Branding and IT experts to start planning future of military service

Risto Siilasmaa

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Minister of Defence Jyri Häkämies (Nat. Coalition Party) has set up a working group to consider the future of Finland’s system of conscription.
      The group has been instructed to examine what the societal impact of the system is, and how it can be kept functional.
     
The group is being chaired by Risto Siilasmaa, the founder of the computer security company F-Secure. He continues to be the largest owner of F-Secure stock. He is also a member of the board of Nokia.
      According to a study conducted in May this year by Helsingin Sanomat, Siilasmaa and Björn Wahlroos share the status of the two Finns with the greatest amount of power on the boards of listed companies.
     
Another member of the group pondering the future of conscription is Marko Ahtisaari, the son of former President Martti Ahtisaari, who has experience working in several technology companies, including Nokia. Ahtisaari did not serve in the military, as he was a conscientious objector.
      Also on the working group is Pekka Ala-Pietilä, CEO of the virtual mobile operator Blyk. Ahtisaari is now employed by Blyk, working on the company’s brand.
      Also invited to join the group is Nokia Siemens Networks legal affairs director Kirsi Komi, Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) CEO Mikael Jungner, lawyer Outi Siimes, and sociologist Anni Ojajärvi, a woman who volunteered for military service as part of her sociological research.
      Advertising executive and television personality Marko Parkkinen is part of the group. It also has Major General Arto Räty as a permanent expert.
     
“The working group is preparing material that can be discussed during elections, and especially in government negotiations”, Häkämies said in an interview with the newspaper Aamulehti in late August.
      The future of conscription is a sensitive subject in Finland. There are pressures to reduce the size of Finland’s reservist army, in light of factors such as the development of arms technology. However, closing down garrisons is a very sensitive issue for politicians, as military bases have a great significance for many local economies.
     
The issue was broached cautiously in the government’s security and defence report earlier this year.
      “Conscription is a fundamental pillar of national defence. Conscription also has a societal impact that is broader than military national defence alone. Studying these effects shall continue”, the report says.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Defence and equality ministers do not see male conscription as equality issue (28.4.2009)
  Planned reductions in armed forces will cause problems with conscription (15.2.2005)
  Researcher: “Male conscription discriminates against both men and women” (28.4.2009)

Helsingin Sanomat