New Heads of Mission to Luxembourg, Stockholm, Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations and Hong Kong
The President of the Republic appointed on 14 February the following new Ambassadors:
At the moment, Ranta serves as Adviser to the Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade. Previously, he has worked in various positions dealing with EU affairs both in national and EU organisations. In Finland, Ranta has worked at the EU Secretariat both at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister's Office as well as in Finland’s Permanent Representation in the European Union. His tasks at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ Political Department were also related to the European Union. In 2008-2011, Ranta worked at the General Secretariat of the European Council, his latest posting being at the President of the European Council's Cabinet.
Ranta joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs staff in 1995.
Counsellor of Foreign Affairs Jarmo Viinanen to the post of the Head of the Embassy of Finland in Stockholm as from 1 August 2014.
Viinanen will transfer to Stockholm from New York, where he has been working as Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations, or the UN Ambassador, since 2009. While in New York, he functioned, for example, as the president of the UNICEF Executive Committee in 2013.
At Finnish missions abroad, Viinanen has also served in Washington D.C., Tel Aviv and Vienna.
In the Ministry, Viinanen has worked at the Administrative and Political Departments, and the Department for External Economic Relations. He has also acted as Adviser to the Foreign Minister.
In 2000-2009, Viinanen acted as Foreign Policy Adviser at the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Finland and later as Chief of the Cabinet.Viinanen joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1988.
Sauer will transfer to New York from Jakarta, where he acts as Finland’s Ambassador to Indonesia. He has served at the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations before. He has also been posted at another Finnish mission abroad, in the Embassy of Zagreb.
Sauer has former UN experience also from Kosovo, where he worked as Senior Adviser to Harri Holkeri, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). He has also worked as Senior Adviser to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Martti Ahtisaari, in the Kosovo Future Status Process (UNOSEK) in Vienna.Sauer entered the Ministry for Foreign Affairs service in 1995. In the Ministry, he has worked as Head of the Unit for UN and General Global Affairs at the Political Department and as Director of the Unit for the Western Balkans at the Department for Europe. He has also worked at the Department for External Economic Relations and the Department for Communications and Culture.
Since 2007, Sinkari has been working at the Department for Communications and Culture, first as Editor-in-Chief of the Kauppapolitiikka magazine, published by the Ministry, then as Director of Communications, and since 2011 as Deputy Director General of the Department. He has also worked at the Department for the Americas and Asia, the Department for Development Cooperation and the Department for External Economic Relations.
At Finnish missions abroad, Sinkari has worked as Deputy Consul General at the Consulate General of New York, and in the Finnish Embassy in Tokyo.Sinkari entered the Ministry for Foreign Affairs service in 1997
The President of the Republic also granted side accreditation to Tuula Yrjölä, Head of the Finnish Embassy in Egypt, to also represent Finland in Sudan.
Additional information: Vesa Lehtonen, Deputy Director General for Personnel, tel. +358 295 351 439