Nina Suomalainen is an international crisis management and institutional development professional. She has over 25 years of work experience from assignments in the OSCE, UNDP and civil society. Nina is currently Senior Manager at CMI Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation. She is also chairperson of the Nordic Women Mediators network in Finland.

In 2023 Nina worked as Head of Mission of OSCE ODIHR election observation mission to the parliamentary elections in Montenegro and in 2022 she was Head of Mission of the ODIHR election observation mission to the early parliamentary elections in Bulgaria.

From 2018 to 2022 Nina held the position of the Executive Director at Justice Rapid Response, based in Geneva focusing on war crimes investigations and related expertise.

From September 2015 to April 2018 Nina served as Head of Mission at the OSCE Mission to Skopje, in North Macedonia, leading the OSCE field operation of 150 staff. In 2012-2015 she worked as Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, based in Sarajevo. Her other duties have included working at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) field office in Latvia 1995-1997, as Advisor to the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities in 2007-2008, in OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1998-1999 and in OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw 2000-2002. In 2005-2010 she held a position at the Finn Church Aid, the largest development and humanitarian NGO in Finland working as senior adviser on development policy and advocacy. In mid-90’s she worked in Brussels in the European Commission and European Parliament, and in 2003-2004 in Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. Nina has also been involved in shorter projects in Rwanda, Haiti and Palestinian Territories.

The professional experience of Nina Suomalainen includes leading and managing capacity and institutional development in post-conflict situations, human rights protection and promotion, and other related crisis management initiatives. The countries she has been working with include Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, other contexts in South Eastern Europe and OSCE region, Rwanda, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Palestinian Territories.

In Finland Nina is active in national and local politics. She was elected to the Helsinki City Council for the second time in 2021, where she serves as a City Councillor. She holds the positions of the deputy chairperson of the Culture and Leisure-time Committee of Helsinki City and deputy chairperson of the UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra Foundation. She is also elected member in the council of the Helsinki parishes of the Ev.Lut.Church in Finland.

In her leisure time Nina enjoys gardening and outdoor activities, supports animal rescue work, takes time for walks with her dog in forests and loves both downhill and cross-country skiing in winter.

Nina Suomalainen was born in 1966 in the municipality of Valkeala in South-Eastern Finland. Her permanent home is in Helsinki, Finland. She has a degree of Master of Political Science (M.Pol.Sc.) in the Åbo Akademi University in Turku in 1993, with major in International Law and studies in Economics and Economic Geography, as well as a vocational degree in Music, specifically in Music technology.