Lappeenranta mayor says leading the city is enough

Tuomo Sallinen says he has no interest in pursuing a bigger job than leading Lappeenranta, Yle reports. The 37-year-old says he is committed to the city and hopes to remain in the role beyond his current six-year term, which began in 2024.

“My professional ambition has, to some extent, died,” Sallinen said. He said he could still see himself leading Lappeenranta in five years and that other jobs did not interest him.

Sallinen says he values concrete results over what he calls “hype” and vague projects. Lappeenranta has faced a major setback since the border closed, with the flow of Russian tourists to the city drying up.

“I am determined and demanding, and I require results, but I am also relaxed and give people freedom,” he said. City employees have told him the workplace atmosphere has become more businesslike. Sallinen said he is more demanding than his predecessor.

He prepares many proposals and other matters himself, saying this helps him manage the whole picture rather than micromanage. He acknowledged that the pace can be too intense and that he sometimes gets tired.

Sallinen studied law and began working in municipal leadership at 25, when he became city secretary in Kiuruvesi and also served as acting city manager. At 27, he moved to South Karelia for family reasons and became municipal manager of Ruokolahti.

Alongside the demanding job, Sallinen shares parenting of his three-and-a-half-year-old child. He has said he deliberately keeps a beard to look older, after starting his career in local government at a young age.