Passionate Public Servant Wife of Finnish Ambassador Cites Family, Embassy as Priorities by Gail Scott ìWe arrived just after 9/11,î said Etel Valtasaari, wife of the Finnish ambassador. ìAnd there was a problem to get here from New York because there were no flights to Washington. We were lucky. Finally, there was one flight and we took it. I remember the security guard telling our daughter Natalia, ëWe will do our best so that our country is safe againí in an assuring, nice way.î But when they arrived in Washington, it was not the same city they left five years before. ìThis city was quiet Ö people were dressed very plainly,î Valtasaari recalled. Since almost no planes were allowed to fly into Washington yet, ìthere was no one at the airport. It was eerie.î That was Oct. 1, 2001, and this diplomatic family was returning from Finland to Washington for Jukka Valtasaariís second term as ambassador. They were posted here originally from 1988 to 1996 when the new Finnish Embassy took Washington by storm. Over 11 years and two terms of being the wife of the Finnish ambassador, this Fulbright Scholar has seen dramatic changes in Washingtonís diplomatic agenda during three successive U.S. administrations under which her husband served. ìThe first time we were here, the focus was on the European theater,î the vibrant 61-year-old said, ìand now, it is the Middle East.î She added: ìWe have been here for two of the most important paradigm shifts since World War II: one, the end of communism, and the other, the rise of terrorism. ìThe crumbling Berlin Wall changed the entire central Europe. It was the beginning of nationhood and freedom for so many former Soviet republics,î said Valtasaari, who comes from the Nordic country that has shared an 800-mile border first with the czars, then with the Soviets and now with the Russians. We were sitting in the large living room of Finlandís hilltop residence on Woodland Drive. Vicky, their 12-year-old schnauzer, was checking me out, an amusing kind of diplomatic security. I was immediately impressed with Valtasaariís warm welcome and her cold analysis of the monumental changes in the political climate. Educated at Oxford and Glasgow, Valtasaari became a health-care pioneer in her country, introducing occupational therapy education to Finland from her advanced studies abroad. As a recipient of an Asla Fulbright International Educational Development Scholarship, she researched curriculum design, student counseling and university degree programs across the United States. ìAn educated population is our natural resource,î she said. ìWeíve had ëno child left behindí for almost a century and a half. And it makes no difference if you are a girl or a boy,î she said, adding that education is Finlandís highest priority, of which she is a great example. Valtasaari has lectured extensively throughout Scandinavia on the use of creative methods in occupational therapy, psychiatric rehabilitation and geriatrics. As a recognized expert in her field, she has published breakthrough research and represented Finland at top international conferences. She is passionate about public service, whether it is in public health or in diplomacy. ìMy existence here is thanks to my husband,î said the seasoned diplomatic wife. ìI have already had a private journey in my own field.î Etel Valtasaari, Ambassador Valtasaariís second wife, is sure that her rewarding role as a leading health-care advocate has allowed her to more easily embrace and enjoy her current role as an ambassadorís spouse. During other periods of her husbandís career, she commuted between Helsinki and Washington, ìthree weeks on and three weeks off,î to continue her work. But now, with one grown daughter and two grown stepchildren and two grandchildren, Valtasaari is a full-time diplomatic wife. ìMy job is to be available and to network,î she said. ìWhen I first arrived here in 1988, I knew nobody.î Neighbor Bitsey Folger, who has twice visited the Valtasaariís home in Helsinki, called Valtasaari one of her very best friends. ìShe is thoughtful but very open and honest,î said Folger, who welcomed Valtasaari into her investment club as its first foreign member. ìWe see things similarly, above the differences in our nationalitiesÖ. They are gregarious, wonderful people,î she added. ìWe are so lucky to have them here twice.î In 1996, Ambassador Valtasaari was asked to serve as the permanent secretary for foreign affairs in Helsinki, the highest non-elected office in the Foreign Ministry. Natalia was 11 then and had been here since she was 4. ìShe felt so much at home here that she didnít want to leave,î Etel Valtasaari remembered. ìNatalia was very upset. She didnít want to leave her friends. I promised her that she could always come back once a year, which she still does.î To Valtasaari, itís easy to list her priorities. ìFirst is my family, the center of my existence,î she explained. Next, itís ìthe embassy and everything and everyone there. With cultural programs we are trying to show modern Finland: the high tech with Nokia; the biotech, collaborating with [the National Institutes of Health] on projects such as juvenile diabetes and Alzheimerís; and events and exhibitions like the current show on Finlandís pop furniture designer Eero Aarnio, which runs through May 8 at the embassy.î (See page B-4) Speaking like proud grandparents of Finlandís state-of-the-art embassy on Massachusetts Avenue, both Valtasaaris love to remember the part they played in creating the modern embassy for Finland, a country whose international influence in design and shrewd diplomacy far exceeds its small population of only 5 million people. ìWe are about the size of just one of your states, similar to Massachusetts, Minnesota or Wisconsin,î Valtasaari noted. ìFirst we were on California Street and the embassy became too small, so we moved to New Mexico [Avenue], and that became too small, and we knew we needed a bigger place Ö to bring Finland to you,î she said of the search for a site to house the Finnish Embassy. ìBut the unusual complications in erecting a modern Finnish building on traditional Embassy Row were surprising. In Finland, we always build around the trees,î so building into a park setting wasnít the problem. ìBut we didnít know we had to worry about migrating birds, what light the new embassy would generate,î and the other intricacies of building in Washington. Today, with the embassy complete, Valtasaariís third priority is ìnetworkingî and making friends for Finland, whether she is greeting guests at the bottom of ìfloatingî steps in Finlandís provocative embassy, serving as a board member at the National Rehabilitation Hospital, a member of the Corcoran Galleryís Womenís and Acquisitions Committees, or making friends in her International Neighborsí Club or the McLean Foreign Policy Discussion Group. ìThis is a wonderful opportunity, and I am very fortunate and honored to serve my country,î she said. ìThere is not a dull moment in this cityÖ. Washington is very energizing. This is a place where you can learn so much.î Her husband admits that he couldnít imagine being in Washington without her. ìShe does her part,î Ambassador Valtasaari said. ìThe reality isóeven more so nowóthat this is a two-person job and one gets paid. You canít really think of it without an effective wife because this is a family town, and it just has to be that way.î He said that he could always count on her to do what was needed. ìWhen she was 18 and an au pair in Colchester, England, she had to get up at 6 a.m. and grill the kidneys for breakfast,î he recalled. ìShe feels comfortable in this role representing Finland,î as a highly educated professional woman whose ìprofession didnít even exist until she introduced it in her country.î Now with an empty nest, the Valtasaaris love to swim every morning they can in their backyard pool and cherish each round of golf at the Chevy Chase Country Club. When I asked how they met, I realize that even part of their personal life is intertwined with education. After teaching economics from 1963 to 1966 at the University of Helsinki, Ambassador Valtasaari became an international fellow at Harvard Universityís Center for International Affairs from 1976 to 1977. Two years before, Etel Valtasaari had been in Boston working on her Fulbright, and thatís where their love story beganóon Valentineís Day 30 years ago. ìMy father knew his father, and I had known Jukka and his first wife,î she said. ìFinland is not that big. We all know each other in Helsinki.î She also knew that this rising star in Finlandís Foreign Ministry had divorced. After some fancy trans-Atlantic commuting, the two married at Harvard. When he was sent to New York in 1977 to represent Finland at the United Nations, she went with him, taking a leave of absence from her groundbreaking work. ìYou can do these things together,î she said, ìbut I had to negotiate and prove that I was keeping up in my field to maintain my own profession.î Each morning before going to the United Nations, Ambassador Valtasaari would drop his new wife off in Harlem where she spent the day assessing the learning abilities of needy children. Even though they were twice robbed, even held at gunpoint, and their car was stolen, Valtasaari said she loved New York. ìItís a different, safer place now,î she said, noting that she loves to visit the city and fondly remembers their years at the United Nations, ìwhere you get to know the world.î ìThe world has changed but the U.N. is still the best way to get nations together,î she said. ìThere they already study and help human rights, refugees, women, world health, labor issues and food problemsÖ. It is a huge organization and whether it works to our satisfaction or not, it is still the one and only organizationî for all countries. She said that when there are misunderstandings and problems among nations, ìit is education and better knowledgeî of each other that will solve the problems. ìEducation is like an umbrella. Transplanting democracy successfully will only happen through education. We need more cultural and student exchange, people in research to further a peaceful world.î A scene from Marlon Brandoís ìOn The Waterfrontî has ìalways stuck with me,î she concluded. ìWhen his character says, ëI could have been somebody,í he looked so sad, that he had lost his self-worth. We need to make people feel respected, feel like they are somebody. This is universally true.î The next Diplomatic Spouses column will feature Awatef Al-Dafa, wife of the Qatari ambassador. Gail Scott is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.