His spouse is Merja Tuomi-Nikula (née Pörhö), a specialist doctor in gynecology and childbirth.
From 2005 to 2010, Tuomi-Nikula was the Head of the Communications and Culture Department of at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
[2] He has served as a press and cultural officer in Finnish missions in Bonn, Vienna and London[3] He served as the Secretary General during the First EU Presidency of Finland from 1996 to 2000 and as Secretary General of the International Advisory Board from 1989 to 2000.
He was Chairman of Finland Promotion Board from 2005 to 2010 and has been a member of the Country Brand Delegation led by Jorma Ollila.
Before that, he worked as a journalist at the Finnish News Agency and in the Vaasa magazine.