Panelists

David Malone

Dr Malone has served as Rector of UNU since March 2013. A distinguished academic and practitioner in the fields of international development and international security, he has spearheaded reform efforts within UNU, emphasising the importance of policy-relevant research. The result has been closer collaboration by UNU with policymaking communities in the United Nations system and beyond. Dr Malone previously served as President of Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). He was Canada’s Representative to the Economic and Social Council and then Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations (New York) from 1990 to 1994. Later, after overseeing economic and multilateral diplomacy within Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, he was appointed Canada’s Envoy to India, Nepal and Bhutan. He also served in New York as President of the International Peace Academy (now International Peace Institute) from 1998 to 2004.

Johanna Sumuvuori

State Secretary to Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto

Johanna Sumuvuori was appointed State Secretary to Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto on 4 July 2019. As State Secretary, she assists the Minister in matters relating to political steering and preparatory work. She also assists the Minister and represents him in the drafting of policy papers and in inter-ministerial coordination. Her responsibilities include participation in the harmonization of policy positions, the implementation of the Government Programme in the Minister's administrative branch, and the handling of EU and international affairs.

Sumuvuori deals with matters relating to public relations and she also deputizes for the Minister. She has previously been Press Counsellor at the Embassy of Finland in London. Sumuvuori has a wide experience of politics, communications, culture, and civil society organisations. She has previously been a Member of Parliament and a city councilor, and she has held leading positions in civil society organisations as well as in different kinds of positions of trust. She holds the degrees of Master of Social Sciences and Master of Arts.