MFA: Tuula Yrjölä to assume a leading post at the OSCE at the beginning of 2020

The CPC and its Director are responsible for the 16 OSCE field operations and the activities of the organisation's politico-military dimension. The Centre coordinates the development and management of the elements of the conflict cycle in the OSCE region, including the early warning mechanism and the OSCE’s mediation and dialogue work.

Ambassador Tuula Yrjölä is an experienced diplomat who currently works as Chief Specialist at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Yrjölä served as Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan in 2016–2018. She has also served as Ambassador of Finland to Egypt, among other positions.

“It is a great honour, but also a great challenge, to accept the post,” Yrjölä says.

"The OSCE plays a key role in stabilising Europe and its immediate vicinity and in enabling dialogue. As a representative of Finland, I want to bring to the organisation the good attitude and strong expertise with which we Finns have distinguished ourselves over the years, both in building up our own country and in taking on crisis management tasks in various parts of the world. I am also pleased that, as the first female Director of the CPC, I can also strengthen our efforts to achieve gender equality, which is very important for the OSCE and international crisis management.”

The OSCE comprises 57 participating States and it is the most broad-based regional organisation dealing with security in the world. Besides countries from Europe, the OSCE’s participating States include, for example, the United States, Canada and Central Asian countries. The OSCE is based on the principles enshrined in the 1975 Helsinki Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Helsinki Final Act. The OSCE’s commitments play an important role in ensuring the security and stability of Europe.

Inquiries: Elina Dakash, Desk Officer, Unit for Security Policy and Crisis Management, tel. +358 295 350 401