Excerpts from the History of the Ministry of Defence The building of the Ministry of Defence of Finland in the year 1983. Photo: Helsinki City Museum / Lauri Putkonen With the decree issued on 14 June 1918, the War Department was established in th...

Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen Photo: Lauri Heikkinen / Prime Minister's Office Since 20.6.2023, Antti Häkkänen has served as Minister of Defence. Curriculum Vitae Date and place of birth 1985 Mäntyharju Profession and education Lawyer Master ...

25.6.2026 | The Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy outlined on Finland’s additional funding package of EUR 40 million to the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative of NATO and the United States. The package is part of the commitment the Finnish Government agreed in its spring budget session to increase Finland’s military support to Ukraine by EUR 300 million in 2026–2027.

9.6.2026 | Australia's Minister of Defence Richard Marles visited Helsinki on 9 June to meet with Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen.

Members 2023 - CHAIRPERSON: MP Jarno Limnéll (NCP) DEPUTY CHAIRPERSONS AND THEIR PERSONAL DEPUTIES: Assistant to a MP Marika Sorja (TF) (Master of laws, assistant to a MP Ismo Nöjd (TF)) MP Tuula Väätäinen (SDP) (Head of communications Miia Järvi ...

18.6.2026 | The Ministry of Defence is requesting views on a bill for amendments to the Act on Military Intelligence. The bill proposes that the Act on Military Intelligence allow the use of certain intelligence collection methods in premises used for permanent residence.

Special Adviser Ilmari Uljas 23.6.2022 9.58 Blog 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 wi...

Return to page Publications Defence Policy Reports Government Defence Report 2024 At its session on 19 December 2024, the Finnish Government approved the Government Defence Report based on Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen’s presentation. The rep...

25.9.2025 | European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius will meet with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen in Helsinki on Friday 26 September.

21.1.2026 | UK-Finland Framework Arrangement on Enhanced Defence Co-operation On 7 June in Reykjavik, Ben Wallace and Antti Kaikkonen, the UK and Finnish Defence Ministers, signed a bilateral Framework Arrangement on Enhanced Defence Co-operation. The agreeme...

21.1.2026 | Government’s Defence Report Prime Minister’s Office Publications 7/2017 SNELLMANNINKATU 1, HELSINKI PO BOX 23, 00023 GOVERNMENT, FINLAND Tel. +358 295 16001 vnk.fi/english [email protected] ISBN: 978-952-287-374-3 PDF ISBN: 978-952-287-373-6 printed ISS...

20.6.2023 | Press release of the Prime Minister's Office

23.1.2026 | Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen held a speech at the opening gala of Finland’s NATO DIANA Innovation Accelerator on 22 January 2026.

3.9.2024 | The 2025 budget proposal of Prime Minister Orpo's Government bolsters conditions for economic growth. Economic growth driven by the private sector will also serve to secure the financing base for central government finances. The fast-acting measures to curb indebtedness that were decided on due to the difficult situation in central government finances will move forward.

23.4.2026 | ​​​​​​​On 23 April 2024, the Finnish Government submitted to Parliament a proposal to amend the Nuclear Energy Act and the Criminal Code. The Government proposes to remove the legal barriers on importing nuclear devices into Finland and on transporting, supplying or possessing them in Finland in the context of Finland’s homeland defence, the collective defence of NATO or defence cooperation.

13.4.2026 | The Finnish call-up process will have two parts in the future. The first part will be a call-up information day for the whole age group, providing young people with more information about homeland defence. The second part, the call-up day proper, will be organised later for men liable for military service and for women applying for voluntary military service. The call-up information day will be piloted in Espoo, Iisalmi and Jyväskylä in autumn 2026.

19.9.2023 | In its first budget session, the Government of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo decided on solutions that will return Finland to a sustainable growth track. The Government will launch structural reforms to boost employment and growth, which will have positive impacts on general government finances in the next few years. In addition, the Government decided on consolidation measures.

22.10.2020 | Prime Minister Sanna Marin will take part in three video meetings with the other Nordic prime ministers on 27 and 28 October. Several other Finnish ministers will also participate in a series of virtual meetings taking place during the week when the Nordic Council would normally hold its plenary session. This year’s Session Week was to be held in Reykjavik but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

4.3.2022 | Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson and Sweden's Minister of Defence Peter Hultqvist will visit Finland on Saturday 5 March.

18.11.2025 | Finland has decided to use EUR one billion in financing from the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) financial instrument to strengthen the defence industry. The plan is to use the financing for multinational joint procurement that will strengthen Finland’s ground combat capabilities and for developing drone performance capabilities in cooperation with Ukraine and its allies. The Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy decided on the matter on Tuesday 18 November.