By Marinel E. Peroy
In a podcast hosted by Iida Silvola, Finnish Ambassador to the Philippines Saija Nurminen shares in a recent episode of International Politics & Economics Association (IPEA) the role of diplomacy, Finland’s approach in international affairs, and what it truly means to be a woman leading in global affairs.
From podium to IPEA podcast, here’s how Her Excellency started her career and is now forging Finland’s unique presence across the globe.
“I knew early on that I wanted to become a lawyer, partly because in our family, there are a lot of lawyers. I was interested in social affairs, history, and topics like that… and in law school, I realized that I want to work in the public sector.”
“When I graduated, I didn’t think foreign relations as such something that I would do,” she says. She decided to have an exchange semester in Uppsala, Sweden, initially just thinking about improving her Swedish.
The ambassador recalls how most of the law students had their summer job when she came back to Helsinki; and she saw an opportunity posting for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs unit—an internship under the First Finnish EU Presidency.
“I was the only applicant. The director asked me: Why are you the only one who’s here, applying for this position? I said: Everybody else [has] already their summer jobs. And then I got in. And the rest is history… and then I basically did my whole career being in the foreign service.”
The ambassador has served as a seasoned diplomat in foreign service postings from Washington to Manila.
“The privilege to change the theme and the topics in every 3-4 years is, of course, what sort of keeps this working life interesting.”
She has been to:
- Washington, DC, where she worked in trade & economic issues, climate change, energy, environment, and domestic politics
- Brussels, Belgium, where she joined EU working group in the Middle East and North Africa
- Berlin, Germany, where she was honed in Middle Eastern issues and migration, interior affairs
- Helsinki, Finland
- International Criminal Court (ICC) | “I was in the legal department. And that was the first time in 15 years when I, as a lawyer, did any legal work in the MFA.”
- Director for Human Resources Unit
Then she applied to Asia.
“I was thinking that this is the time to go to this side of the globe—and I was lucky to get a posting here in the Philippines. So I’ve almost gone through the globe and done almost different kinds of subjects when it comes to foreign policy.”
The envoy shares the main priorities of Finland in strengthening its ties with the Philippines:
- Investments – “deepening our bilateral trade relations”
- Labor mobility – Finland needs more skilled workers, from welders to green jobs
- Respect for the rule of international law
The ambassador believes that more women diplomats are emerging in the field. True to its core, Finland is committed to being at the forefront of an inclusive workplace.
“I usually chose male mentor, and only because I thought that it’s always good to have different point of views. Men and women think differently, or approach topics differently. I consciously navigated the system that way, even if I don’t think that’s a disadvantage—being a woman.”
“It’s not about being a man or a woman, it’s about the whole society.”
The ambassador holds very definitive opinions:
On the right to vote and a universal school system, “We try to educate everyone because we have to have as many participants as possible. Now we are one of the wealthiest and safest countries in the world, and a stable democracy — I think that is quite [a] powerful narrative to say: ‘We did it.’”
“Where we are now is because of these policy directions that we made and had everyone involved. Every country’s foreign policy lies on its domestic policy.”
On Finnish diplomatic initiatives of and for women: Development cooperation & aid (girls’ education), finance organizations like UN Women, resolutions in the EU or UN, 40% of crisis management experts are women, and more!
BONUS: Book tip from Ambassador Saija Nurminen — Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark.
From representation to an inclusive call to action, Finland offers much more than being known as the happiest country. And perhaps driven by the same values and proactive engagements in the system, Finnish diplomacy continues to thrive… making its own legacy, one policy at a time.
Editor’s note: Listen to the full interview at A Foreign Conversation | IPEA ESADE via Spotify link here.
