2010
Arto Räty appointed as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence
At the plenary session on 9 September 2010 the Finnish Government submitted for presidential decision the appointment of Lieutenant General Arto Räty as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence. The term of office will start on 1 January 2011 and end on 31 December 2015. The current holder of the office Lieutenant General Kari Rimpi is going to retire.
Lieutenant General Arto Räty, who was born in 1955, has served as the Deputy Chief of Staff Operations, Defence Command Finland, since August 2009. Earlier in his career he has held the following positions: Chief of Staff, Army Command Finland; Director of the National Defence Policy Unit at the Ministry of Defence; Director of National Defence Courses; Commander of Pori Brigade; Commander of the Finnish Battalion, KFOR, in Kosovo; Deputy Chief of Division in the International Division at the Defence Staff; deputy military attaché and Nato liaison officer in Brussels; staff officer in the Operations Division at the Defence Staff; and staff officer and Chief of Staff at Helsinki Military District HQ. He completed the General Staff Officer Course in 1989. He has also studied in the United States, Sweden, Germany and Norway. He was promoted to Lieutenant General in June 2010.
For additional information, please contact Director of Public Policy Mr Jyrki Iivonen at the Ministry of Defence, tel. 09 160 88200 or +358 50 568 0553.