New ambassadors to Hanoi, Paris and Zagreb
At the presidential session on Friday 11 August, the President of the Republic appointed Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Kari Kahiluoto to serve as Head of Mission in Hanoi from 1 September 2017 as well as Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Risto Piipponen to serve in Zagreb and Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Teemu Tanner in Paris from 1 January 2018.
Kari Kahiluoto will transfer to Hanoi from the duties of the Chief of the Secretariat for Nordic Cooperation. In the Ministry, he has worked as Deputy Chief of the Secretariat for Finland's campaign for a seat in the UN Security Council. Kahiluoto’s previous posting as Ambassador was as Head of Mission of Finland’s Embassy to Syria which has been evacuated to Beirut. He has also served as Minister at Finland’s Mission to NATO and as Finland’s Permanent Representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
He joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1986.
Teemu Tanner is on leave of absence from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs until the year end and works as Secretary General to the President of the Republic. In the Ministry, he has worked as Head of the Political Department and the Department for Africa and the Middle East. He has served as Ambassador in the Political and Security Committee of the Finnish Mission in the EU. His career in the Diplomatic Service includes positions in Washington, Paris and Seoul.
He joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1985.
Risto Piipponen will transfer to Zagreb from Paris, where he has served as Ambassador of Finland since 2013. He has served as Ambassador also in Canada and Cyprus. In the Ministry, he has worked as Head of the Department for Africa and the Middle East and held several positions in the Division for European Affairs and the EU Secretariat at the Foreign Ministry.
He joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1987.
Side accreditations
The President of the Republic decided to authorise Jukka Pietikäinen, Roving Ambassador based at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, to represent Finland also in Haiti as of 12 August 2017. This means that Roy Eriksson, Head of Mission in the Embassy of Finland to Mexico City, will no longer represent Finland in Haiti.
Lars Backström, Head of the Embassy of Finland to Canberra, has been authorised to represent Finland in Fiji.
Tiina Jortikka-Laitinen, who starts as Head of Mission in the Embassy of Finland to Madrid on 1 September 2017, has been authorised to represent Finland also in Andorra.