Special Advisers to Prime Minister Marin appointed

Prime Minister Sanna Marin has invited Henrik Haapajärvi, Matti Niemi, Tuulia Pitkänen, Pirita Ruokonen, Dimitri Qvintus, Joonas Rahkola and Lauri Voionmaa to serve as her Special Advisers. Jari Luoto will continue as State Under-Secretary for European Affairs.

Henrik Haapajärvi is Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in Political Affairs and he also serves as Secretary of the Social Democratic Party’s Government group.

Haapajärvi worked as Special Adviser to Marin at the Ministry of Transport and Communications. He has previously worked as Senior Adviser in Industrial and Environmental Policy for Trade Union Pro. Haapajärvi has studied administrative sciences.

Matti Niemi is Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in EU Affairs. Niemi has most recently worked as Special Adviser to Minister for European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen and, before that, as assistant to Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, Member of the European Parliament.

He has also worked as Special Adviser to Antti Rinne and Jutta Urpilainen at the Ministry of Finance, and as lobbying consultant. Niemi holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences.

Tuulia Pitkänen is Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in Parliamentary Affairs.

She has worked as Special Adviser to Prime Minister Rinne, Secretary General for Young European Socialists in Brussels, Political Adviser to the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group, as personal assistant to Member of Parliament and has held various positions in student organisations. Pitkänen studies social sciences at the University of Helsinki.

Dimitri Qvintus is Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in Media Relations.

Qvintus has previously served as Special Adviser to Prime Minister Rinne, Special Assistant to the Speaker of Parliament, Communications Officer and Political Adviser to the party leader of the Social Democratic Party, Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance, and Communications Officer for the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group. He has also worked as a voice actor. Qvintus has a degree in journalism.

Joonas Rahkola is Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in Economic Affairs. He held the same position under Prime Minister Rinne's Government.

Rahkola has worked as an economist for the Social Democratic Party's parliamentary group office  and as head of the Economic Policy Unit, as Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance, and as an economist at the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, SAK. Rahkola holds a Master’s degree in social sciences.

Pirita Ruokonen is Special Adviser to the Prime Minister responsible for communications and coordination of communications between the government groups.

She previously worked as Special Adviser to Minister Marin responsible for media relations and communications at the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Ruokonen has also worked as Project Manager at Cloubi Ltd. She holds a Master of Arts degree.

Lauri Voionmaa is Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in International Affairs. Voionmaa held the same position under Prime Minister Rinne's Government. Before his duties as a special adviser, Voionmaa worked with issues concerning NATO, the EU and Africa at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and in Finland's missions abroad. He has also worked at the Ministry of Justice. Most recently, he served as Counsellor responsible for political affairs between Finland and the United States. Voionmaa, a lawyer specialising in EU law (LL M, College of Europe, Brügge), has studied in France, the United Kingdom and Belgium. 

Jari Luoto continues as Prime Minister's Under-Secretary of State for EU Affairs

Jari Luoto, serving as Under-Secretary of State for EU Affairs, assists the Prime Minister in matters relating to the European Union. Luoto held the same position under Prime Minister Rinne's Government. He has previously served as Head and Deputy Head of the Government Secretariat for EU Affairs, Adviser to the Prime Minister in EU Affairs, Baltic Sea Ambassador and Special Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and as Ambassador in Brazil and Switzerland. Most recently, he served as the international policy coordinator for the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism led by the United States and Russia. Luoto is a Counsellor for Foreign Affairs and holds a Master’s degree in social sciences.

Inquiries: Henrik Haapajärvi, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister (Political Affairs), tel. +358 50 339 2604

Photos of the Special Advisers to the Prime Minister are available at the Government image bank.