The Foreign Service Journal, June 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2014 35 Aaretti Siitonen, a Finnish Foreign Service officer since 2010, is currently a political officer at the Finnish Embassy in Washington, D.C. He was a Transatlantic Diplomatic Exchange Fellow in the regional affairs office of the State Department’s South and Central Asian Af- fairs Bureau from September 2012 to August 2013. Mr. Siitonen previously managed post-conflict development cooperation in Somalia, Nepal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and worked as a Kosovo Force peacekeeper. He has also authored studies and articles for academic and other publications on transnational democracy, European enlargement and civil society empowerment. multiple time zones and wildly different environments; and we both strive to balance diplomatic careers with personal lives. As a result, we can also find common solutions. Now that six months have passed since I returned to work at the Finnish Embassy, however, the time is right for a more systematic comparison. (By the way, our chancellery on Massa- chusetts Avenue, the first LEED-certified embassy in the United States, was prominently featured in the April Foreign Service Journal. ) Even though the trip from Foggy Bottom to Observa- tory Circle isn’t long, it does give some perspective. Differences in Scale, but Not Purpose Just like the State Department, the Finnish Foreign Ministry aims to advance national interests. Thankfully, that term is no longer narrowly defined. Strengthening international stability, security, peace, justice and sustainable development across the planet are all part of our portfolio. Similarly, promoting the rule of law, democracy and human rights is as integral to our D uring my year as a Transatlantic Diplomatic Fellow at the State Department (2012-2013), I was completely immersed in the work of my bureau, advancing United States goals in South and Central Asia. I even had the chance to travel to the region, visiting U.S. missions to exchange views between posts and Main State. It was a roller-coaster year of briefing checklists, annotated agendas and interagency coordination. I wouldn’t trade a minute of it for anything. When colleagues ask me to describe the differences between the Finnish Foreign Service and its American coun- terpart, I always respond that it’s far more interesting to notice how much we have in common. We share values and face similar challenges, such as the ever-present problem of differ- ing viewpoints at post and headquarters. We both operate in Above, Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Helsinki. At left, Aaretti Siitonen visiting a Finnish-funded literacy, women’s empowerment and anti-female genital mutilation project near Burao, Somalia. Timo Behr Courtesy Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland