Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Erkki Tuomioja, has given his compliments to the Director of the Arctic Centre, professor Paula Kankaanpää, due to her long and successful work in promoting the Arctic research both in Finland and internationally. Professor Kankaanpää, who has acted as the Director of the Arctic Centre since the year 2000, will move in August to the Finnish Environmental Institute (SYKE), where she will take the position as the new Director of the Marine Research Centre.

“Under the leadership of Kankaanpää, the Arctic Centre has purposefully improved Finnish profile in the international co-operation networks of Arctic research”, says Foreign Minister Tuomioja in the press release published at the websites of Finnish Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister’s Office. Tuomioja also comments, that the necessity for the best possible information concerning the Arctic is emphasized, as the EU is developing its Arctic policy. The press release also mentions the leading role of the Arctic Centre in the project that seeks to establish the EU Arctic Information Centre in Rovaniemi.

The press release of the Foreign Ministry of Finland (in Finnish and Swedish):
http://www.formin.fi/public/default.aspx?contentid=322442&nodeid=15146&contentlan=1&culture=fi-FI

Further information:
Paula Kankaanpää, +358 (0) 40 777 7825, paula.kankaanpaa(at)ulapland.fi