New Directors General and Deputy Directors General
In its meeting on 14 June, the Government decided to appoint the following Directors General and Deputy Directors General:
Since 2002 until now, Tanner has served as PSC Ambassador to the Political and Security Committee in Finland's Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels. Tanner joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1984. He has held positions in the Department for External Economic Relations, the Political Department and the Department for Development Cooperation. From 1994 to 1998, he served as Head of the European Correspondent' Unit. Tanner's career in the Finnish diplomatic service includes postings to Marseilles, Seoul and Paris. From 1998 to 2002, he served as Minister Counsellor at the Finnish Embassy in Washington.
Laurent has served as Deputy Director General of the Legal Department since 2004. From 2000 to 2004, he was Deputy Director General of the Division for Human Rights Conventions and Consular Issues in the Legal Department; from 1998 to 2000 he served as Director of the General Administration Unit of the Administrative Department; and from 1993 to 1995 he was Director of the General and Consular Affairs Office. Laurent has also held positions in the Finnish diplomatic service in Paris and Berlin.
Since 2002 until now, Kujasalo has served as Ambassador in the Finnish Embassy in Budapest, Hungary. He joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1975 and, in the years from 1993 to 1998, held the positions of Director, Head of Unit and Deputy Director General in the Administrative and Political Departments of the Ministry. Kujasalo's career in the Finnish diplomatic service includes postings to the Finnish Embassies in London, Jedda and Vienna. In the Finnish Embassy in Beijing, Kujasalo served as Minister Counsellor from 1990 to 1993. He further served as Ambassador in the Finnish Representation to the OSCE in Vienna from 1998 to 2002. Prior to his career in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Kujasalo pursued a military career and held positions such as Officer and Commander in Chief and worked as a UN Military Observer.
Heiskanen has been Head of Mission in the Finnish Embassy in Mexico since 2002. Prior to that, he served as Consul General in the Consulate General of Finland to Hong Kong from 1998 to 2002. Heiskanen joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1972. In the years from 1995 to 1997 he held postings in the Political Department and in the Department for External Economic Relations and served as Director of the Security Policy Unit. Heiskanen's career in the Finnish diplomatic service includes postings to Brussels, Washington, Madrid, Canberra, Warsaw and Geneva. In 1987-1988, Heiskanen held a Research Professor's post at Georgetown University in the USA.
Since 2003 until now, Kääriäinen has served as Head of Mission in the Finnish Embassy to Nairobi, Kenya. Kääriäinen joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1974. From 2000 to 2002, he served as Deputy Director General of the Division for Multilateral Development Affairs in the Department for Development Policy, and as Deputy Director General of the Department for Global Affairs in 2003. From 1982 to 1985, Kääriäinen held a posting at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, UNCHR, in Geneva, and at the International Labour Organization, ILO, in 1985. Kääriäinen's career in the Finnish diplomatic service includes postings to Lusaka, Zambia, and Maputo, Mozambique, where he held the position of Chargé d'Affaires ad interim from 1994 to 1998. Kääriäinen has also performed planning and evaluation tasks in the Ministry's Department for Development Policy.
Since 2004, Aaltonen has held the position of Director of the Terms of Employment Unit of the Administrative Department. He joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in1984 and has served in the EU Secretariat and the Legal Department, the Department for External Economic Relations, the Department for the Americas and Asia, the Department for Communication and Culture and the Administrative Department. Aaltonen's career in the Finnish diplomatic service comprises postings to the Finnish Consular Office in Marseilles and to the Embassies in Mexico City and Lisbon. From 1998 to 2003, Aaltonen served as Director of General and OECD Affairs Unit in the Department for External Economic Relations.
Laamanen has served as Director of the Civilian Crisis Management Unit in the Political Department since 2003. She joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1986. Laamanen has held positions in the UN Affairs, Western European and Security Policy units of the Political Department and served as Adviser to the Minister. Laamanen's career in the Finnish diplomatic service comprises postings to Finland's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, the Finnish Embassy in Oslo, and the Finnish Representation to the OSCE in Vienna. In 1991-1992, Laamanen pursued continuation studies at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.
Mäenpää has served as Director of the Unit for Eastern and Western Africa in the Department for Africa and the Middle East since 2005. Mäenpää joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1983. In the years from 1995 to 2000, she served as Director of the Planning Unit of the Department for Development Cooperation. In the Finnish diplomatic service she has served in the Finnish Embassy to Nairobi, Kenya, and held the posting of Chargé d'Affaires ad interim in the Finnish Embassy to Managua, Nicaragua, from 2000 to 2004.