Tuomas Saarenheimo

Tuomas Saarenheimo (born 1964) is a Finnish civil servant, who currently serves as the President of the Eurogroup Working Group.

Tuomas Saarenheimo
Saarenheimo in 2015
President of the Eurogroup Working Group
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 April 2020
Preceded by	Hans Vijlbrief
Personal details
Born	1964 (age 59–60) Helsinki, Finland[1]
Spouse	Mari Koli[2]
Alma mater	University of Helsinki

Education and career

Saarenheimo graduated from the University of Helsinki in 1989 and continued studying afterwards, receiving his doctorate in economics in 1994. He has also worked as a researcher at the university.^[3] Saarenheimo filled several positions at the Bank of Finland. His last post was as Chief Adviser and Head of the Monetary and Research Policy Department.^[4] Besides, he has served as the Executive Director for Nordic and Baltic countries at the International Monetary Fund and as National Expert at the European Commission.^[3]

Saarenheimo became the Permanent Under-Secretary for International and Financial Market Affairs at the Ministry of Finance in September 2013.^[3][5] Because of this position, he was granted membership of the Eurogroup Working Group, an advisory body that prepares the monthly meetings of the Eurogroup. He also became a member of the board of directors of the European Financial Stability Facility, the eurozone's emergency fund to address government debt.^[3]

On 1 April 2020 he became President of the Eurogroup Working Group (EWG) after his predecessor Hans Vijlbrief had resigned in order to fill a cabinet position in the Netherlands.^[6] Saarenheimo had been elected by the EWG in February, and that decision was later ratified by the Eurogroup. He simultaneously became President of the Economic and Financial Committee.^[7] Saarenheimo had been a candidate for EWG president before in 2018, but withdrew.^[8]

References

1. Semkina, Soili (2 December 2019). "VM:n Saarenheimo: Yhteisvastuuta ei voi rakentaa valtioiden välille – myrkyttää jäsenvaltioiden suhteet". Kauppalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 January 2021. Syntynyt: Helsingissä 1964
2. Hällsten, Annika (6 December 2019). "Kärlek, allvar, paljetter och frihet – republiken firade trots kaos och regn". Hufvudstadsbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 September 2020.
3. "Tuomas Saarenheimo". European Stability Mechanism. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
4. "Tuomas Saarenheimo appointed as Permanent Under-Secretary for International and Financial Market Affairs". Ministry of Finance (Press release). 19 December 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
5. "Senior management". Ministry of Finance. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
6. Cats, Ria (17 February 2020). "Fin Saarenheimo volgt Vijlbrief op in Brusselse topfunctie". Het Financieele Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 March 2020.
7. "Eurogroup: Tuomas Saarenheimo appointed President of the Eurogroup working group". European Council (Press release). 17 February 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
8. Peeperkorn, Marc (14 December 2017). "Nieuwe Europese topfunctie voor Nederland: topambtenaar Vijlbrief wordt voorzitter invloedrijke Brusselse werkgroep". De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 March 2020.

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Hans Vijlbrief	President of the Eurogroup Working Group 2020–present	Incumbent