Pirita Näkkäläjärvi
President
On leave until the 30th of November 2025.
President
The Plenum of the Sámi Parliament elects a full-time president and two vice-presidents for the electoral period. The president leads the political activities of the Sámi Parliament nationally and internationally under the authority of the Plenum.
Additionally, the president may divide the duties assigned to the president among themselves and the vice-presidents. Each member of the presidential team is responsible for the statements, proposals, initiatives, and positions related to their respective sectors, as well as other similar documents. The areas of responsibility for each member of the presidential team are listed below under their respective sections.
Tuomas Aslak Juuso
II Vice President
Tel. 040 687 3394
Acting President from 20 January to 30 November 2025.
The President of the Sámi Parliament Pirita Näkkäläjärvi
Pirita Näkkäläjärvi is the President of the Sámi Parliament in Finland.
Pirita Näkkäläjärvi has a unique career combining Indigenous rights advocacy and global business. She is a third term elected member of the Sámi Parliament in Finland and a member of the Inari municipal council from the Greens’ list (independent). She worked as the Editor and Head of Yle Sápmi (the Sámi-language operations of the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle) in 2012–2016.
Pirita has had a long career working along the entire Mergers & Acquisitions lifecycle at Merrill Lynch, Nokia, Booz & Company, Metso, Strategy&, PwC, EY-Parthenon and Helen.
Pirita holds MSc in Economics from Helsinki School of Economics (2005) and MSc Media & Communications (with Distinction) from London School of Economics (LSE, 2017). She wrote her LSE MSc Dissertation on freedom of speech of the Sámi in Finland. Pirita is preparing her Doctoral Dissertation at Sibelius Academy researching Sámi yoik and cultural appropriation.
Pirita’s mothertongue is Northern Sámi.
President’s Areas of Responsibility
Pirita Näkkäläjärvi’s responsibilities as President of the Sámi Parliament include:
- Overall responsibility and major processes
- Budget matters
- Municipal cooperation
- Primary responsibility of international affairs, with a particular focus on human rights
- EU affairs
- Cultural affairs
- Children’s culture, film and music centre activities, and the Duodji Academy
- Cultural heritage
- LGBTQ+ affairs
- Matters related to the UN Human Rights Council (in cooperation with the second vice president)
- City Sámi affairs (in cooperation with the second vice president)
I Vice President Leo Aikio
First Vice-President’s Areas of Responsibility
Leo Aikio serves as the First vice-president of the Sámi Parliament. His primary areas of responsibility include:
- Livelihood, legal, and environmental affairs
- Sámi tourism
- Inari Sámi affairs
- Social security for entrepreneurs
- Matters related to the River Teno
II Vice President Tuomas Aslak Juuso
Second Vice-President’s Areas of Responsibility
Tuomas Aslak Juuso serves as the second vice-president of the Sámi Parliament. His primary areas of responsibility include:
- Sámi languages
- Early childhood education
- Education affairs
- Social welfare and healthcare
- Cooperation with the Lapland wellbeing services county
- Chai for the cooperation body of parliamentary groups
- Youth affairs
- Other aspects of social security
- Participation rights process in international affairs
- Matters related to the UN Human Rights Council (in cooperation with the president)
- City Sámi affairs (in cooperation with the president)
Shared Responsibilities of the Presidential Team
Representatives of the Sámi Parliament from left to right: Leo Aikio, Pirita Näkkäläjärvi, Tuomas Aslak Juuso.
In addition, the presidential team has agreed on responsibilities that are shared collectively. These include:
- Reform of the Sámi Parliament Act
- Climate change and biodiversity loss
- Truth and reconciliation process
- Nordic Sámi Convention
