Prof. Donskis Appointed as Honorary Consul of Finland
On Friday 28 February, the Ambassador of Finland to Lithuania Harri Mäki-Reinikka and other embassy representatives visited Kaunas. The guests announced the opening of Finland’s Honorary Consulate in Kaunas, which will be overseen by newly appointed Honorary Consul, VMU Professor Leonidas Donskis.
The Finnish Embassy delegation also met with Kaunas City Mayor Andrius Kupčinskas and attended the business seminar “Team Finland”, which took place on the same day in Park Inn Kaunas (K. Donelaičio Str. 27).
The goal of the seminar was to discuss practical possibilities of economic collaboration between Finland and Lithuania. The event’s participants included managers and employees of companies and institutions in both countries: Executive Manager at the Finnish-Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce Rubina Haapamäki, Fortum Heat Lietuva Managing Director Vitalijus Žuta, etc.
Friendly relations between Finland and Lithuania are to be fostered not only through business collaborations, but also by establishing the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Finland in Kaunas, which will be overseen by the Honorary Consul, MEP, philosopher, Professor Leonidas Donskis. Starting from this spring, Prof. Donskis will be more actively involved in the intellectual life of the university, the city and the country.
“I am deeply honoured to become the honorary consul of the country I have loved and held near and dear for a very long time. A large part of my professional career and intellectual development took place in Finland. The University of Helsinki is the second closest academic institution to me after VMU. Honorary Consulate in Kaunas is necessary to Finland because Kaunas has immense significance in its legacy of pre-war Lithuanian diplomatic and academic life and its Finnish component”, the philosopher explained.
According to Prof. Donskis, Kaunas before the World War II was the city where prominent Finnish-origin culture figures lived and worked. These included the legendary philosophy professor Vasily Seseman, who worked in the University of Lithuania (currently Vytautas Magnus University), and his nephew, talented Finnish-Swedish writer Henry Parland, who worked in Sweden’s Consulate in Kaunas.
“Finland’s Honorary Consul in Kaunas will have to not only promote development of the business and cultural relations of both countries, but also to preserve the memory of illustrious Finns and their role in Lithuanian culture. I believe that VMU will become the closest partner and friend of Finland’s Honorary Consulate in Kaunas”, the professor said.
