Otto Saxén appointed Director General of Defence Policy Department at Ministry of Defence

The Finnish Government has appointed Otto Saxén, M.Soc.Sc., as Director General of the Defence Policy Department at the Ministry of Defence for a five-year term from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2031.

Otto Saxén is currently serving as Deputy Director General of the Department for Defence Policy. He has also held other positions at the Ministry of Defence, including Director of the Defence Cooperation Unit, Ministerial Adviser and Senior Researcher at the Defence Cooperation Unit and Senior Researcher at the National Defence Unit. From 2009 to 2013, Saxén worked as Senior Specialist in defence policy at Finland’s Mission to NATO in Brussels.

The Defence Policy Department is responsible for bilateral and multilateral defence cooperation, the coordination of NATO and EU affairs within the branch of government, research and analysis as well as for matters concerning defence capability development and use, conscription, voluntary national defence and total defence. The Director General is reponsible for managing the department, ensuring that the department meets its objectives and facilitating cooperation between their department and the Ministry’s other departments.

Inquiries: Kati Virtanen, Director of the Personnel Unit, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 435.