📋 Tender Overview
In its general session on August 29, 2024, the State Council decided to propose that the President of the Republic appoint Rear Admiral Markku Hassisen to the position of head of the Border Guard on January 1, 2025. The appointment is temporary until 30 November 2029.
At the same time, the Government proposed that Major General Matti Sarasmaa be appointed to the position of Deputy Chief of the Border Guard for the period 1.1.2025–31.12.2027, Rear Admiral Tom Hané to the position of admiral as head of the personnel department of the Border Guard for the period from 1.1.2025 to 31.12.2029, and to the position of General of the Border and Maritime Department of the Border Guard. colonel Mika as head of department Rytkönen for the period 1 January 2025–31 December 2029.
The current head of the Border Guard, Lieutenant General Pasi Kostamovaara, will retire at the end of his term as of January 1, 2025. The military positions of the Border Guard can be filled without declaring them open for application. The President of the Republic is scheduled to confirm the appointments of Hassinen, Sarasmaa, Hané and Rytkönen on Friday, August 30, 2024.
Rear Admiral Markku Hassinen has served in the Border Guard since 1987. He is currently serving as the Deputy Head of the Border Guard, where he has been working since 1 October 2019. Hassinen has graduated as a general staff officer and was promoted to rear admiral on March 21, 2019. He has previously worked, among other things, as the head of the Border and Maritime Department and the Personnel Department of the Border Guard Staff, as the commander of the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard and as a border security expert at the Permanent Mission of Finland to the EU.
Major General Matti Sarasmaa is currently serving as head of the Border and Maritime Department of the Border Guard Staff, where he has been working since January 1, 2020. He has graduated as a general staff officer and has been promoted to major general on 21 March 2023. In addition to the above-mentioned position of head of department, Sarasmaa has previously served, among other things, as the head of the personnel department of the Border Guard's staff, the commander of the Kainuu border guard, and the border security expert of Finland's permanent mission to the EU.
Flag Admiral Tom Hanén is currently serving as the head of the personnel department of the Border Guard's headquarters, where he has been working since January 1, 2020. He has graduated as a general staff officer and has been promoted to flag admiral on January 1, 2020. In addition, he is a doctor of military sciences. In addition to the position of head of department, Hanén has previously served as the commander of the Coast Guard of the Gulf of Finland, the head of the higher education department of the Border and Coast Guard School, the head of the maritime safety and rescue unit of the Border Guard Headquarters, and the border security expert of Finland's Permanent Mission to the EU.
Colonel Mika Rytkönen is currently serving as the commander of the Border Guard of Southeast Finland, where he has been working since 1 December 2022. Rytkönen has graduated as a general staff officer and was promoted to colonel on March 21, 2017. In the past, he has worked, among other things, as the commander of the Kainuu border guard, the head of the international cooperation unit of the Border and Maritime Department of the Border Guard Headquarters, and as a border security expert at Finland's Permanent Mission to the EU.
The Border Guard maintains border security, maritime security and crisis preparedness
The Border Guard is responsible for border security at the eastern border, border crossing points and at sea, as well as maritime rescue and environmental damage prevention in maritime areas. The Border Guard Service fights crime in all its tasks, acts as a regional surveillance authority and is part of the Finnish defense system and the European border and maritime guard.
