Pekka Timonen elected as the new Mayor of Vantaa
At its meeting on 19 June 2023, the City Council elected Pekka Timonen as the new mayor. The current Mayor Ritva Viljanen will retire on 1.8.2023. The Mayor will be elected for an indefinite term of office, starting 1.8.2023.
Kaupunginvaltuusto valitsi 19.6.2023 kokouksessaan uudeksi kaupunginjohtajaksi Pekka Timosen.
Pekka Timonen has been Mayor of Lahti since 2018. He has previously worked as Director of Culture for the City of Helsinki, Secretary General of the Prime Minister's Office, Managing Director of the communications agency Kreab, Director of the FinnAgora Institute in Budapest and Managing Director of the Cable Factory, one of the largest cultural centres in Finland. Mr Timonen holds the degree of Master of Arts.
– Open-minded and proactive. An approachable mayor who likes to get things done together, says Timonen when asked what kind of mayor he intends to be.
Timonen believes that Vantaa has a bright future, but one that requires a lot of work and joint decisions. He believes that Vantaa has every opportunity to develop even further and become a vibrant, distinctive and successful city.
– Vantaa has many strengths that many cities do not have. It is growing, it has a large working-age population, it has a great location. Vantaa can also offer a very wide range of housing options. Vantaa is well placed to become an even better city, Timonen continues, describing what he believes Vantaa of the future will be like.
The meeting of the City Council set the total salary of the Mayor at 15 844.20 euros, a free car allowance of up to 1 000 euros and a telephone allowance of 20 euros. Timonen will serve a probationary period of six months.
By the deadline, 23 candidates had applied for the post and were secured. One of the candidates has withdrawn their application. Of the candidates, 16 meet the eligibility criteria for the post.
