On Thursday 12 August, the Finnish government appointed Mikaela Nylander state secretary to Minister of Justice Anna-Maja Henriksson as of 16 August and Akseli Koskela state secretary to Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo as of 12 August.
The State Secretaries’ terms end with those of the Ministers.
At the same government plenary session, state secretary Nylander took her oath of office and state secretary Koskela gave his declaration of office.
Nylander (Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Sciences, Economics and Business Administration) was a Member of Parliament representing the Swedish People’s Party in 2003–2019 and served as Chair of the Swedish Parliamentary Group in 2011–2015.
In addition, Nylander has previously served as Special Adviser to the party’s ministerial group.
Koskela (Master of Social Sciences) comes to the position of State Secretary from his post as Head of EU Policy at Technology Industries of Finland. Before that, he worked as a Senior Adviser and a Senior Specialist at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
Koskela has also served as an expert in various ministries.
State Secretaries assist ministers in matters related to political steering and preparatory work. They also assist and represent the ministers in the drafting of policy outlines and in interministerial coordination, harmonising of policy positions, implementation of the Government Programme in the minister's administrative branch, and handling of EU and international affairs.
