New Ambassadors to Beirut, Nairobi and Oslo

At the presidential session on Friday 4 May, the President of the Republic decided to appoint the following Ambassadors: Tarja Fernández to Beirut, Erik Lundberg to Nairobi and Mikael Antell to Oslo. They will assume their new functions on 1 September 2018.

Tarja Fernández is currently Ambassador of Finland to Kenya and Finland's Permanent Representative to UN programmes in Nairobi. Previously, she has worked as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the Finnish Embassy to Pristina and held positions at the Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN in New York and at the Finnish Embassy to Stockholm and the Embassy to Tel Aviv.

In the Ministry, her latest positions were European Correspondent and Director of the Unit for European Common Foreign and Security Policy.

She has also worked in the Department for Development Cooperation and the Political Department of the Ministry. Fernández joined the Ministry in 1994.

Erik Lundberg

Erik Lundberg will transfer to Nairobi from Oslo, where he is currently Ambassador of Finland.

His latest position in the Ministry was Director of the Unit for Human Rights Policy.

He has also served in the Legal Department and the Department for External Economic Relations of the Ministry.

In the Diplomatic Service, Lundberg has served at the Finnish Embassy to Damascus and the Embassy to Ottawa, at the Permanent Representation of Finland to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, and at the Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN in New York.

Lundberg joined the Foreign Service in 1995.

Mikael Antell

Mikael Antell has served as Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Finland to Stockholm since 2013. He has also worked at the Embassy of Finland to Santiago de Chile and the Embassy to Copenhagen.

In the Ministry, Antell has worked in the Department for Europe, the EU Secretariat, the Department for the Americas and Asia, and the Department for External Economic Relations.

He started his career in the Foreign Ministry as EU Information Officer in 1995 and transferred to the diplomatic career path after completing the Training Course for Newly Recruited Diplomats in 1998.

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