Director General and Deputy Director General appointed to Department for Development Policy, Inspector-General to Internal Audit Unit and Director General to Administrative Services

The Government appointed Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Pirjo Tulokas to serve as Director General of Administrative Services at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for a fixed term between 1 September 2024 and 31 August 2029.

Tulokas has served as Director General of Administrative Services since 2020. In 2016–2020, she served at the Ministry as Deputy Director General for Human Resources and in 2012–2016 as Head of Finland’s Consul General in St Petersburg. Tulokas has also worked at the Embassies of Finland in Vilnius and London and at Finland’s Permanent Representation to NATO.

Tulokas has worked for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs since 1994. She holds a Master of Arts degree.

The Government appointed Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Juha Savolainen to serve as Director General of the Department for Development Policy at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The appointment is for a fixed term between 1 September 2024 and 31 August 2028.

Savolainen transfers to the post from his previous position as Deputy Director General of the Department for Development Policy. Before that, he worked as Director of the Unit for Southern and Western Africa and at Consular Services. He has also held other positions, including at the Department for the Americas and Asia, at the Department for International Trade and at foreign missions in Pretoria and Brazil.

Savolainen joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 2002. He holds the degree of Master of Public Affairs.

The Government appoints Senior Officer Ramses Malaty to serve as Deputy Director General of the Political Department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The appointment is for a fixed term between 1 September 2024 and 31 August 2028.

Malaty transfers to the post of Deputy Director General from his previous position as Director of the Unit for Financing and Legal Development Cooperation Matters. In 2015–2020, Malaty served as Deputy Head of the Mission in Nairobi. He has also held other positions at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, including at the Embassy of Finland in Cairo and at the Unit for Development Policy.

Malaty has worked for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs since 2007. He holds a Master’s degree in social sciences.

The Government appointed Legal Counsellor Ari Rouhe to the post of Inspector-General of the Foreign Service for a fixed term from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2028.

The Inspector-General of the Foreign Service heads the Internal Audit Unit of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Rouhe has held the position since 2020. Prior to this, he worked at the Ministry as Director General of Administrative Services in 2009–2020. Rouhe has also held other positions at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, including as Head of Administration at the Permanent Representation of Finland to the EU in Brussels.

Rouhe has worked for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs since 1995. He holds a Master of Laws degree.

The organisational reform of the Foreign Service took effect on 1 August. With the reform, there were changes to some of the names of departments and units at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.