Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja to make working visit to Estonia

Press release 184/2011
21 July, 2011

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will visit Estonia in late July. He is scheduled to meet his Estonian counterpart Urmas Paet on Saturday, 23 July. The ministers will exchange views on current issues of international politics and discuss bilateral relations. This is Mr Tuomioja’s first working visit to Estonia in his capacity as Foreign Minister of the new Finnish Government.

On Friday 22 July, Foreign Minister Tuomioja will attend celebrations in honour of his grandmother Hella Wuolijoki (1886-1954) in the southern Estonian town of Tõrva. There, the local cultural centre Nava Lava will stage a play portraying Wuolijoki’s youth: “The Small Persistent Woman” is written by Silvia Soro, who also has the lead role, and local poet Jaak Kõdar. This year marks the 125th anniversary of Wuolijoki’s birth.

Tuomioja’s book “Jaan Tõnisson and Estonian independence” appeared in an Estonian translation in the spring of this year. The book describes the life and work of one of the most outstanding liberal politicians in Estonian history, and also touches upon Wuolijoki, who was a long-standing friend of Tõnisson’s.

Additional information: Tarja Kantola, Special Adviser to the Foreign Minister, tel. +358 40 590 4119, Marjo Näkki, Finnish Embassy Press Counsellor, tel. +372 569 30200