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The Government appointed five State Secretaries to the Ministers

Government Communications DepartmentMinistry for Foreign AffairsMinistry of Agriculture and ForestryMinistry of Economic Affairs and EmploymentMinistry of Education and CultureMinistry of FinanceMinistry of the Environment
Publication date 4.7.2019 14.03 | Published in English on 4.7.2019 at 14.11
Press release 363/2019

On 4 July, the Government appointed Master of Social Sciences, Master of Arts Johanna Sumuvuori as State Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto starting on 9 July 2019. In addition, the Government appointed Master of Laws Valtteri Aaltonen as State Secretary to the Minister of Local Government and Ownership Steering Paatero, Master of Social Sciences Tuomo Puumala as State Secretary to the Minister of Science and Culture Saarikko, Master of Laws Jari Partanen as State Secretary to the Minister of Economic Affairs Kulumni and to the Minister of Agriculture, and Forestry Leppä and Master of Social Sciences Terhi Lehtonen as State Secretary to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change starting on 4 July 2019. The State Secretaries’ terms end with those of the Ministers.

At the same Plenary Session, State Secretaries Aaltonen, Lehtonen ja Sumuvuori made an affirmation of office and State Secretary Puumala took an oath of office.

Johanna Sumuvuori transfers to the new position from the post of Press Officer at the Embassy of Finland in London. She has previously been a Member of Parliament and a city councillor and in different kinds of positions of trust. Sumuvuori also has wide experience of communications, culture and civil society organisations.

Valtteri Aaltonen comes to the Ministry of Finance from Parliament from the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group, where he served as Lawyer. He has also worked as Lawyer in the Union of Journalists in Finland and as Adviser to the Minister of Ownership Steering in the Prime Minister's Office.

Tuomo Puumala has previously served as a Member of Parliament for the Centre Party in 2007–2019. Puumala was a member of the Parliament's Education and Culture Committee for 12 years, the four last of which he chaired the Committee. He is also former Vice-Chair of the Centre Party, Vice-Chair of the Centre Party Parliamentary Group and Chair of the Finnish Centre Youth.

In the previous Government, Jari Partanen served as State Secretary of the ministerial group of the Centre Party. Prior to that, Partanen worked as Secretary General of the Centre Party Parliamentary Group, and in the posts of First Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Special Adviser to the Ministry of Defence and the Minister of the Environment.

Terhi Lehtonen transfers to the new position from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate Action, where she worked in posts related to international negotiations starting from 2018. Prior to this, she worked for 14 years in the European Parliament as environmental policy advisor for the Green Party.

A State Secretary assists the minister in matters relating to political steering and preparatory work. They also assist and represent the ministers in the drafting of policy outlines and in inter-ministerial coordination, harmonising of policy positions, implementation of the Government Programme in the minister's administrative branch, and handling of EU and international affairs.

Inquiries: Timo Lankinen, Permanent State Under-Secretary, tel. +358 295 160 300, Prime Minister’s Office