Special Advisers to Prime Minister Orpo appointed
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has invited Henrik Vuornos, Kirsi Hölttä, Katri Manninen, Mikko Martikkala and Tuomas Tikkanen to serve as his Special Advisers. Jori Arvonen will serve as Orpo’s State Under-Secretary for EU Affairs. The diplomatic advisers who will assist the Prime Minister in international affairs will be appointed later.
Henrik Vuornos has been appointed Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in Political Affairs. He will also serve as Secretary of the National Coalition Party’s government group. Vuornos comes to the post from his position as Chairperson of the Espoo City Board. He has previously worked as Special Adviser to the National Coalition Party leadership, as Special Adviser to the Minister at the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and as Communications Secretary to the National Coalition Party’s parliamentary group. Vuornos has studied political science.
Kirsi Hölttä will serve as Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in Communications. She will be in charge of communications for the Prime Minister and for the National Coalition Party’s ministerial group. Hölttä’s previous position was as Head of Communications for the National Coalition Party. She has also served as Head of Communications and Public Relations at the Finnish Family Firms Association and as a political reporter for various media outlets. She holds a Master’s degree in Political Science.
Katri Manninen has been appointed Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in Political Affairs and will be responsible for media relations and matters related to the Prime Minister’s parliamentary work. Manninen is transferring to the position from her post as Special Adviser to the party leadership at the office of the National Coalition Party. Manninen has previously worked for the Union of Professional Engineers in Finland, the Ministry of Finance and Parliament. Manninen has a Master’s degree in Social Services.
Mikko Martikkala will serve as Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in Economic Affairs. He is transferring to the position from his post as Economist at the National Coalition Party parliamentary group office. Martikkala has also worked in the financial sector, among others. He holds a Master of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration.
Tuomas Tikkanen has been appointed Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in EU Affairs. He will also be responsible for matters related to general and foreign policy. Tikkanen comes to the post from his position as Special Adviser to the Speaker of Parliament. He has previously worked as Special Adviser to the party leadership of the National Coalition Party, as Political Adviser to Member of the European Parliament Petri Sarvamaa in Brussels, as Communications Secretary for the National Coalition Party parliamentary group, at a communications agency and at the Ministry of Education and Culture, among others. Tikkanen holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences from the University of Helsinki.
Jori Arvonen appointed State Under-Secretary for EU Affairs
Jori Arvonen, who will serve as State Under-Secretary for EU Affairs, will assist the Prime Minister in matters related to the European Union. In addition, Prime Minister Orpo has appointed him as his representative in the network of high-level advisers of the EU Heads of State or Government. Between 2011 and 2022, Arvonen served under five different prime ministers as State Under-Secretary for EU Affairs at the Government Secretariat for EU Affairs. This was preceded by a political career as Special Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2007–2011, as Director of International Affairs at the National Coalition Party in 1998–2007 and in the European Parliament in 2006. Arvonen comes to Prime Minister Orpo’s cabinet from the consultancy Miltton. Jori Arvonen has served as Chair of the Steering Board of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats since its establishment in 2017. He is also a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies in Brussels. He has Master of Arts degree in International Affairs.
Inquiries: Henrik Vuornos, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister (Political Affairs), tel. +358 295 16001