Special Adviser Ilmari Uljas

1. Who are you?

My name is Ilmari Uljas and I work in the Defence Cooperation Unit of the Defence Policy Department at the Ministry of Defence. I act as the Ministry’s EU Coordinator and together with my co-worker we make up the Ministry’s EU team. I have worked at the Ministry of Defence since September 2020. I received my Master of Social Sciences degree from the Tampere University, where I studied international politics. My studies, as well as traineeship programmes have taken me to the French Alps and the European Quarter of Brussels. I will be heading abroad again in the autumn, as I will start working at Finland’s Permanent Representation to the EU where I will continue to work on EU defence. My leisure-time interests are football, downhill skiing and keeping my wooden boat in good condition. When I close the office door I do take my interest in international politics with me, and I follow current events outside of office hours.

2. What does your job involve?

The Ministry’s EU Coordinator is responsible for the formulation and implementation of EU defence policy objectives. This includes very close and daily cooperation with the accomplished professionals of the Ministry, the Defence Command and the Permanent Representation of Finland to the EU. We form the defence administration’s EU Network, whose work I coordinate together with my co-worker. The themes I work with include strategic development of the EU’s defence policy, development of military capabilities, military crisis management, and promotion of key defence objectives in other policy areas. Defence and crisis resilience go hand in hand. A large part of my work consists of cooperation within the Government, especially with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office. In practice, this work is carried out through regular defence minister meetings and the formulation of policies and negotiations in weekly working groups of public officials. 

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

In 2014, I was a university trainee at the Permanent Representation of Finland to the EU, in the Political and Security Committee team. It was then that I gained my first experience of the EU’s defence and security cooperation. It piqued my interest, and started me on this path. After the traineeship, I focused more and more on the EU’s foreign and security policy during my Master’s studies. On graduating, I worked with civilian crisis management at the Crisis Management Centre, after which I spent about a year in the Foreign Ministry’s Department for Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, learning more about Russia and the EU’s eastern neighbours. In autumn 2018, I moved on to the Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior to work with EU cooperation. During Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU, I chaired the Law Enforcement Working Party (LEWP) and was able to improve greatly my understanding of EU policy and structures. Since graduating, I had continued to apply regularly for positions at the Ministry of Defence. My skills and competence had continued to deepen, and in autumn 2020, my efforts paid off. Looking back now, it is easy to draw out my career path. What has brought me to this point is being determined and seizing new opportunities and actively seeking opportunities that resonate with my own interests. I would also like to thank my supervisors from earlier on in my career, as well as my other networks for their support and encouragement. 

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

In the past two years, the EU has carried out extensive strategic work in the field of defence, with the Strategic Compass of the EU. This is now being implemented.  There are some 70 initiatives, most of which have already been scheduled for this year. In practice, matters are discussed weekly in different Council working groups, and the Ministry of Defence formulates Finland’s positions on initiatives in line with policy guidelines. Ministerial level discussions take place on a regular basis. Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine has had a significant impact on the EU’s defence cooperation. For the first time, the Union has provided arms support to its partner, the Member States are making significant investments in defence, and steps are being taken at the EU level to respond to the changed threat environment together and to strengthen Europe’s defence and capabilities. Transatlantic partnership with the United States and NATO is at the heart of these topics. Defence topics are increasingly included on the agenda of EU leaders at the European Council. The defence policies of the EU and Finland are now evolving at a very fast pace. 

5. What is the best thing about your job?

The best parts of my job are the very motivating topics and the amazing colleagues I get to work with. As an EU Coordinator, I am responsible for a very extensive field. I also get to work across departmental and ministry boundaries on a daily basis. My tasks vary daily from the mutual assistance clause of the EU, to crisis management, to more extensive geopolitical examination of the position of the EU and Finland in the world. The Ministry of Defence is a relatively small ministry, where experts are given a lot of responsibility. Because of the nature of my work, I travel a lot with the minister and other public officials. Although the work is carried out in Helsinki, it is very international. 

6. Describe your workplace with a few words

The Ministry of Defence is a close-knit work community, with many experts from different fields. We have both civilians and soldiers, and everyone has the same goal: to strengthen Finland’s defence and position in the world. Although work has been very intense and fast-paced this spring, a combination of humour and immensely skilled professionals ensures a good atmosphere.