Janne Kuusela appointed as Permanent Secretary of Finland’s Ministry of Defence

At its plenary session on 27 November 2025, the Finnish Government appointed Janne Kuusela as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence for the period from 1 February 2026 to 31 January 2031.

Director General Janne Kuusela (born 1972) has served as Director General of the Defence Policy Department at the Ministry of Defence since 2022. This is the second time he heads the same department: he served as Director General of the Defence Policy Department from 2016 to 2020 and as its Deputy Director General from 2020 to 2021.

Kuusela has held several other positions at the Ministry of Defence since 1999, including Director of the Corporate Planning Unit, Ministerial Adviser and Senior Researcher. From 2006 to 2009, Kuusela worked for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as Senior Specialist in defence policy at Finland’s Mission to NATO in Brussels.

Kuusela holds the degree of Master of Social Sciences.

The Permanent Secretary is the most senior official of the Ministry of Defence, assisting the Minister of Defence in managing, developing and supervising the work of the Ministry and its branch of government. The Permanent Secretary leads the Ministry’s strategic planning and coordinates its implementation, is responsible for effective internal control, assists the Minister in planning, implementing and monitoring broad-based issues and manages performance guidance within the Ministry’s branch of government.

Janne Kuusela will take over as Permanent Secretary from Esa Pulkkinen whose term of office ends on 31 January 2026.

Inquiries: Antti Korkala, Director of the Administration Unit, tel. +358 295 140 500.