Viitasaari, Markku Tapio
Brigadier General
Position
Director of the National Defence Unit, Ministry of Defence
Date and place of birth
18 September 1969 Espoo
Family
Married
One child
Career
- Matriculation examination, Tapiola High School 1988
- Military service, Armoured Brigade 1988-1989
- Fixed-term service, Helsinki Naval Station 1989 - 1990
- Cadet Course 77, 1990 - 1993
- Instructor, Kymi Jaeger Battalion 1993-1994
- Deputy Company Commander and Commander, Gulf of Finland Naval Command 1994 - 1997
- Chief of Intelligence, Finnish Contingent / SFOR, Bosnia 1997 - 1998
- Chief of Office and Chief of Section, Finnish Intelligence Research Establishment 1998 - 2000
- Senior Staff Officer Course 2000-2001
- General Staff Officer Course 2001-2002
- Senior Staff Officer, Intelligence Division, Defence Command 2002-2007
- Senior Staff Officer, Ministry of Defence, 2007-2008
- Aide de Camp to the Minister of Defence, 2008-2011
- Assistant Defence Attaché, Washington DC, 2012 - 2015
- Chief of Section, Finnish Defence Intelligence Agency 2015 - 2019
- Deputy Chief of Staff Army Intelligence 2020 - 2021
- Deputy Chief of Division, Operations Division, Defence Command 2022 - 2023
- Military Advisor to the Minister of Defence, 2023 - 2024
- Head of Unit, Ministry of Defence, 2024 -
- Combined Strategic Intelligence Training Program (CSITP), USA, 1999
- 191st National Defence Course, 2008
- Foreign Affairs Administration International Affairs Course, 2011 - 2012
- High Command Course, 2022
Promotions
- Second Lieutenant 1990
- Lieutenant 1992
- First Lieutenant 1994
- Captain 1999
- Major 2002
- Lieutenant Colonel 2011
- Colonel 2021
- Brigadier General 2024
Decorations
- Commander, the Order of the Lion of Finland
- Knight, First Class, of the Order of the Lion of Finland
- Medal for Military Merits
- Intelligence Cross
- National Defence Medal
- NATO Medal
Languages
Finnish, English, Swedish, Russian