Tampere’s 19 Honorary Consuls Include Winebar Owner Representing South Africa
Tampere hosts 19 honorary consuls, including winebar owner Timo Jokinen who has served as South Africa’s honorary consul since 2022, helping delegations and assisting travellers in an unpaid capacity.
Tampere is home to 19 honorary consuls. Among them, winebar owner Timo Jokinen has represented South Africa since 2022, Aamulehti reports.
Honorary consuls are invited rather than applying; they are appointed by the sending country's head of state or foreign ministry. The nomination must be approved by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs after background checks by the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo).
Jokinen is a longtime traveller who runs Winebistro 1901 on Kauppakatu. He returned to Finland in 1998 and says he was tapped because of decades-long ties to South Africa. He first visited the country in 1987 and says, "I've been there at least a hundred times."
Jokinen arranges programs for visiting delegations and helps travellers with passport and document issues, though he does not issue official papers. The role is unpaid, and his commission was signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Tampere also hosts other countries' honorary consulates. For example, Tampere Hall hosts Sweden’s honorary consulate, which explains the extra Swedish flags sometimes flown there Tampere Hall's Swedish consulate.
Earlier coverage
Catch the full story over at Aamulehti
