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New heads of mission to New York, Strasbourg and Tel Aviv

Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Publication date 18.1.2019 11.17
News item

At the presidential session on Friday 18 January, the President of the Republic decided to appoint new heads of mission to New York, Strasbourg and Tel Aviv.

At the presidential session on Friday 18 January, the President of the Republic appointed Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Jukka Salovaara to serve as Head of the Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN in New York, starting from 1 June 2019.

Jukka Salovaara

Salovaara has served as Director General of the Foreign Ministry's Political Department since 2015. Prior to this, from 2011 to 2015, he served as Director General of the Department for Europe. In the Diplomatic Service, Salovaara has worked at the Embassy of Finland in London. He holds a Master’s degree in Political Sciences.

The President of the Republic appointed Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Nina Nordström to serve as Head of Mission at Finland's Permanent Representation to the Council of Europe, starting on 1 July 2019.

Nina Nordström

Nordström has worked as Director of the Unit for Human Rights Policy since 2014. In the Diplomatic Service, Nordström has served at the Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN in New York, and at the Finnish Embassies in Tallinn, Stockholm and Bucharest. Nordström holds i.a. a Licentiate of Political Science degree from Åbo Akademi University and a Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy.

The President of the Republic appointed Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Kirsikka Lehto-Asikainen to serve as Head of Mission at the Embassy of Finland in Tel Aviv, starting on 1 April 2019.

Kirsikka Lehto-Asikainen

Lehto-Asikainen is currently Director of the Unit for the Middle East. She has been Director of the Unit for the Middle East and North Africa. Lehto-Asikainen's varied career in the Ministry includes working in the Ministry of Defence as part of an exchange of public officials programme; she has also served as Adviser to the Permanent State Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and led the Ministry's NATO team. In the Diplomatic Service, Lehto-Asikainen has worked in Paris and Dar es Salaam. Lehto-Asikainen holds a Master's degree from the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration and from the University Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne. She has also taken a training course at the École nationale d'administration ENA in France.

Inquiries: Inquiries: Pirjo Tulokas, Deputy Director General for Personnel, tel. + 358 29 535 1413

The Foreign Ministry’s email addresses are in the format [email protected].

 
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