Ari Puheloinen

Who is Ari Puheloinen?

Ari Tapani Puheloinen is a Finnish General and Chief of Defence of the Finnish Defence Forces.

Ari Puheloinen was born in Taipalsaari as the second son of the family of an electrician and a cleaner. Such working-class background is unusual for high-ranking Finnish officers, who usually come from middle-class or military families. For example, the fathers of the four preceding Finnish Chiefs of Defence have been either colonels, admirals, or generals. Later, the family moved from Savonia to Luumäki. Puheloinen's civilian education was accomplished in Taavetin lukio, where he graduated from in 1970.

After leaving secondary school, Puheloinen began his military career as a conscript in the Uudenmaan rakuunapataljoona in Lappeenranta, where he was trained as a reserve officer. After the statutory service period, he entered the military officer-training institution Kadettikoulu, although he had been admitted to both Helsinki School of Economics and University of Tampere. In 1974, Puheloinen graduated as a lieutenant and started service as a regular officer in the Armoured Brigade. In 1978, Puheloinen was selected to participate with three other Finnish officers in the five-month "Tactical Commander Course of Motorized Infantry Troops" in Soviet Union. Shortly thereafter, Puheloinen entered the Finnish Sotakorkeakoulu, the command college, which he graduated in 1983. After the command college, Puheloinen served for three years as an intelligence officer in the Finnish Defence Staff, specializing in eastern affairs. This was followed by a tour of duty as an assistant military attaché in Moscow at the end of the cold war, until 1990.