1.
Finland
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Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland, Finland is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia, which also includes Scandinavia. Finlands population is 5.5 million, and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region,88. 7% of the population is Finnish people who speak Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, the second major group are the Finland-Swedes. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe, Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and an autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, from the late 12th century, Finland was an integral part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In the spirit of the notion of Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, we are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, let us therefore be Finns, nevertheless, in 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the nation in the world to give the right to vote to all adult citizens. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent, in 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Reds supported by the equally new Soviet Russia, fighting the Whites, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla and Kuusamo, Petsamo and some islands, Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era, Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity, however, Finnish GDP growth has been negative in 2012–2014, with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, a large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, though freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution. The first known appearance of the name Finland is thought to be on three rune-stones. Two were found in the Swedish province of Uppland and have the inscription finlonti, the third was found in Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. It has the inscription finlandi and dates from the 13th century, the name can be assumed to be related to the tribe name Finns, which is mentioned first known time AD98. The name Suomi has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a source is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, in addition to the close relatives of Finnish, this name is also used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian
2.
Politics of Finland
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Politics of Finland takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic and of a multi-party system. The President of Finland is the head of state, leads the foreign policy, the Prime Minister of Finland is the head of government, executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Finland, and the government has limited rights to amend or extend legislation, the president has the power of veto over parliamentary decisions although it can be overrun by the parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, the Judiciary consists of two systems, regular courts and administrative courts, headed by the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court, respectively. Administrative courts process cases where decisions are contested. There is no Constitutional Court - the constitutionality of a law can be contested only as applied to a court case. Though Finland has a parliamentary system, the president has some notable powers. The foreign policy is led by the president, in co-operation with the cabinet, the main executive power lies in the cabinet headed by the prime minister. Before the constitutional rewrite, which was completed in 2000, the president enjoyed more power, finns enjoy individual and political freedoms, and suffrage is universal at 18, Finnish women became the first in the world to have unrestricted rights both to vote and to stand for parliament. The countrys population is homogeneous with no sizable immigrant population. Few tensions exist between the Finnish-speaking majority and the Swedish-speaking minority, although in certain circles there is a debate about the status of the Swedish language. The labor agreements also pose significant political questions, bargaining is highly centralized and often the government participates to coordinate fiscal policy. Finland has universal validity of collective agreements and often, but not always, the trade unions, employers. Significant trade unions are SAK, STTK, AKAVA and EK, the current Constitution was rewritten on 1 March 2000, the first was adopted on 17 July 1919. The original comprised four constitutional laws and several amendments, which the latter replaces, the Supreme Court may request legislation that interprets or modifies existing laws. Judges are appointed by the President, in principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the Constitutional Law Committee of the parliament reviews any doubtful bills and recommends changes, in practice, the Constitutional Law Committee fulfills the duties of a constitutional court. A Finnish peculiarity is the possibility of making exceptions to the constitution in ordinary laws that are enacted in the procedure as constitutional amendments
3.
Finnish Declaration of Independence
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The Finnish Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Parliament of Finland on 6 December 1917. Declaring the independence was only part of the process leading to independence of Finland. There were negotiations between the Russian Provisional Government and Finnish authorities, at the time of the vote it was believed that the Provisional Government would be quickly defeated by the rebellion in Saint Petersburg. The Provisional Government survived, however, disapproved of the Power Act, the regency council was however never elected because of the strong opposition of Finnish socialists and their general strike which demanded for more radical action. On 2 November 1917, the Bolsheviks declared a right of self-determination, including the right of complete secession. On the same day the Finnish Parliament issued a declaration by which it assumed, pro tempore, the old Instrument of Government was however no longer deemed suitable. Leading circles had long held monarchism and hereditary nobility to be antiquated, the Senate of Finland, the government the Parliament had appointed in November, drafted a Declaration of Independence and a proposal for a new republican Instrument of Government. Chairman of the Senate Pehr Evind Svinhufvud read the Declaration to the Parliament on 4 December, the Declaration of Independence was technically given the form of a preamble of the proposition, and was intended to be agreed by the Parliament. Parliament adopted the Declaration on 6 December, the people of Finland feel deeply that they cannot fulfil their national and international duty without complete sovereignty. The century-old desire for freedom awaits fulfilment now, Finlands people step forward as a nation among the other nations in the world. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania declared their independence from Russia during the same period, see Estonian War of Independence, Latvian Independence and Lithuanian Wars of Independence. These three countries were occupied by, and annexed into, the Soviet Union, see Occupation of the Baltic states. The people of Finland have by this step taken their fate in their own hands, the people of Finland feel deeply that they cannot fulfil their national duty and their universal human obligations without a complete sovereignty. The century-old desire for freedom awaits fulfilment now, The People of Finland has to step forward as an independent nation among the nations in the world. Achieving this goal requires mainly some measures by the Parliament, the same goal also calls for measures from the part of the Government. The Government will approach foreign powers to seek an international recognition of our country’s independence as a state. And widely over all the horrors of the war is heard a voice, that one of the goals of the present war is to be, that no nation shall be forced against its will to be dependent on another. The Finnish people believe that the free Russian people and its constitutive National Assembly don’t want to prevent Finland’s aspiration to enter the multitude of the free and independent nations
4.
Law enforcement in Finland
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Law enforcement in Finland is the responsibility of several agencies. The Police of Finland, a police agency, is responsible for most tasks. The two other agencies are the Finnish Border Guard and the Finnish Customs. Other agencies with limited powers are the Finnish Defence Forces, municipal parking inspectors. The Police of Finland is subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior and divided into the National Police Board, within the departments, there is a division between uniformed patrol police and criminal investigation. The national unit is the Police University College, which is responsible for training, research. The Finnish Security Intelligence Service specializes in the prevention of security threats of the State, such as counterintelligence, supo was a police agency but was moved directly under the Ministry of the Interior in 2016. The NBI is a law enforcement agency. It is tasked with fighting international, organised and serious crime, and also counterintelligence and terrorism to some extent. Karhu ryhmä is also under the control of the NBI, the Finnish Border Guard have police powers in border zones, likewise, Finnish Customs have police powers when dealing with arriving persons and goods. Within their fields of work, the Customs and Border Guard officers have most police powers, in the Customs, the power to arrest is delegated to the level of senior customs inspectors. In the Border Guard, the power to arrest is delegated to the level of border control detachments commander, the Border Guard is also responsible for search and rescue and maritime search and rescue. The Customs may utilize all investigative powers, with the exception of the use of deep-cover personnel. The Border Guard may use almost all investigative powers, the Customs also occasionally enforces laws such as fuel taxes and vehicle traffic-worthiness, without connection to imported goods. PTR is a scheme for cooperation between the police, customs and border guard, in a PTR patrol, there is a patrol from two of the agencies, for instance two officers from customs and two from police, who then get acquainted with each others tasks and expertise. Another form of PTR cooperation is in criminal intelligence, the Finnish Defence Forces have provost duties and jurisdiction over guarding military installations. The Defence Forces also have the right to all military crimes. In addition, the Defence Forces have the right to conduct counter-espionage and counter-sabotage activities related to the national defence, however, Suojelupoliisi conducts actual criminal investigations of state-security-related crimes also within the Defence Forces
5.
Finnish Defence Forces
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The Finnish Defence Forces are responsible for the defence of Finland. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for 165,255 or 347 days, alternative non-military service and volunteer service by women are possible. Finland is the only non-NATO EU country bordering Russia, finlands official policy states that a wartime military strength of 230,000 personnel constitutes a sufficient deterrent. The army consists of a mobile field army backed up by local defence units. Finlands defence budget equals approximately 2.8 billion euros or 1.3 percent of GDP, the voluntary overseas service is highly popular and troops serve around the world in UN, NATO and EU missions. Homeland defence willingness against an enemy is at 76%, one of the highest rates in Europe. Fighting between the White Guards and the Red Guards had already broken out about a week before around Viipuri, after winning the Civil War, the Finnish peacetime army was organized as three divisions and a brigade by professional German officers. It became the structure for the next 20 years. The coast was guarded by former czarist coastal fortifications and ships taken as prizes of war, the Air Force had already been formed in March 1918, but remained a part of the Army and did not become a fully independent fighting force until 1928. The new government instituted conscription after the Civil War and also introduced a mobilization system, when the Soviets invaded in November 1939, the Finns defeated the Red Army on numerous occasions, including at the crucial Battle of Suomussalmi. These successes were in part thanks to the application of motti tactics. While the Finns ultimately lost the war and were forced to agree to the Moscow Peace Treaty, during the war the Finns lost 25,904 men, while Soviet losses were 167,976 dead. Finland fought in the Continuation War alongside Germany from 1941 to 1944, thanks to German aid, the army was now much better equipped, and the period of conscription had been increased to two years, making possible the formation of sixteen infantry divisions. The demobilization and regrouping of the Finnish Defense Forces were carried out in late 1944 under the supervision of the Soviet-dominated Allied Control Commission. Following the Treaty of Paris in 1947, which imposed restrictions on the size and equipment of the forces and required disbandment of the Civic Guard. The reorganization resulted in the adoption of the brigade -in place of the division- as the standard formation, for the first two decades after the Second World War, the Finnish Defence Forces relied largely on obsolete wartime material. Defence spending remained minimal until the early 1960s, during the peak of the Cold War, the Finnish government made a conscious effort to increase defence capability. This resulted in the commissioning of new weapons systems and the strengthening of the defence of Finnish Lapland by the establishment of new garrisons in the area
6.
President of Finland
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The President of the Republic of Finland is the nations head of state. Under the Finnish constitution, executive power is vested in the president, the president is elected directly by the people of Finland for a term of six years. Since 1991, no president may be elected for more than two consecutive terms, the president must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919, the current office-holder is Sauli Niinistö. Officially the head of state is known as the President of the Republic of Finland or, more often and this is in contrast to the former presidents, who retain the title President. In other contexts, the term for president is puheenjohtaja – except for appeals courts. Candidates for president can be nominated by registered parties which have received at least one seat in the parliamentary election. A candidate may also be nominated by 20,000 enfranchised citizens, between 1919 and 1988, the president was elected indirectly by an electoral college made up of electors chosen by voters in the presidential election. Since 1994, the president has been elected by a popular vote. If only one candidate is nominated, he or she becomes president without an election, otherwise, the first round of balloting takes place on the third Sunday of January in the election year. If one of the candidates receives more than half of the votes cast, if no candidate wins a majority in the first stage, the top two candidates rerun in the second stage three weeks later. The candidate who receives more votes is elected. In the event of a tie, the election is resolved by lot, the Council of State confirms the outcome of the election and, if necessary, conducts the drawing of lots. The president assumes office on the first day of the following the election. There have been several presidential elections. The first president, Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, was chosen by the Finnish parliament due to the rule of the constitution. In 1940 and 1943, the 1937 electoral college chose the president, as it was felt that an election could not be arranged due to the martial law. In 1944 special legislation directly stipulated that Marshal Mannerheim be elected president for six years after Risto Ryti had resigned mid-term, in 1946, special legislation empowered the Parliament to choose a successor for the remainder of Mannerheims term, the latter having resigned
7.
Prime Minister of Finland
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The Prime Minister is the Head of Government of Finland. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, who is the Head of State, the current Prime Minister is Juha Sipilä of the Centre Party. Parliament must ratify the nominated Prime Minister with an majority in a vote without other candidates. If the nominee doesnt receive sufficient support, then a new round of negotiations, the Presidents formal appointment follows Parliaments election. The above procedure was first used to elect Anneli Jäätteenmäki to the premiership in 2003, previously it was assumed that the President would nominate the candidate who in a third round of voting would have gained a relative majority, usually the leader of the largest party. Formally, the Prime Minister nominates the members of the Council of State. Although the Prime Minister is one of the leading political figures. This is mainly because no one party has a chance of winning an outright majority. A Prime Minister usually leads a coalition of three or more parties. The Cabinet follows a government platform agreed upon by the participating parties, kesäranta, located in the Meilahti area of Helsinki, has been the official residence of the Prime Minister of Finland since 1919. Since its independence, Finland has had 71 cabinets, including the current one, the salary of the prime minister is by law the same as the salary of the Speaker of the Parliament, which is €11,675 a month. In addition, the prime minister receives a half of the salary to which he or she is entitled as a sitting member of Parliament. The full parliamentary salary is currently at least €6,335 a month, the salary is subject to normal income tax. The prime minister is entitled to a 30-day leave during each calendar year, the maintenance, staff and services of the official residence is paid for by the government. The prime minister has transportation and security services at their disposal at all times, List of Prime Ministers of Finland List of presidents of Finland Media related to Prime ministers of Finland at Wikimedia Commons Official site From Senate to independent Government
8.
Council of State (Finland)
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The Council of State is Finlands cabinet, it directs the Government of Finland. However, in translations to English, the distinction is often blurred between cabinet and government in the wider sense. This wider sense includes the Parliament of Finland, the agencies that are directed by the Cabinet. Despite of the blurring by translators, the difference is significant. The Cabinet is directly responsible to the parliament and may be dismissed by a motion of no confidence, the President, according to the 2000 constitution, formally appoints the cabinet, but the daily working is the responsibility of the Prime Minister. In 1918, after Finlands independence, the Cabinet, that in the Grand Duchy of Finland had been called the Senate of Finland, was reorganized and renamed to the Council of State. One of the objectives of that reform was to separate the judiciary from the executive branch. International treaties and declaration of war are within the authority of the parliament, less important matters are decided within the respective ministries. Matters within the authority of the President are decided at plenary meetings of the Cabinet, with the exception of appointments, pardon, after election, the party in plurality has the privilege to appoint a negotiator to form the government. In practice, this person is the leader of the party, since 1972, all cabinets have been formed as coalitions of multiple parties that together constitute a parliamentary majority. In an intense period after elections, the negotiator will attempt to forge a consensus between the parties on the issues to be prosecuted during the tenure of the government. This will then be written down in a government platform, following from President Urho Kekkonens excessive direction over the government formation process, the 2000 constitution limited the Presidents power in government formation. Today, the President only formally appoints the government, but cannot select or remove individual members, the current Council of State, the 72nd since Finlands independence, was inaugurated by President Sauli Niinistö on 29 May 2015. The current Council of State is a Center-right, 14-minister coalition consisting of the Centre Party, the Finns Party, the Chancellor of Justice is not a member of the Council of State but must by law attend its every meeting. Council of State Minister for Foreign Affairs Minister of Justice Minister of Defence Minister of Finance Minister of the Interior The Finnish Government – Official site
9.
Parliament of Finland
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The Eduskunta is the parliament of Finland. The unicameral parliament has 200 members and normally meets in the Parliament House in Helsinki, however, during the 2015–2017 renovation of the Parliament House, the parliament temporary meets in the nearby Sibelius Academy. The latest election to the parliament took place on April 19,2015, under the Constitution of Finland, the 200-member unicameral parliament exercises supreme decision-making authority in Finland. Sovereignty belongs to the people and that power is vested in the parliament and it passes legislation, decides on the state budget, approves international treaties, and supervises the activities of the government. It may alter the constitution, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the members of the Eduskunta. To make changes to the Constitution, amendments must be approved twice by the Eduskunta, the Eduskuntas 200 representatives are elected directly by secret ballot on the basis of proportional representation. The electoral period is four years, Elections previously took two days but as early voting became popular they are now conducted on one day, since 2011 the third Sunday in April. Every citizen who is at least 18 years of age by the date is entitled to vote in general elections. All registered parties are entitled to nominate candidates, individual citizens, in parliamentary elections, Finland is divided into 13 electoral districts. The number of representatives returned by each district depends on the population, Åland is an exception in that it always elects one representative. The provincial state offices appoint a board in each electoral district to prepare lists of candidates. The Ministry of Justice is ultimately responsible for elections, prior to the new constitution the President had the power to do this independently. The President has called an early election eight times in Finnish history, however, there is no hard and fast election threshold to get a seat in Parliament. In large part due to this, it is impossible for one party to win an outright majority. Since the first election in 1907, only one party has won a majority—in the election of 1916. Since Finland gained independence in 1917, no party has won the 101 seats necessary for a majority and it is also very difficult for the socialist and non-socialist blocs to form a government on their own. Most Finnish governments in recent history have been coalitions between three or more parties, and many of them have been coalitions between socialist and non-socialist parties. The seats for each district are assigned according to the dHondt method
10.
Speaker of the Parliament of Finland
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The speaker of the Parliament of Finland, along with two deputy speakers, is elected by Parliament during the first plenary session each year. Speakers are chosen for a year at a time, the speaker and two deputy speakers are elected by parliament from among its members by secret ballot. Formally, the speaker ranks second in the protocol, after the president of Finland, an interim speaker is elected for the duration of government formation talks. Parliament of Finland Diet of Finland Lantmarskalks of the Finnish House of Nobility Media related to Speakers of the Parliament of Finland at Wikimedia Commons www. eduskunta. fi
11.
Maria Lohela
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Maria Lohela is a Finnish politician and the current Speaker of the Parliament. She has served as a Member of Parliament for Finland Proper since 2011, after having maintained her seat in the 2015 election, Lohela became Speaker of the Parliament in May 2015. 36 years old when elected Speaker, she is one of the youngest MPs to hold office in the parliaments history. Before her parliamentary career, she took her bachelors degree in University of Turku and she has also served as a member of the Turku city council between 2009 and 2012. Lohela has been a proponent of an immigration policy for Finland. Along with other prominent Finns Party politicians, Lohela was one of the authors of the so-called Nuiva Manifesti, Parliament of Finland, Maria Lohela Home page
12.
Judicial system of Finland
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Under the Constitution of Finland, everyone is entitled to have their case heard by a court or an authority appropriately and without undue delay. This is achieved through the system of Finland. The Finnish legal system originated during the period before Swedish rule, the traditional system of tings for criminal cases and civil disputes continued after conquest and the countrys first court of appeals was established at Turku in 1634. Since then, the Code has undergone numerous changes and this division dates back to the administrative procedure of the 18th and 19th centuries. This division was formalized in 1918 when two sections of the Senate became the newly independent countrys two highest courts, the Senate Department of Justice became the Supreme Court, and part of the Senate Finance Department was the basis of the Supreme Administrative Court. The two court systems are separate, and they have no jurisdiction over one another. The establishment of the two courts was confirmed by the Constitution Act of 1919, overseeing the system of justice are the Chancellor of Justice and the Parliamentary Ombudsman. Both officials receive complaints from citizens about the conduct of civil servants, the Chancellor of Justice also supervises advocates. Both officials may call any Finnish authorities to render assistance as they deem fit. As in the other Nordic countries, there is no constitutional court, issues dealt with by a court of this kind elsewhere are handled by the Parliaments Constitutional Committee. Finnish thinking on criminal policy, as it was evolved by the 1980s, in practical terms, punishments are standardized, and they are imposed consistently for all categories of crimes, in the interest of ensuring equality in the application of the law. For this reason, the penal code restricts the discretionary power of the courts in imposing sentences, thus, the tendency has been to rely on light punishment, especially on fines, and to emphasize short sentences of a few weeks or months. The courts are expected to ensure that punishment is not extended indirectly to the offenders family. The tendency since the early 1970s has been to decriminalize a number of actions formerly indictable under the penal code, among the acts decriminalized were creating a public disturbance because of drunkenness as well as certain offenses against property, such as petty theft. Homosexual acts between consenting adults also ceased to be regarded as a criminal offense, stiff penalties for offenses against persons, threats of violence against persons, and driving under influence remained unaffected, however. Finland has been less willing than other Scandinavian countries to replace punishment with other measures, under legislation enacted in 1931, offenders dangerous to private or public safety could be confined in a separate institution for recidivists after their sentences had expired. As a result, the number of offenders held in internment of any kind fell dramatically, although indefinite detention remained legal, this provision was not enforced after the mid-1970s. Any lawyer applying for membership in the Finnish Bar Association must have completed a Master of Laws degree, entitling them to judicial office
13.
Supreme Court of Finland
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The Supreme Court of Finland, located in Helsinki, consists of a President and at minimum 15, currently 18, other Justices, usually working in five-judge panels. Its jurisdiction does not extend to the court system or the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland. Decisions of courts of appeal, as well as decisions of the Insurance Court may be appealed against to the Supreme Court. In the rare cases where a court of appeals acts as a court of first instance. The Supreme Court may annul final decisions of courts on the provided in Chapter 31 of the Code of Judicial Procedure. The Court also handles complaints concerning errors in procedure, in some cases the Court may restore the right of appeal after the expiration of a specified period of time. The Supreme Court gives advice to the President in cases concerning the right to grant a pardon and it may provide legal opinions on Government Bills at different stages of the legislative process, and the President may consult it on Bills passed by Parliament before ratifying them. The Supreme Court may also approach the President on its own initiative, the Supreme Court mainly relies on written evidence when deciding on a case. The Court may, however, hold hearings in which the parties, witnesses. The precedents are usually created in cases for which the applicable Acts of Parliament, approximately 150 such precedents are decided each year. Under the Finnish legal system a judicial precedent is not binding, courts of appeal and even district courts may depart from earlier decisions made by the Supreme Court, for example when the social circumstances have considerably changed. In practice, however, precedents of the Supreme Court are followed in cases arising after the precedent has been created, the Supreme Court may also itself depart from its earlier precedents, provided that the case is considered by an enlarged chamber or by a full court. Precedents in the Supreme Court cases are published six months. In addition they are available in a database at http. The panel of the Court deciding the precedents also makes the decisions concerning their publication, the title of a judgment briefly sets forth the point of law to which the precedent applied and which constitutes the reason for its publication. In cases containing to precedents, the Supreme Court will also have to take a position on other than those outlined in the title. However, such positions are like any other judgements of the Court, a precedent contributes to the development of national law by providing consistency in case law. The objective is that throughout the country interpret the law in a uniform manner and apply legal principles by means of consistent assessment
14.
Supreme Administrative Court of Finland
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The Supreme Administrative Court of Finland is the highest court in the Finnish administrative court system, parallel to the Supreme Court of Finland. Its jurisdiction covers the legality of the decisions of government officials, in most issues, it is possible to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland from the judgment of the administrative court. However, in some areas of administrative law, an appeal requires a leave of appeal from the Supreme Administrative Court. The most important such area are insurance cases, in some restricted areas of law, for example, in parking fines, the decision of the administrative court is final and cannot be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court. The Council of State, i. e. the Finnish government, the decisions it makes in this competence can be appealed against on the grounds of legality of the decision. As in all Finnish administrative courts, the costs of both parties in the Supreme Administrative Court are born, unless it is reasonable to award the prevailing party all or part of the costs. Nonetheless, when the authority prevails against a private claimant, it must bear all its costs, the Court has a President,20 Justices and 4 Temporary Justices, organized into three chambers of five Justices. In addition, there are 16 Expert Counsellors, in cases concerning water, environmental protection and intellectual property, the chamber is composed of five Justices and two Expert Counsellors. In 2011, the Court processed 4044 cases, with an time of hearing of 12.2 months. The homepage of the Supreme Administrative Court Of Finland Media related to Supreme Administrative Court of Finland at Wikimedia Commons
15.
Prosecutor General of Finland
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The Prosecutor General of Finland is the supreme prosecutor and head of the prosecution service. The current Prosecutor General of Finland is Matti Nissinen, the Prosecutor General directs and develops prosecutorial activity by issuing general instructions and guidelines to prosecutors. He may take over a case from a subordinate prosecutor, some of the duties of the Prosecutor General are assigned to the Deputy Prosecutor General, the office of which is held by Jorma Kalske. For routine prosecutorial tasks, the office has thirteen State Prosecutors, the first Prosecutor General of Finland was Matti Kuusimäki
16.
Finnish parliamentary election, 2007
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Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 18 March 2007. Early voting was possible from the 7–13 March, the 200 members of the Eduskunta were elected from 15 constituencies. Election themes included a reduction of tax and VAT on food. A proposal for a minimum income was introduced by some parties. Largest advertising budgets were spent by the Coalition Party and the Center Party with SDP far behind, altogether,2,004 candidates were nominated,799 of whom were women. About three-quarters of the candidates were nominated by parties currently represented in Parliament, the number of female MPs rose as 84 women were elected, now comprising a record 42% of the 200 MPs. According to the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, the number of advance voters rose in comparison with the election in 2003. After the Tuesday before the Sunday election, when advance voting ended, the turnout had already reached 29. 2%. However, total voter turnout, at 67. 8%, fell short of the 2003 figure,69. 7%, many prominent MPs decided not to stand in the election. Some constituencies elect only six or seven MPs, resulting in an election threshold for a given party, favouring large parties. Because of this, the party leader of the Greens, Tarja Cronberg, lost her seat in the district of Northern Karelia, the constituencies of 2007 were mostly based on the old provinces, the largest difference was counting Helsinki as a separate district. The case has sparked a multi-party initiative that could result in a reform, the elections were a major victory for the opposition National Coalition Party under Jyrki Katainen. It gained ten seats and became the second-largest party in Finland, the main government partners, the Centre Party and the Social Democrats, both lost ground. The Centre Party, despite the loss, maintained its position as the biggest party in Parliament and it was also the only time, except for the parliamentary election of 1930, that the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party together have an absolute majority in Parliament. The outcome led to the formation of a new center-right government, winners also include the True Finns, who gained two seats. Party leader Timo Soini in particular took in a personal total of almost 20,000 votes. The Green League gained one seat with its best ever showing in parliamentary elections, the Swedish Peoples Party gained one seat as well, although losing votes compared to the 2003 elections. Incumbent Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, as party leader of the Centre Party, formed a new government with Centre Party, National Coalition and these parties have 125 seats out of 200 in the parliament
17.
Finnish parliamentary election, 2011
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Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 17 April 2011 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term. Advance voting, which included voting by Finnish expatriates, was held between 6 and 12 April with a turnout of 31. 2%. Small differences in the polls for the traditional three big parties and the surprising rise in support for the True Finns also electrified the atmosphere ahead of the election. The National Coalition Party also ended up as the biggest party for the first time in its history, the total turnout rose to 70. 5% from 67. 9% in the previous election, and corruption scandals also resulted in an anti-incumbency vote. The incumbent Minister of Finance Jyrki Katainen, as the leader of the biggest party in the new parliament, was tasked to form a new government, during government formation talks, the True Finns said they would withdraw if the government accepted the Portuguese bailout. Katainen then continued six-party talks that included the NCP, the SDP, the Left Alliance, Green League, Christian Democrats and the SPP. However, these negotiations ran aground on 1 June as the Social Democrats, negotiations were set to continue under Katainens proposed premiership, though the composition of the new government was not certain at the time. On 17 June, the six parties came to an agreement on forming a government, led by Katainen. The six parties announced their ministers designate between 17–20 June, on 22 June the new parliament elected Jyrki Katainen as prime minister. In June 2010, then-Prime Minister of Finland and leader of the Centre Party Matti Vanhanen said that he would be stepping down from both positions. At a party conference held between 11 and 13 June, then-Minister for Public Administration and Local Government Mari Kiviniemi was elected the new party leader. Vanhanen stepped down from the position of the Prime Minister a few days later and was replaced by Kiviniemi, the 200 members of the parliament are elected using the proportional DHondt method through which voters cast their vote for a candidate of their choosing within a party list. The country is divided into 15 electoral districts, the electoral districts are shown below. This was the first election since the Act on a Candidates Election Funding came into force in May 2009, both laws mandate the disclosure of the sources of campaign finance and expenses. Every candidate and party as a whole must disclose their source of funding, campaign funding may start six months before the election day and end two weeks after the election regardless of when the costs are actually paid. The candidates must file a report with the National Audit Office detailing their sources of all contributions of over €1,500 in value raised in support of the election campaign. The funds include expenses from the candidates own assets, loans taken out for the campaign, Candidates are barred from receiving anonymous contributions of over €1,500 in value. Former Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen began to work as the Chief Executive of Finnish Family Firms Association, the incumbent Speaker of Parliament Sauli Niinistö of the National Coalition Party did not run for parliament, despite receiving a record number of votes in the 2007 election
18.
Finnish parliamentary election, 2015
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The 2015 Finnish parliamentary election was held on 19 April 2015, with advance voting from 8 to 14 April. The 200 members of the Finnish Parliament were elected with the proportional DHondt method, there were 4,463,333 people entitled to vote in Finland and abroad. Left Alliance and the Green League were initially part of the governing coalition. They were subsequently expelled from the group, reducing the government majority from 126 MPs to 124. In March 2014 the Left Alliance announced that it was leaving the cabinet, citing the opposition to budget cuts in social welfare programs. This reduced the majority to 112 MPs. In April 2014 Jyrki Katainen announced that he would not seek another term as the chairman of the National Coalition Party, the NCP chose Alexander Stubb as its new chairman in June, and he subsequently became the new Prime Minister. In September 2014 the Green League announced that it was leaving the cabinet, the Greens were opposed to the other governing parties decision to grant Fennovoima a licence for building a nuclear power plant in Pyhäjoki. The Greens departure cut the majority to 102 MPs. As the leader of the largest party, Juha Sipilä of Centre was tasked with forming the new government coalition, the coalition negotiations were successful and led to the formation of the Sipilä cabinet on 29 May. In 2015 the richest MP’s were Anne Berner and Eero Lehti, media related to Parliamentary elections in Finland,2015 at Wikimedia Commons
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Finnish presidential election, 2006
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A presidential election was held in Finland on 15 and 29 January 2006 which resulted in the re-election of Tarja Halonen as President of Finland for a second six-year term. The first round of voting in Finnish presidential elections always takes place on the third Sunday of January, in this case 15 January 2006. As no candidate received more than half of the vote, a round was held on 29 January between the two highest placed candidates from the first round, Tarja Halonen and Sauli Niinistö. Tarja Halonen, the incumbent, won the round by 3.6 percentage points. The newly elected president formally took office for her term on 1 March. Advance voting is possible in Finnish elections, and the dates for this in the first round were the 4th, 5th and 7th to 10 January, Finnish citizens voting abroad could vote from the 4th to the 7th of January. The candidates are listed following their candidate numbers. This list was confirmed by the Electoral District Committee of Helsinki on 15 December 2005, the main theme of discussion in the campaign preceding the election was the Presidents powers and whether they should be limited further. Another important election theme was the threat of terrorism and how to counter it. The only candidate openly embracing NATO-membership was the other right-wing candidate, Henrik Lax and this is also the view held by Vanhanen, of the Centre Party, and Halonen. Sauli Niinistö raised the state of work as another theme and his campaign slogan was President of the workers and this provoked many union activists and left-wing supporters and voters. However, he was criticised for trying to lure left-wing voters to vote for him with this slogan. Niinistös campaign stated that there was neither left-wing work or right-wing work, here is a collection of latest poll results. The opinion pollsters methods may vary, as do the samples and the conducting time, the total percentages may exceed 100% due to rounding. Two of the latest polls made by Taloustutkimus and Suomen Gallup raised discussion over whether Halonen would gain the 50%+ majority of the necessary to win the election in a single round. On the other hand, the latest poll conducted by Research International showed no change in Halonens popularity between the three different weeks, the candidates and their supporters read their polls for their advantage. Sauli Niinistö publicly stated that there would be a second round between him and Halonen, every municipality was required by law to have at least one polling station. Voting was organised abroad for expatriate Finnish citizens at Finnish embassies, consulates, the candidates were voted for directly by the electorate
20.
Finnish presidential election, 2012
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The presidential election was held in Finland in January and February. The first round took place on 22 January 2012 with advance voting on 11–17 January, the elected candidates term began on 1 March 2012 and will last until 2018. The incumbent Tarja Halonen was ineligible for re-election, having served the two terms. All the eight parties represented in the Parliament nominated a candidate during the latter half of 2011. The election marked an end to an era of Social Democratic presidents, the Social Democrats had held the office for a continuous period of 30 years. It was also the first time that a Green League candidate was on the runoff ballot, Sauli Niinistö won the second round with 62. 6% of the votes, while Pekka Haavisto received 37. 4% of the votes. The Presidents powers were curtailed in the reform in 2000. Currently the President leads the Finnish foreign policy together with the cabinet, EU affairs, however, fall to the Prime Ministers authority. The President has little domestic power and he or she can dissolve the parliament, but only at the Prime Ministers request. The President can choose not to ratify a bill, but this only returns it to parliament, the Presidents power to appoint officials has been reduced, but he or she still appoints all military officers as well as judges. The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces, the President also has the power to pardon anyone convicted of a crime. With the curtailment of the Presidents formal powers, many analysts have emphasized the Presidents position as a leader of values, all eight parties represented in the Parliament nominated a candidate. Each candidate was given a number from 2 to 9 – voting took place by writing the number on the ballot paper. Constituency associations for independents or parties not represented in the Parliament must gather 20,000 signatures from voters in order to participate in the election. In 2012, no such associations participated, Pekka Hallberg, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, considered running as a non-partisan candidate, but eventually withdrew. He declined presidential candidacy for any party in August 2011, alexander Stubb, Minister for Europe and Foreign Trade and former Minister for Foreign Affairs. Social Democratic Party Announced, then defeated in primary, Ilkka Kantola, Member of Parliament, tuula Haatainen, former Minister of Education, former Minister of Social Affairs and Health. Declined to run, The following persons initially expressed interest toward running or were mentioned in speculation, but did not sign up for the partys primary, Erkki Tuomioja, Minister for Foreign Affairs
21.
Centre Party (Finland)
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The Centre Party of Finland is a centrist, liberal, and agrarian political party in Finland. Founded in 1906 as the Agrarian League, the party represented rural communities, in the 1920s, the party emerged as the main rival to the Social Democratic Party, and the partys first Prime Minister, Kyösti Kallio, held the office four times between 1922 and 1937. After World War II, the party settled as one of the four political parties in Finland. Urho Kekkonen served as President of Finland from 1956 to 1982, the name Centre Party was adopted in 1965, and Centre of Finland in 1988. The Centre Party was the largest party in Parliament from 2003 to 2011, following the 2011 election, the party was reduced in parliamentary representation from the largest party to the fourth largest, but in 2015 it reclaimed its status as the largest party. As a Nordic agrarian party, the Centre Partys political influence is greatest in small and rural municipalities, decentralisation is the policy that is most characteristic of the Centre Party. The Centre has been the party in Finland a number of times since Finnish independence. 12 of the Prime Ministers of Finland, three of the Presidents and a former European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs have been from the party, the Finnish Centre Party is the mother organisation of Finnish Centre Youth, Finnish Centre Students, and Finnish Centre Women. It is one of the four largest political parties in the country, along with the National Coalition Party, SDP and it has 49 seats in the Finnish Parliament. The Centre Party chairman is Juha Sipilä, who was elected in June 2012 to follow Mari Kiviniemi, the party was founded in 1906 as a movement of citizens in the Finnish countryside. Before Finnish independence, political power in Finland was centralised in the capital, the centralisation gave space for a new political movement. In 1906 two agrarian movements were founded and they merged in 1908 to become one political party known as the Agrarian League or Maalaisliitto. An older, related movement was the movement, which had overlapping membership. Santeri Alkio was the most important ideological father of the party, at the dawn of Finnish independence conservative social forces made an attempt to establish the Kingdom of Finland. The Agrarian League opposed monarchism fiercely even though monarchists claimed that a new king from the German Empire, at this time, anti-anarchist peasants threatened the existence of the party. Nevertheless, the news about the problems of the German Empire from German liberals encouraged the fight of Agrarian League in the Parliament, the Agrarian League managed to maintain the republican voices in the Parliament until the fall of the German Empire, which ruined the dreams of the monarchists. The relentless opposition to the monarchy was rewarded in the parliamentary election 1919, after the 1919 election, the centrist and progressive forces, including the Agrarian League, were constant members in Finnish governments. Their moderate attitude in restless post-war Finland secured a growth in following elections
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Christian Democrats (Finland)
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The Christian Democrats is a Christian democratic political party in Finland. The Christian Democrats have five seats in the Finnish Parliament, the party was represented in the Finnish government by Minister of Interior Päivi Räsänen from June 22,2011 until May 29,2015. The party was founded in 1958, chiefly by the Christian faction of the National Coalition Party, the party describes itself as following the tenets of Christian Democracy. Membership is open to everyone who agrees with these values and aims, the party also claims to be committed to environmental protection. The party has lost many of its members to bigger centre-right parties after 1990s, mainly to the National Coalition, KD MP Lyly Rajala and MEP Eija-Riitta Korhola defected to the National Coalition in 2003, and the former party secretary Annika Kokko moved to the National Coalition in 2007. English-speaking members of the party founded their own chapter in Helsinki in 2004 and its monthly meetings attract immigrants to participate in societal matters and the issues that are particularly important to them. In 2005, a Russian-speaking chapter was founded in Helsinki. The party is a member of the European Peoples Party KD-lehti is the partys weekly newspaper. Steven Van Hecke, Emmanuel Gerard, eds, life at the Northern Margin, Christian Democracy in Scandinavia. Christian Democratic Parties in Europe Since the End of the Cold War
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Finns Party
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The Finns Party, previously known as the True Finns, is a populist and nationalist-oriented Finnish political party, founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. Timo Soini has been the leader of the party since 1997, in the 2011 parliamentary election, the party won 19. 1% of votes, becoming the third largest party in the Finnish Parliament. In the 2015 election the party got 17. 7% of the votes, the party was in opposition for the first 20 years of its existence. In 2015 they joined the current government coalition, the party combines left-wing economic policies with conservative social values, socio-cultural authoritarianism, and ethnic nationalism. In the parliament seating order, the partys MPs have always been seated in the centre, the party has drawn people from left-wing parties but central aspects of their manifesto have gained support from right-wing voters as well. The chairman of the party, Timo Soini has said that the Finns Party is Finlands largest workers party, inside the party there is also a movement which can be considered clearly rightist, led by MEP Jussi Halla-aho. The predecessor of the True Finns was the Finnish Rural Party, Vennamo ran into serious disagreement particularly with Arvo Korsimo, the party secretary of the Agrarian League, and was excluded from the parliamentary group. As a result, Vennamo immediately started building his own organization and founded a new party, Vennamo was a populist and became a critic of President Kekkonen and of the political corruption within the old parties, particularly the Centre Party. The Rural Party achieved its two victories in the elections of 1970 and 1983, winning 18 and 17 seats respectively. In the 1970s the party was highly personalized in Veikko Vennamo, and his style of leadership alienated some in the party, after the Rural Partys new rise in 1983 under Vennamos son Pekka Vennamo the party became a partner in two coalition cabinets. However, the support declined steadily in the late 1980s. In 1995 the party won one seat in the parliament. Following the collapse of the Finnish Rural Party, the decision to found the Finns Party was made in the summer of 1995 by Timo Soini, Raimo Vistbacka, Urpo Leppänen, Soini had been the Rural Partys last party secretary and Vistbacka its last chairman and MP. The five thousand signatures needed for the registration of the party were collected by October 1995, the first party congress was held in November. Raimo Vistbacka was elected chairman of the party and Timo Soini the party secretary, after its founding in 1995, it took some time before the Finns Party started to win credible ground in the Finnish elections. At the time of its founding the party had one MP, Raimo Vistbacka, in the 2003 parliamentary election the party won three seats, besides Vistbacka also Soini and Tony Halme were elected. In the 2007 parliamentary election the party gained two seats for a total of five. In the 2008 municipal election the party was most successful in those districts where the Social Democrats, in the 2011 parliamentary election the Centre Party suffered the largest blow from the Finns Partys success
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Green League
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The Green League is a green political party in Finland. It has fifteen seats in the Finnish Parliament and one in the European Parliament, the current chairperson is Ville Niinistö. Founded in 1987, the party absorbed a number of green organisations, the party won ten seats in the 1991 election. Despite falling to nine seats in 1995, Pekka Haavisto, joined Paavo Lipponens rainbow coalition first cabinet, the party remained in government until 2002, when it left in opposition to nuclear power. In 2007, the party peaked at 15 seats, and joined the centre-right-led government, at the 2011 election, the party fell to ten seats. Nevertheless, the Greens were invited to join a six-party rainbow coalition government, the party is a member of the Global Greens and the European Green Party, while its MEP sit with The Greens–European Free Alliance in the European Parliament. Originally split on whether Finland should join the European Union, the Green League is pro-European and was the first Finnish party to support a federal Europe, the party was founded February 28,1987, and registered as a political party the next year. In 1995 it was the first European Green party to be part of a state-level Cabinet, the party was founded as a popular movement, and thus retains the descriptor liitto, league. The party still especially stresses openness and democratic decision-making, the liitto was later dropped from the Finnish and Swedish names in advertisements, the official name remains. The first two representatives were elected even before the registration, in the elections of 1983. These were the first independent representatives in the Finnish parliament, in 1987 the number of seats rose to four, and in 1991 to ten. About half of Green were against joining the European Union in 1994, later, polls showed that most Greens were anti-Eurozone. The party heads declined to fight against euro adoption, the Green League received 7. 3% of the vote, and gained two additional seats in 1999, raising the total to 11. In 2003 the Green League received 8. 0% of the vote and they increased their seats to 15 in 2007 elections when they received 8. 5%. In the 2011 election, however, the party lost five seats, as of the 2009 elections, two of the thirteen Finnish representatives in the European Parliament are Green, Satu Hassi and Heidi Hautala. At the municipal level, Greens are an important factor in the largest cities of Finland. In the municipal election of 2008 the Greens had 8. 9% of the vote, the share was considerably higher in Helsinki. In several other cities the Greens achieved the position of the third largest party and its weak spot is the rural countryside, particularly municipalities experiencing strong outward migration
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Left Alliance (Finland)
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The Left Alliance is a left-wing political party in Finland. Founded in 1990, largely as a successor of the Finnish Peoples Democratic League, it has received some electoral success, the party is a member of the Party of the European Left and Nordic Green Left Alliance. The party organ is the weekly Kansan Uutiset, the party was founded by the Finnish Peoples Democratic League, the majority of members of the waning Communist Party of Finland and the Finnish Womens Democratic League. It was later joined by the communist Democratic Alternative, the founding meeting was held in April 1990 in Helsinki, following the publishing of the April Declaration, which stated the partys ideals. The partys short history has been characterised by internal disputes and bickering, there have been several defections from the Left Alliance to the Social Democratic Party and the newly formed Communist Party of Finland. This caused an outrage within the Left Alliance, and Viialainen was condemned for wanting to break up the party, Viialainen would subsequently leave the party and run for parliament on the SDP ticket in 2007. In 2006, the partys leader Suvi-Anne Siimes announced her resignation from the post, on May 13,2006, Martti Korhonen was elected as the new party leader. He was followed by Paavo Arhinmäki in June 2009, following the bad performance in the 2009 EU parliamentary election. In the 2011 election, the party got 14 seats and became a partner in the six-party grand coalition led by Jyrki Katainen. The decision to join the government created a split in the party, in 2014 Left Alliance left the cabinet over dispute on a package of spending cuts and tax rises. In 2014 European Parliament election, the party regained their seat, in the Finnish parliamentary election in 2015 the party got 211,615 or 7, 1% of total votes, and got 12 seats in the parliament. In April 2016, Arhinmäki announced that he wouldnt seek another term as the party leader, on 11 June 2016, Arhinmäki was followed by Li Andersson. According to the Left Alliances Party programme adopted by the 5th Party Congress 16 June 2007, the values of Left Alliance are equality, freedom, sustainable development. They think democracy must be strengthened and it must be stronger than the power of capital, important values also include global solidarity, and stopping polarization in Finland, freedom and the right to work and income for all people, and environmental consciousness. The party is for equality in all its forms and identifies strongly as feminist and anti-racist as well as supporting economic equality, the party supports introducing a basic income and supports strongly the weakest members of the society. The Left Alliance has a strongly Eurosceptic wing, the party is divided on this issue, the younger generation of the party is more pro-EU than the older. Claes Andersson Suvi-Anne Siimes Martti Korhonen Paavo Arhinmäki Li Andersson Official website
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National Coalition Party
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The National Coalition Party is a liberal and conservative political party in Finland. Founded in 1918, the National Coalition Party is one of the four largest parties in Finland, along with the Social Democratic Party, the Finns Party and the Centre Party. The party bases its politics on freedom and responsibility, equality, Western democracy and economic system, humane principles. The party is strongly pro-European and is a member of the European Peoples Party and its vote share has been around 20% in parliamentary elections in the 1990s and 2000s. It won 44 out of 200 seats in the elections of 2011. On the municipal level, it became the most popular party in 2008 and has retained that position, in the 2015 election the NCP lost its status as the countrys largest party, as they finished second in votes and third in seats. Regardless, the party joined the government coalition. Its voters are predominantly urban, while in rural regions its performance is relatively weak, the current leader is Petteri Orpo, elected on 11 June 2016. According to its platform the National Coalition Party wants to build a society where a person’s own choices, hopes, the party defends individual freedom, and promotes people’s opportunities to make choices, but without ignoring everyone’s responsibility for their own life, others, and the environment. Our ideology combines freedom with responsibility, democracy, and equality, the partys basic values are education, tolerance, rewarding and caring. Individuals freedom to think and act independently and minorities rights are core matters to the party, according to the history section of the official website the platform has been shaped by ideas of conservatism, liberalism and social reform, which have all contributed to the current ideology. Alexander Stubb has described the policies as unambiguously liberal. In 2010 the party voted in favour of supporting same-sex marriage. In international affairs, the party and its voter base strongly believe in the benefits of the European Union, the party wants to build an economically and politically stronger European Union, we envisage an EU that is a more effective and a more prominent actor in world politics. The party advocates a membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the party is one of parties most supportive of work-based immigration, but many of its supporters want less immigration. The party has supported initiatives of allowing shops and restaurants to serve customers on Sundays. Polls show that as of 2008, the National Coalition Party is the party that has been viewed most positively by Finns, out of the major parties, the National Coalition Party has the highest proportion of women and is the most favored party among young generations. The party has the strongest support in the cities of Southern Finland and is popular among entrepreneurs, people can join various member organizations in the party
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Social Democratic Party of Finland
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The Social Democratic Party of Finland is one of the four major political parties in Finland, along with the National Coalition Party, The Finns Party and the Centre Party. Antti Rinne is the current chair. The party has represented in the Finnish cabinet for long periods. The party is currently in the opposition, the partys ideology is social democracy. The SDP has a relationship with the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, and is a member of the Socialist International. In the early 20th century, the SDP commanded some 40% of the vote, after that, the SDP has usually commanded 20–29% of the total votes in those elections that Communists or their fronts have been allowed to contest. There was an uninterrupted 30-year period of social democratic presidents between 1982 and 2012, in the 2007 parliamentary election, SDP received 21.4 percent of the vote and lost 8 seats. In the 2008 municipal elections, the party continued its decline with the largest drop since 1960, in the latest parliamentary election, in 2011, the party received 19.1 percent of the vote and lost another three seats, giving it 42 seats. This was the partys worst result in parliamentary elections in terms of popular support, despite the fact that the word sosiaali in modern Finnish has a long a, the name of this party is officially spelt in an old-fashioned way with a short a, for historical reasons. The party calls itself a modern, centre left party with progressive ideals, the first value that the party uses to describe itself is a fair society. The party states that A society without fairness, is a society without meaning, success, opportunity and freedom must be open to all people, and society should reward hard work and fair-play – not greed, status or chance. The measure of people should be their respect for others, not their wealth and background or characteristics such as race, the second value that the party uses to describe itself is a supportive state. The party states that States should not decide how people live their lives, the state should not be an authority above citizens, but a solid base below them - on which they can build their lives with the services and security they need to pursue their dreams. The third value that the party uses to describe itself is a sustainable future, the party states that We cannot ignore the great problems of tomorrow, for the small benefits of today. Environmental damage, reckless economic activity and a weakening of social care all pose threats to the future of our country, an active state and international cooperation must be the tools with which we build a sustainable future. The party has supported bans on Sunday shopping, in the 2015 parliamentary election, 91% of SDP candidates opposed NATO membership - only the Left Alliance was more opposed to NATO membership. The SDP has long advocated policies to prevent foreigners from working in Finland, in the 2015 parliamentary election, only the Finns Party had a higher share of candidates opposed to easing of work-based immigration. The party opposed economic reforms in the 2011 parliamentary election and in the subsequent government program negotiations, the party maintains close relationship with trade union leaders
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Swedish People's Party of Finland
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The Swedish Peoples Party of Finland is a liberal-centrist political party in Finland aiming to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finland. An ethnic catch-all party, partys main issue has been since its inception the Swedish-speaking Finns right to their own language. The party was in governmental position 1979–2015 with one or two seats in the government and collaborated with the centre-right as well as the centre-left in the Parliament of Finland, after the 2015 election SFP was left out of the government formed by the three biggest parties. The party is a member of Liberal International and the Alliance of Liberals, the Swedish Party, a parliamentary elite party based on members in the Diet of Finland, is the historical predecessor of the Swedish Peoples Party of Finland. It was a part of the Svecoman movement and its policy was opposition of the Fennoman movement. Unlike Fennomans who were largely liberal on matters than the language question. Axel Lille and Axel Olof Freudenthal are often considered as some of the founding fathers of the movement. Most members of the Liberal Party joined the Swedish Party in the 1880s, the Swedish Peoples Party of Finland was founded in the 1906 party congress of the Swedish Party, making it one of the oldest parties in Finland. The first leader of Swedish Peoples Party was Axel Lille, the current leader of the party is Anna-Maja Henriksson. In the Parliament of Finland the representative for Åland is usually included in SFPs parliamentary group, regardless of his/her party affiliation. This is because the parties in Åland have no counterparts in Mainland Finland. The party receives its main support from the Swedish speaking minority. In municipal elections, it holds large majorities in municipalities with a Swedish-speaking majority, despite its position as one of the minor political parties in the Finnish parliament it has frequently been one of the partners forming the governing coalition cabinets. Since 1956, the year when Urho Kekkonen was elected President and it has been part of all coalitions with the significant exception of Paasios first government, which included only socialists and the Centre Party. However, although Vanhanens first government made Swedish a voluntary subject in the secondary schools matriculation exam. In contrast, the Greens left the government after a new nuclear power plant was decided in 2002. Recently the SFP has emphasized the liberal part of its programme, in 2010, the party added the word Suomen to its official Finnish name. The Swedish language is one of the two languages of Finland
29.
Administrative divisions of Finland
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As of 2016, Finland is divided into,19 regions the regions are divided into 70 sub-regions the sub-regions are divided into 313 municipalities. Municipalities account for half of public spending, spending is financed by municipal income tax, state subsidies, and other revenue. As of 2016, there were 313 municipalities, and most were under 5,000 residents, for comparison, Denmark has set a minimum size of 30,000 residents. People often identify with their municipality, governments local administrative duties are performed by the Regional State Administrative Agencies. In addition to municipalities, there are complex other arrangements, municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities, the Åland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a project underway. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language, further information, List of Finnish municipalities and Former municipalities of Finland Subdivisions of Norden
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Regions of Finland
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Finland comprises 19 regions called maakunta in Finnish and landskap in Swedish. The regions are governed by councils, which serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of a region. The main tasks of the regions are planning and development of enterprise. In addition, the health services are usually organized on the basis of regions. Currently, the region where a popular election is held for the council is Kainuu. Other regional councils are elected by municipal councils, each municipality sending representatives in proportion to its population and they are each responsible for one or more of regions of Finland, and include offices of the Ministries of Employment and the Economy, Transport and Communications and Environment. The Finnish Defence Forces regional offices are responsible for the defence preparations. Regions represent dialectal, cultural and economic variations better than the former provinces, historically, regions are divisions of historical provinces of Finland, areas which represent dialects and culture more accurately
31.
Municipalities of Finland
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The municipalities represent the local level of administration in Finland and act as the fundamental, self-governing administrative units of the country. The entire country is incorporated into municipalities and legally, all municipalities are equal, municipalities have the right to levy a flat percentual income tax, which is between 16 and 22 percent, and they provide two thirds of public services. Municipalities control many community services, such as schools, health care and the water supply and they do not maintain highways, set laws or keep police forces — these tasks are the responsibility of the central government. Municipalities have council-manager government, i. e. they are governed by an elected council, the size of the council is proportional to the population, the extremes being 9 in Sottunga and 85 in Helsinki. A subsection of the council, the executive board, controls the municipal government. Its decisions must be approved by the council, unlike national cabinets, its composition is derived from the composition of the council, not along government-opposition lines. Furthermore, individual decisions are prepared in specialized municipal boards for a meeting, these include e. g. zoning, social assistance. Council, executive board and board membership is responsible position, not a full-time job, municipal managers are civil servants named by the council. The city manager of Helsinki is called ylipormestari/överborgmästare Lord Mayor for historical reasons, there were previously no mayors in Finland, but after a change in law, Tampere was first city to elect a mayor in 2007. The mayor is not, however, currently elected directly, the mayor acts as municipal manager and as a speaker of municipal council. Although municipalities do not have police or legislative powers, local ordinances concerning traffic can be set, municipalities are legal persons and can appear in an administrative court. Likewise, the state of Finland is a legal person. Excluding judicial review of compliance to administrative law, municipalities are independent. Municipalities cooperate in regions of Finland, the municipal tax is a flat income tax that is levied on lower income levels than state taxes, which in contrast are progressive taxes. The lowest tax of 16% is found in Kauniainen, while a 20% tax is the other extreme, municipalities also receive funding directly from the state. Municipalities levy a property tax on property, which is comparatively low and it is higher for summer cottages or other property intended for leisure. Municipalities receive part of the corporate tax yhteisövero income collected from companies having a place of business within their jurisdiction, some functions are funded both by the municipality and the state, e. g. AMK schools. The municipal tax, although in principle a flat tax, is affected by deductions, municipal taxes are collected by the state and paid to the municipalities
32.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
33.
Nordic Council
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The Nordic Council is a geo-political inter-parliamentary forum for co-operation between the Nordic countries. It was formed after the Second World War in 1952 to promote co-operation between the five Nordic countries and its first concrete result was the introduction in 1952 of a common labour market and free movement across borders without passports for the countries citizens. The Council consists of 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden as well as the areas of the Faroe Islands, Greenland. The representatives are members of parliament in their respective country/area and are elected by those parliaments, the Council holds ordinary sessions each year in October/November and usually one extra session per year with a specific theme. Since 1991 Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania participate with observer status, in 1971, the Nordic Council of Ministers, an intergovernmental forum, was established to complement the Council. During World War II, Denmark and Norway were occupied by Germany, Finland fought a war with the Soviet Union, while Sweden, though neutral. Following the war, the Nordic countries pursued the idea of a Scandinavian defence union to ensure their mutual defence, however, Finland, due to its Paasikivi-Kekkonen policy of neutrality and FCMA treaty with the USSR, could not participate. It was proposed that the Nordic countries would unify their foreign policy and defence, remain neutral in the event of a conflict and not ally with NATO, which some were planning at the time. As Denmark and Norway sought US aid for their post-war reconstruction, further Nordic co-operation, such as an economic customs union, also failed. This led Danish Prime Minister Hans Hedtoft to propose, in 1951 and this proposal was agreed by Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in 1952. The Councils first session was held in the Danish Parliament on 13 February 1953, when Finnish-Soviet relations thawed following the death of Joseph Stalin, Finland joined the council in 1955. On 2 July 1954, the Nordic labour market was created and in 1958, building upon a 1952 passport-free travel area and these two measures helped ensure Nordic citizens free movement around Scandinavia. A Nordic Convention on Social Security was implemented in 1955, there were also plans for a single market but they were abandoned in 1959 shortly before Denmark, Norway and Sweden joined the European Free Trade Area. Finland became a member of EFTA in 1961 and Denmark. This move towards the EEC led to desire for a formal Nordic treaty, further advancements on Nordic cooperation were made in the following years, a Nordic School of Public Health, a Nordic Cultural Fund and Nordic House in Reykjavík. Danish Prime Minister Hilmar Baunsgaard proposed full economic cooperation in 1968, nordek was agreed in 1970, but Finland then backtracked, stating that its ties with the Soviet Union meant it could not form close economic ties with potential members of the EEC. As a consequence, Denmark and Norway applied to join the EEC, in 1970 representatives of the Faroe Islands and Åland were allowed to take part in the Nordic Council as part of the Danish and Finnish delegations. Norway turned down EEC membership in 1972 while Denmark acted as a builder between the EEC and the Nordics
34.
Bretton Woods system
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The Bretton Woods system was the first example of a fully negotiated monetary order intended to govern monetary relations among independent nation-states. Also, there was a need to address the lack of cooperation among other countries, the delegates deliberated during 1–22 July 1944, and signed the Bretton Woods agreement on its final day. The United States, which controlled two thirds of the gold, insisted that the Bretton Woods system rest on both gold and the US dollar. Soviet representatives attended the conference but later declined to ratify the final agreements and these organizations became operational in 1945 after a sufficient number of countries had ratified the agreement. On 15 August 1971, the United States unilaterally terminated convertibility of the US dollar to gold, effectively bringing the Bretton Woods system to an end and rendering the dollar a fiat currency. This action, referred to as the Nixon shock, created the situation in which the US dollar became a currency used by many states. At the same time, many fixed currencies also became free-floating, there was a high level of agreement among the powerful nations that failure to coordinate exchange rates during the interwar period had exacerbated political tensions. This facilitated the decisions reached by the Bretton Woods Conference, furthermore, all the participating governments at Bretton Woods agreed that the monetary chaos of the interwar period had yielded several valuable lessons. The experience of World War II was fresh in the minds of public officials, the planners at Bretton Woods hoped to avoid a repeat of the Treaty of Versailles after World War I, which had created enough economic and political tension to lead to WWII. The solution at Versailles for the French, British, and Americans seemed to be make Germany pay for it all, if the demands on Germany were unrealistic, then it was unrealistic for France to pay back Britain, and for Britain to pay back the US. Thus, many assets on bank balance sheets internationally were actually unrecoverable loans, in the 1920s, international flows of speculative financial capital increased, leading to extremes in balance of payments situations in various European countries and the US. In the 1930s, world markets never broke through the barriers and restrictions on trade and investment volume – barriers haphazardly constructed. The lesson was that simply having responsible, hard-working central bankers was not enough, Britain in the 1930s had an exclusionary trading bloc with nations of the British Empire known as the Sterling Area. If Britain imported more than it exported to, say, South Africa and this meant that though Britain was running a trade deficit, it had a financial account surplus, and payments balanced. Increasingly, Britains positive balance of payments required keeping the wealth of Empire nations in British banks, one incentive for, say, South African holders of rand to park their wealth in London and to keep the money in Sterling, was a strongly valued pound sterling. Unfortunately, as Britain deindustrialized in the 1920s, the way out of the deficit was to devalue the currency. But Britain couldnt devalue, or the Empire surplus would leave its banking system, nazi Germany also worked with a bloc of controlled nations by 1940. Germany forced trading partners with a surplus to spend that surplus importing products from Germany, thus, Britain survived by keeping Sterling nation surpluses in its banking system, and Germany survived by forcing trading partners to purchase its own products
35.
European Economic Community
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The European Economic Community was a regional organisation which aimed to bring about economic integration among its member states. It was created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957, upon the formation of the European Union in 1993, the EEC was incorporated and renamed as the European Community. In 2009 the ECs institutions were absorbed into the EUs wider framework and it gained a common set of institutions along with the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community as one of the European Communities under the 1965 Merger Treaty. In 1993, a single market was achieved, known as the internal market, which allowed for the free movement of goods, capital, services. In 1994, the market was formalised by the EEA agreement. This agreement also extended the market to include most of the member states of the European Free Trade Association. Upon the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty in 1993 and this was also when the three European Communities, including the EC, were collectively made to constitute the first of the three pillars of the European Union, which the treaty also founded. The EEC was also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking countries and sometimes referred to as the European Community even before it was renamed as such in 1993. In 1951, the Treaty of Paris was signed, creating the European Coal and this was an international community based on supranationalism and international law, designed to help the economy of Europe and prevent future war by integrating its members. In the aim of creating a federal Europe two further communities were proposed, a European Defence Community and a European Political Community. While the treaty for the latter was being drawn up by the Common Assembly, the ECSC parliamentary chamber, after the Messina Conference in 1955, Paul Henri Spaak was given the task to prepare a report on the idea of a customs union. The so-called Spaak Report of the Spaak Committee formed the cornerstone of the negotiations at Val Duchesse castle in 1956. Together with the Ohlin Report the Spaak Report would provide the basis for the Treaty of Rome, in 1956, Paul Henri Spaak led the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom at the Val Duchesse castle, which prepared for the Treaty of Rome in 1957. The conference led to the signature, on 25 March 1957, the resulting communities were the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. These were markedly less supranational than the communities, due to protests from some countries that their sovereignty was being infringed. The first formal meeting of the Hallstein Commission, was held on 16 January 1958 at the Chateau de Val-Duchesse, the EEC was to create a customs union while Euratom would promote co-operation in the nuclear power sphere. The EEC rapidly became the most important of these and expanded its activities, one of the first important accomplishments of the EEC was the establishment of common price levels for agricultural products. In 1968, internal tariffs were removed on certain products, another crisis was triggered in regard to proposals for the financing of the Common Agricultural Policy, which came into force in 1962
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