Riikka Hietajärvi appointed as Counsellor for Public Diplomacy and Communications to Washington, D.C.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has appointed Riikka Hietajärvi as Counsellor for Public Diplomacy and Communications to the Embassy of Finland in the United States. Her three-year term will start on 1 June 2024.

The Counsellor for Public Diplomacy and Communications is in charge of the Embassy’s public diplomacy, external communications and media relations, and leads the Embassy’s Public Diplomacy Team.

Riikka Hietajärvi worked as the Director of Communications at the Office of the President of the Republic and was a member of President Niinistö’s cabinet in 2023–2024. In addition, she has worked in various communications roles at the Office of the President of the Republic, at Mission of Finland to NATO, in the Finnish Defence Forces and in a civil society organisation.

Hietajärvi holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences from the University of Lapland.