Kirsti Lintonen (born May 23, 1945 in

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

) was the Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations for the period 2005–2009. She presented her credentials to

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

on February 15, 2005. Kirsti Lintonen possesses a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and entered the

Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs The Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) is a ministry in the Finnish Government and is responsible for preparing and implementing the government's foreign policy. Organisation The ministry in 2017 has a total budget of 1.079 billion euros, of ...

in 1971. She became an ambassador in

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

in 1990. In 1994 she became the Deputy Director General for Political Affairs within the Ministry, and in 1996 she became Under-Secretary of State. From 2000 until her appointment to the UN, she had been Finland's ambassador to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

, Lesotho,

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

, and Swaziland. She was accredited to the

Southern African Development Community The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security coopera ...

External links

Kirsti Lintonen's biography at the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United NationsThe United Nations list of current heads of missions. (PDF)

References

1945 births Finnish women diplomats Finnish women in politics Living people People from Tampere Permanent Representatives of Finland to the United Nations Ambassadors of Finland to South Africa Ambassadors of Finland to Botswana Ambassadors of Finland to Lesotho Ambassadors of Finland to Mauritius Ambassadors of Finland to Namibia Ambassadors of Finland to Eswatini Finnish women ambassadors {{UN-bio-stub