ROME -- The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, received on the afternoon of October 1 at the Quirinale palace, the new Ambassador of the Republic of Finland in Italy, Mr. Janne Taalas, for the presentation of  his Credentials.

  The meeting was attended by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr. Benedetto Della Vedova.

  On September 11, Ambassador Taalas had presented his credentials also to the Republic of San Marino. Previously, Taalas had served as deputy permanent representative of Finland in the Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, since August 1, 2010, and before he had the post of Director for Policy Planning and Research at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland (2008-2010), and Deputy Head of the Finnish OSCE Chairmanship Task Force in Vienna (2007-2008). He entered the service at the Ministry in 1997 and is married with two children.

  His academic background includes a degree in Politics at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, as well as a Master in European Politics and a doctorate in the same subject at the University of Oxford, UK.