Senior civil servant Tuomas Pöysti has been named as Finland's new Chancellor of Justice, which along with the Parliamentary Ombudsman is the 'supreme guardian of the law in Finland', according to the office's website.
He will replace retiring incumbent Jaakko Jonkka at the start of next year.
The new appointee was expected to take up the role in May, but the process has been slower than expected. Last week reports in Helsingin Sanomat suggested that the appointment had been delayed after President Sauli Niinistö objected to a previous candidate.
Pöysti has driven forward the government's reform of health and social care, which aims to increase freedom of choice and create 18 new provincial authorities to manage those services, bringing in new private providers along the way. Professor of Administrative Law Olli Mäenpää told Yle that Pöysti could have a conflict of interest in adjudicating cases concerning the reform, but would be expected to recuse himself if any such cases arose.
Pöysti himself said that he'd considered the possibility of a conflict of interest and expected all Sote legislation to be in force by the time he takes office.
"The laws I've worked on are under consideration by parliament," said Pöysti. "Other people have offered opinions in a legislative oversight capacity. The late start is also because there should be a bit of a break between these things. Now the appointment's been made, I'm not going on to new things but taking care of the old. Of course this has been thought through, so that a double role doesn't happen."
