Jani Pitkäniemi to head the Department for Local Government and Regional Administration

The Government has today, 27 April, appointed Jani Pitkäniemi, M.Sc. (econ) as Director of the Department for Local Government and Regional Administration of the Ministry of Finance. The temporary position lasts five years, and begins on 1 June 2017.

Among the responsibilities of the Department for Local Government and Regional Administration are preparation of municipal administrative affairs and municipal financial affairs, matters relating to state and municipal cooperation, municipal divisions, regional government, and local government affairs at the Ministry of Finance.

The director is responsible for management of the Department for Local Government and Regional Administration. The main areas of focus in the Director’s work are ensuring the preconditions for regional reform and overseeing the preparation of matters relating to the economy and administration of the provinces and municipalities. The regional reforms significantly increase the preparatory responsibilities of the Department for Local Government and Regional Administration in relation to the provincial economy and administration, and cooperation between the State and the provincial authorities.

Since 2014, Jani Pitkäniemi has been working as Head of the Municipal Finance Unit of the Municipal and Regional Administration Department, and as a Senior Financial Adviser. Among his positions prior to that was Special Adviser on Economic and Financial Affairs at the Finnish Delegation to the European Union in Brussels, and at the Economics Department of the Ministry of Finance, with responsibility for public finances and municipal finance.

“In store is five years of changes and change management. The focus of the Department should be balanced between establishment and guidance of the provinces, and support for the roles of the municipalities of the future. Balance is also important for governance and economics. Achieving and maintaining the balance is important from the administrative and economic perspectives also. Tight resource budgets in public finances challenge us to prioritise, but at the same time they encourage renewal in a positive way. The civil service must remain skilled, cooperative, and adaptable in the face of these demands,” says Financial Adviser Jani Pitkäniemi.

A total of 26 applications for the post of Director of the Department were submitted before the deadline.

For more information, please contact

Director of Administrative Governance and Development Helena Tarkka, tel. +358 295 530 141, helena.tarkka(at)vm.fi