Leena Ritola

Leena Ritola, Minister Counselor-Political Affairs, Embassy of Finland, Washington, D.C.

Leena Ritola has been Minister Counselor and Head of the Political Unit at the Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C., since August 2005. Her portfolio includes U.S. foreign and security policy, E.U.-U.S. relations, European Affairs, the Middle East and non-proliferation, as well as U.S. politics.

She joined the Finnish Foreign Service in 1995 at the same time that the Republic of Finland joined the European Union. Previously, she worked as a trademark lawyer beginning in 1990.

This Ms. Ritola's second assignment in Washington, D.C. She served in the Embassy handling trade, agriculture and domestic policy issues in the years 1996-2000. After that she was a Deputy Chief of Mission of the Finnish Embassy in Seoul, South Korea (2000-2002). From 2002 to 2005, she served as Counselor and Regional Manager for the Persian Gulf region in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Helsinki. Her portfolio included Iran, Iraq and the Arabian peninsula.

Leena Ritola studied law at the University of Helsinki and received a Master of Laws degree in 1990. She also studied international economics at the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration and was awarded her Master of Science degree in 1995.