Senior Officer for Legal Affairs Anna Gau

1. Who are you?

I am Anna Gau and I work as a Senior Officer for Legal Affairs at the Legal Unit of the Administration Policy Department. I have a Master of Laws degree from the University of Helsinki and I live in Helsinki.

2. What does your job involve?

While my main responsibilities include legislative drafting for the defence administration I also deal with other legal specialist duties. For example, the lawyers of our unit advise the other departments on various legal matters. I am also one of the secretaries of the Central Call-up Appeals Board, which is the highest appeal body in conscription matters. These duties include drafting decision proposals.

3. How did you come to work at the Ministry of Defence?

Before the Ministry of Defence, I worked with civil service law matters at the Ministry of Finance. One day I came across a call for applications on the ministries’ intranet pages. It was for the post of Senior Officer for Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Defence. As the job seemed interesting, I decided to apply and eventually I was selected. I am happy with the change, and my previous work experience has proved useful at the Ministry of Defence.

4. What kind of matters are now topical in your work?

A reform of the Act on military discipline and combating crime in the Defence Forces is currently under way. This is a relatively large entity. Finland’s upcoming membership of NATO will also call for amendments to national legislation, and I will be involved in this work. In view of the future NATO membership, it is important to build up expertise on NATO and its activities. 

5. What is the best thing about your job?

The best aspect of my work is the diversity of tasks and related themes. During the same day, I may be responsible for legislative drafting on military discipline and crime prevention or regional surveillance. I may also have to consider issues related to foreign property acquisitions. I like writing, which is why legislative drafting is suitable for me. 

The processing of appeals addressed to the Central Call-up Appeals Board and the drafting of decision proposals balances out nicely the tasks related to legislative drafting. 

I find the work at the Ministry of Defence meaningful, which is important to me. 

6. Describe your workplace with a few words

My colleagues at the Ministry are highly skilled people and I very much enjoy working with them. I feel that I always learn something new from them. We make a good team in my unit, and even though we work with demanding matters, there is always room for humour.