Jan Heino, director-general of Finland’s state Forest Enterprise Metsähallitus, has been appointed assistant director-general and head for the Forestry Department of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). He will be based at the FAO’s head office in Rome.
Agriculture and forestry minister Juha Korkeaoja said the appointment was recognition of Finland’s forestry sector and its practices which were respected worldwide. “Finland has been very active in the FAO and other international forestry matters, and we are pleased that it has expressed confidence in Finnish forestry competence, something which Jan Heino has demonstrated during his career.”
Mr Heino has previously acted as chairman of the Committee on Forestry, under the FAO, as well as chairman of the FAO’s European Forestry Commission. He has held a key position in co-operating with European state-owned forestry organisations and was named chairman of the recently established European State Forest Association EUSTAFOR in Brussels.
