Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Finland)

Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Ulkoasiainministeriö (Finnish) Utrikesministeriet (Swedish)
Ministry overview
Formed	June 28, 1918 (1918-06-28)
Headquarters	Merikasarmi, Laivastokatu 22, 00160 Helsinki
Annual budget	1,176 million euros (2009)[1]
Ministers responsible	Erkki Tuomioja, Minister for Foreign Affairs[2] Alexander Stubb, Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade[2] Heidi Hautala, Minister for International Development[2]
Website
www.formin.fi

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) is a ministry in the Finnish Government and is responsible for preparing and implementing the government's foreign policy.

Contents 1 Organisation 2 Current Ministers 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

Organisation

The ministry had a total budget in 2009 of 1176 million euros, of which 746 million is targeted at development cooperation and 202 million euros at ministry's operating costs. The total Finland's official development assistance expenditure in 2009 was 916 million euros, which represents approximately 0.47% of the Finnish gross national income^[1].

It employs approximately 1600 people (of whom approximately 1030 are women) and maintains 97 overseas offices housing foreign missions^[1]. Since 1987 the ministry has been concentrated in the Katajanokka district of Helsinki.

Three ministers in the current Jyrki Katainen's government have portfolios relating to the ministry:

• Minister for Foreign Affairs, who is in overall political control of the ministry
• Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade
• Minister for International Development

The most senior civil servant is the Secretary of State, and is assisted by four Under-Secretaries of State with responsibilities allocated as follows:

• Administrative, Legal and Protocol Affairs
• Foreign and Security Policy, Communications and Culture
• External Economic Affairs
• International Development Cooperation and Development Policy

Below these, the ministry is divided into twelve departments:

• Political Department
• Department for External Economic Relations
• Department for Development Policy
• Department for Europe
• Department for Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia;
• Department for the Americas and Asia;
• Department for Africa and the Middle East.
• Department for Global Affairs
• Legal Department
• Department for Administrative Affairs
• Department for Communication and Culture
• Protocol Department

Outside of these departments there are two specialised units:

• Unit for Internal Auditing
• Unit for Policy Planning and Research

Current Ministers

The ministers, as of 22 June 2011, are:

• Minister for Foreign Affairs - Erkki Tuomioja^[2]
• Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade - Alexander Stubb^[2]
• Minister for International Development - Heidi Hautala^[2]

The current Secretary of State at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is Pertti Torstila.

See also

• Minister for Foreign Affairs (Finland)

References

External links

• ThisisFINLAND (Department for Communication and Culture)

Ministries of the Finnish Government Prime Minister's Office • Agriculture and Forestry • Defence • Education and Culture • Employment and the Economy • Environment • Finance • Foreign Affairs • Interior • Justice • Social Affairs and Health • Transport and Communications