked as sinologist at the Finnish Embassy in Beijing in 1998-2001. Her duties also included monitoring China’s domestic politics. In 1983-1991 and 1992-1996, Arponen worked as Press and Cultural Affairs Officer and Translator. She worked as Information Officer and Translator at the Ministry in 1991-1992.