New Ambassadors to Canberra, the Hague, Madrid, Stockholm, Pretoria and Addis Ababa

The President of the Republic appointed today on the 20th of February, the following persons as Ambassadors:

Appointment of Counsellor of Foreign Affairs Maija Lähteenmäki as Head of the Finnish Embassy in Canberra, Australia as from 1 January 2010.

Lähteenmäki has been serving as the Finnish Ambassador in Madrid since 2005. She entered the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1974. In the Ministry, she has worked i.a. in the Political Department, as Chancery Director of the Press and Culture Department and in the Unit for Internal Auditing and Evaluation. In addition, she held the position of Deputy Director of Protocol from 2002 to 2003 and served as Director of the Protocol Department during the years 2003 - 2005. As for her diplomatic career, she has served the Finnish Embassies in Brussels, Ottawa, Stockholm and Cairo. She served as the Finnish Ambassador in Santiago de Chile from 1991 to 1995 and as the Finnish Consul General in New York from 1995-2000.

Lähteenmäki defended her doctoral dissertation in Social Science at the University of Turku in 1994.

Appointment of Counsellor of Foreign Affairs Klaus Korhonen as Head of the Finnish Embassy in the Hague, the Netherlands as from 1 September 2009.

Korhonen has been serving as Deputy Director General of the Department for Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs since 2006. He joined the Ministry in 1987. As for his career in Finnish missions abroad, he has worked for the Finnish Embassy in Moscow and the Permanent Mission of Finland in Geneva. In the Ministry, Korhonen has occupied a number of posts in the Political Department and the Department for External Economic Relations. From 2001 to 2004, he served as Director of the Unit for Policy Planning and Research.

Korhonen has also served as a visiting researcher and teacher of the Network for European Studies and as a researcher at the Department of Political Science of the University of Helsinki.

Appointment of Counsellor of Foreign Affairs Markku Keinänen as Head of the Finnish Embassy in Madrid, Spain as from 1 September 2009.

Keinänen will take on his new post in Madrid leaving the Finnish Embassy in London where he has been working as Minister since 2007. He entered the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1986. In addition to London, Keinänen has worked for the Embassy in Madrid and Finland's Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels. During the period 1992-1996, Keinänen's duties in the Ministry were related to Finland's membership negotiations with the EU and the coordination of matters related to the EU in the Ministry. Before assuming his duties in London, Keinänen served as Director of the Unit for General EU Affairs and Coordination.

During the period 2000 - 2004, Keinänen acted as a Consulting Counsellor in the Government Secretariat for EU Affairs.

Appointment of Counsellor of Foreign Affairs Markus Lyra as Head of the Finnish Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden as from 15 February 2010.

He has been serving as Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs since 2005. Lyra entered the Ministry in 1973. He has served the Embassies in Moscow and London and as Finland's Consul General in Leningrad/St. Petersburg. He served as the Finnish Ambassador in Moscow from 1996 to 2000. In the Ministry, Lyra has worked, i.a. as the Finnish Secretary General of the Finnish-Soviet Committee for Scientific and Technical Cooperation, in the Political Department and the Department for External Economic Relations and as a Special Assistant of the Minister for Foreign Affairs. During the period 2000-2004, he held the post of Director General of the Political Department.

Appointment of Counsellor of Foreign Affairs Tiina Myllyntausta as Head of the Finnish Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa as from 1 September 2009.

Myllyntausta will take up her office as Ambassador after performing the duties of Deputy Director of Protocol, a post held by her since 2005. She entered the Ministry in 1990. She has held various posts in the Protocol Department i.a. as Supervisor of the Secretariat and as Protocol Coordinator of the Government Secretariat for EU Affairs. In the Ministry, Myllyntausta has also worked in the Division for Western European Integration and the Unit for Southern Africa. As for her career in the Finnish foreign service, she has worked for the Embassies in Madrid and Lisbon and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN in New York.

Appointment of Counsellor of Foreign Affairs Leo Olasvirta as Head of the Finnish Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as from 1 September 2009.

Currently, Olasvirta is serving as Director of the Unit for Non-Governmental Organizations of the Department for Development Policy. He has held the post since 2005. He entered the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1978. In the Ministry, Olasvirta has occupied various posts at the Department for Development Policy. As for his career in Finnish missions abroad, he has previously served in Addis Ababa and Cairo as well as twice in Lusaka where he acted as Chargé d'Affaires a.i. from 1998 to 2002.