Official press releases, news and speeches that the minister has held are located in this section. The Ministry of Defence publishes all of its press releases and news in Finnish and Swedish and many of them in English, too.
Press Releases
Appointments of generals
The President of the Republic has appointed Major General Mika Kalliomaa as Finland's Military Representative to the EU and NATO and Colonel Jaro Kesänen as Rector of the National Defence University. Kesänen is also appointed to the post of General for the term of 1 January 2026–31 August 2030.
Major General Mika Pekka Kalliomaa (born 1966) is the current Rector of the National Defence University. He has previously served as Commander of Pori Brigade, Director of the National Defence Courses and Director of Communications of the Finnish Defence Forces. He was promoted to Major General on 6 December 2022.Colonel Jaro Tapani Kesänen (born1973) is currently serving as Senior Staff Officer in the office of the Chair of the NATO Military Committee. He has previously served as Deputy Director-General at Defence Command Finland and Commander of the Utti Jaeger Regiment. He was promoted to the rank of Colonel on 6 December 2017.
Inquiries: Sinikka Vahvaselkä, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 431.