The Hon. Jan-Erik Enestam

Secretary-General of the Nordic Council; Former Finnish Minister of Defence and the Environment

Biography

The Hon. Jan-Erik Enestam is a renowned Finland-Swedish politician from the Swedish People's Party. He is currently Secretary-General of the Nordic Council, and previously served as the Finnish Minister of Defense.

Mr. Enestam holds a degree from the Abo Akademi University in Turku, and has held a variety of posts throughout his political career.  From 1990 to1991, he acted as Special Adviser to the Minister of Defense, and later served in the Finnish Parliament ‘Eduskunta’ from 1991 to 2007, before becoming leader of the Swedish People’s Party in 1998. He held this position till 2006, after which he was succeeded by Stefan Wallin in early 2007.  Mr. Enestam also served as Minister at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health in 1995, Minister of the Interior from 1995-1999, Minister of Defense from 1999-2003, Minster at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs from 1999-2003, and Minister of the Environment from 2003-2007.

During his tenure as Minister at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Enestam focused extensively on strengthening Nordic cooperation and cooperation with the neighboring regions. He has addressed numerous conferences and forums where he has consistently supported Finland’s aspiration to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).