A new Cultural Counsellor to Moscow and a new Press Counsellor to Washington

Press release 125/2012
25 May 2012

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has appointed Helena Autio-Meloni to a fixed-term post as Cultural Counsellor at the Embassy of Finland in Moscow and Sanna Kangasharju to a fixed-term post as Press Counsellor at the Embassy of Finland in Washington. Each term of appointment is for three years.

Helena Autio-Meloni, the director of Adelfa Agency Oy, a company specialising in cultural projects, holds a Master of Arts degree. She worked as the director of the Finnish Institute in St. Petersburg in 2005–2008 and she has been employed by Tammi Publishers. At TINFO Theatre Info Finland, Autio-Meloni led the project to revitalise Finnish–Russian theatre relations in 2009–2010.

Autio-Meloni will begin work in Moscow on 1 September

Sanna Kangasharju has worked since 2011 as Liaison Officer – Communications at the European Parliament Liaison Office with the US Congress in Washington, and previously as information officer for the European Parliament in Brussels. She was EU information officer at the Prime Minister’s Office in 1999–2005, and assistant head of communications in 2005–2008. Kangasharju holds the degree of Master of Social Sciences.

Kangasharju will begin work in Washington on 16 July.

The main task of the Cultural Counsellor at the Embassy in Moscow is to promote Finland’s public diplomacy objectives through cultural exports, networks of key personnel in fields of culture and through cultural events. In addition, the job includes general promotion of Finland.

The Press Counsellor at the Embassy in Washington is responsible for external communications and dissemination of information, social media, and media relations. The job also entails other public diplomacy and development of Finland’s national image in cooperation with partners.

Additional information: Deputy Director General Jari Sinkari, mobile tel. +358 40 352 6129