Seija-Riitta Laakso


Seija-Riitta Laakso is a Finnish writer and philatelist, as well as editor of international philatelic journals and yearbooks.

Education

Seija-Riitta Laakso is a journalist from the Sanoma School of Journalism who also has an eMBA from the Helsinki School of Economics and a PhD from the University of Helsinki. Her doctoral thesis "Across the Oceans. Development of Overseas Business Information Transmission, 1815-1875" was published in book form in 2007, and as a Japanese edition in 2014. The book combined maritime history and postal history by studying the routes and speed at which information was transmitted in the nineteenth century, using as examples business correspondence which had travelled internationally by sea.

Career

Laakso, originally a historian, worked as a journalist in Finnish daily newspapers Helsingin Sanomat, Uusi Suomi and Kauppalehti. She was director in the Centre for Finnish Business and Policy Studies and Senior Vice President / Vice President, Corporate Communications at Valmet Oyj, Silja Line Oyj and Ahlstrom Oyj, from 1991 to 2002. In 2003-2004 she lived in Liverpool, UK, for her doctoral studies. She has written and published several books.

Philately

Laakso was the Secretary General of the Philatelic Federation of Finland from 2005 to 2013. She is currently the Editor of The Posthorn, the journal of the Scandinavian Collectors Club ; the "Congress Book", the yearbook of the American Philatelic Congress ; and "Postryttaren", the yearbook of the Friends of the Swedish Post Museum, Svenska Postmusei Vänner. From July 2017 to December 2019, she was also the Editor of The London Philatelist, the journal of The Royal Philatelic Society London. As an exhibitor, she has received 35 gold or large gold medals in philatelic exhibitions by the end of 2019.

Selected articles and publications

Finnish

Publications in Finnish include: