1.
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
2.
European Council
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The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also takes part in its meetings. Established as a summit in 1975, the European Council was formalised as an institution in 2009 upon the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. Its current President is Donald Tusk, while the European Council has no formal legislative power, it is a strategic body that provides the union with general political directions and priorities, and acts as a collective presidency. The European Commission remains the sole initiator of legislation, but the European Council is able to provide an impetus to guide legislative policy, decisions of the European Council are taken by consensus, except where the Treaties provide otherwise. The European Council officially gained the status of an EU institution after Lisbon treaty in 2000, before that, the first summits of EU heads of state or government were held in February and July 1961. The summits were only formalised in the period between 1974 and 1988, the inaugural European Council, as it became known, was held in Dublin on 10 and 11 March 1975 during Irelands first Presidency of the Council of Ministers. In 1987, it was included in the treaties for the first time and had a role for the first time in the Maastricht Treaty. At first only a minimum of two meetings per year were required, which resulted in an average of three meetings per year being held for the 1975-1995 period, since 1996, the number of meetings were required to be minimum four per year. For the latest 2008-2014 period, this minimum was well exceeded, the seat of the Council was formalised in 2002, basing it in Brussels. Three types of European Councils exist, Informal, Scheduled and Extraordinary, some meetings of the European Council are seen by some as turning points in the history of the European Union. For example,1969, The Hague, Foreign policy and enlargement,1974, Paris, Creation of the Council. 1985, Milan, Initiate IGC leading to the Single European Act,1991, Maastricht, Agreement on the Maastricht Treaty. 1992, Edinburgh, Agreement to retain at Strasbourg the plenary seat of the European Parliament,1993, Copenhagen, Leading to the definition of the Copenhagen Criteria. 1997, Amsterdam, Agreement on the Amsterdam Treaty,1998, Brussels, Selected member states to adopt the euro. 1999, Cologne, Declaration on military forces,1999, Tampere, Institutional reform 2000, Lisbon, Lisbon Strategy 2002, Copenhagen, Agreement for May 2004 enlargement. 2007, Lisbon, Agreement on the Lisbon Treaty,2009, Brussels, Appointment of first president and merged High Representative. The Treaty of Lisbon made the European Council a formal institution distinct from the Council of the EU, as an outgrowth of the Council of the EU, the European Council had previously followed the same Presidency, rotating between each member state. Following the ratification of the treaty in December 2009, the European Council elected the then-Prime Minister of Belgium Herman Van Rompuy as its first permanent president
3.
Official residence
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An official residence is the residence at which a nations head of state, head of government, governor or other senior figure officially resides. It may or may not be the location where the individual conducts work-related functions or lives. This has occurred in the 21st century in Detroit and New York City, in the case of Denver, no mayor has ever lived in the official residence, the city instead makes it available to certain non-profit groups for special functions. The President uses own private residence, - Its address is 1 Cheongwadae-ro, Jongro-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. It is located next to Gyeongbokgung, the palace during the Joseon Dynasty. Cheong Nam Dae - Cheong Nam Dae used to be one of the two residences for the President of Republic of Korea. It was returned to public in 2003, - It is located in Cheongwon-gun, North Chungcheong Province. Cheong Hae Dae - Cheong Hae Dae used to be one of the two residences for the President of Republic of Korea. Although the president no longer uses this facility this compound is still under the administration of the Republic of Korea Navy, - It is located on one of the islands of Geoje-shi, South Gyeongsang Province. Chongri Gonggwan - This is the residence for the Prime Minister of Republic of Korea. The Prime Minister, however, does not work here, - Its address is 111-2 Samcheongdong-gil, Jongro-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. It is located close to Cheong Wa Dae, gukhoeuijang Gonggwan - This is the official residence for the Speaker of the National Assembly of Republic of Korea. The Speaker, also, does not work here, - It is located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, where many foreign missions to Korea are located. Daebeobwonjang Gonggwan - This is the residence for the Chief Justice of Republic of Korea. The Chief Justice, also, does not work here, - It is also located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Most ministers of state and heads of administrative regions also have official residences, although they are not listed here. S
4.
Helsinki
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Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Helsinki has a population of 629,512, a population of 1,231,595. Helsinki is located some 80 kilometres north of Tallinn, Estonia,400 km east of Stockholm, Sweden, Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities. The Helsinki metropolitan area includes the core of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen. It is the worlds northernmost metro area of one million people. The Helsinki metropolitan area is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Nordic countries, Helsinki is Finlands major political, educational, financial, cultural, and research center as well as one of northern Europes major cities. Approximately 75% of foreign companies operating in Finland have settled in the Helsinki region, the nearby municipality of Vantaa is the location of Helsinki Airport, with frequent service to various destinations in Europe and Asia. In 2009, Helsinki was chosen to be the World Design Capital for 2012 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, the city was the venue for the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest 2007. In 2011, the Monocle magazine ranked Helsinki the most liveable city in the world in its Liveable Cities Index 2011, in the Economist Intelligence Units August 2015 Liveability survey, assessing the best and worst cities to live in globally, Helsinki placed among the worlds top ten cities. Helsinki is used to refer to the city in most languages, the Swedish name Helsingfors is the original official name of the city. The Finnish name probably comes from Helsinga and similar names used for the river that is known as the Vantaa River. Helsingfors comes from the name of the parish, Helsinge and the rapids, which flowed through the original village. As part of the Grand Duchy of Finland in the Russian Empire, one suggestion for the origin of the name Helsinge is that it originated with medieval Swedish settlers who came from Hälsingland in Sweden. Others have proposed that the name derives from the Swedish word helsing, other Scandinavian cities located at similar geographic locations were given similar names at the time, for example Helsingør and Helsingborg. The name Helsinki has been used in Finnish official documents and in Finnish language newspapers since 1819, the decrees issued in Helsinki were dated with Helsinki as the place of issue. This is how the form Helsinki came to be used in written Finnish, in Helsinki slang the city is called Stadi. Hesa, is not used by natives to the city, helsset is the Northern Sami name of Helsinki
5.
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
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.
Term of office
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A term of office is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject to re-election. Some jurisdictions exercise term limits, setting a number of terms an individual may hold in a particular office. Being the origin of the Westminster system, aspects of the United Kingdoms system of government are replicated in other countries. The monarch serves as head of state until his or her death or abdication, in the United Kingdom Members of Parliament in the House of Commons are elected for the duration of the parliament. Following dissolution of the Parliament, an election is held which consists of simultaneous elections for all seats. For most MPs this means that their terms of office are identical to the duration of the Parliament, an MP elected in a by-election mid-way through a Parliament, regardless of how long they have occupied the seat, is not exempt from facing re-election at the next general election. The Septennial Act 1715 provided that a Parliament expired seven years after it had been summoned, prior to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 parliaments had no minimum duration. Parliaments could be dissolved early by the monarch at the Prime Ministers request, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 mandated that Parliaments should last their full five years. Early dissolution is possible, but under much more limited circumstances. Hereditary peers and life peers retain membership of the House of Lords for life, Lords Spiritual hold membership of the House of Lords until the end of their time as bishops, though a senior bishop may be made a life peer upon the end of their bishopric. The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are variations on the system of government used at Westminster, the office of the leader of the devolved administrations has no numeric term limit imposed upon it. However, in the case of the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government there are fixed terms for which the legislatures can sit and this is imposed at four years. Elections may be held before this time but only if no administration can be formed, offices of local government other regional elected officials follow similar rules to the national offices discussed above, with persons elected to fixed terms of a few years. Federal judges have different terms in office, however, the majority of the federal judiciary, Article III judges, such as those of the Supreme Court, courts of appeal, and federal district courts, serve for life. The terms of office for officials in state governments according to the provisions of state constitutions. The term for state governors is four years in all states but Vermont and New Hampshire, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported in January 2007 that among state legislatures,44 states had terms of office for the lower house of the state legislature at two years. Five had terms of office at four years,37 states had terms of office for the upper house of the state legislature at four years
8.
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
9.
Senate of Finland
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The Senate of Finland combined the functions of cabinet and supreme court in the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1816 to 1917 and in the independent Republic of Finland from 1917 to 1918. The body that would become the Senate was established in 1809, when the Diet of Porvoo was requested to, in 1816, this institution was renamed the Senate by the tsar, to demonstrate that it was equal to, rather than subsidiary to its Russian equivalent. The Senate was headed by the Governor-General of Finland, the members of the Senate had to be Finnish citizens. The Senate was divided into the division and the judicial division. In 1822 both divisions were given a Finnish vice-chairman, from 1858 and onwards the members of the senate were formally known as senators. After the February Revolution in Russia the Vice Chairman of the Economic Division became the Chairman of the Senate, due to the Civil War in 1918 the Senate was relocated to the town of Vaasa from January 29 to May 3. In 1918 the economic division became the Cabinet and the division became the Supreme Court. The vice chairman of the division became the Prime Minister of Finland
10.
Pehr Evind Svinhufvud
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Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad was the third President of Finland from 1931 to 1937. Serving as a lawyer, judge, and politician in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, in 1917–1918, Svinhufvud was the first Head of State of independent Finland, first as Chairman of the Senate and subsequently as Protector of State or Regent. He also served as Prime Minister from 1930 to 1931, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad was born in Sääksmäki. He was the son of Pehr Gustaf Svinhufvud af Qvalstad, a sea captain and his father drowned at sea off Greece in 1863, when Pehr Evind was only two years old. He spent his childhood at the home of his paternal grandfather, Pehr Gustaf Svinhufvud af Qvalstad, at Rapola. The Svinhufvuds are a Finland-Swedish noble family tracing their history back to Dalarna, Pehr Gustaf Svinhufvud af Qvalstad, an army lieutenant in the reign of Charles XII, had moved from there to Rapola after the Great Northern War. The family had been ennobled in Sweden in 1574, and it was introduced to the Finnish House of Nobility in 1818. Rapola was sold when his grandfather shot himself in 1866, and Svinhufvud moved to Helsinki with his mother and he attended the Swedish-language high school in Helsinki. In 1878, at the age of 16, he enrolled at the Imperial Alexander University of Helsinki, there he gained a Bachelors degree in 1881, and then completed a Master of Arts degree in 1882, his main subjects being Finnish, Russian and Scandinavian History. After this, he took a Master of Laws degree, graduating in 1886, in 1889, Svinhufvud married Alma Timgren. They had six children, Yngve, Ilmo Gretel, Aino Mary, Eino, Arne, Svinhufvuds career in law followed a regular course, he worked as a lawyer, served at district courts, and served as a deputy judge at the Turku Court of Appeal. In 1892 he was appointed as a member of the Senates law-drafting committee at the young age of 31. For six years he worked in the committee, initially redrafting taxation laws, as head of his family, Svinhufvud participated as a member of the Estate of Nobles in the Diet of Finland in 1894 and 1899-1906. He found his work on the law-drafting committee tedious and moved to the Court of Appeal as an assistant judge in 1902, Svinhufvud stayed mainly in the background until 1899, when Imperial Russia initiated a Russification policy for the autonomous Grand Duchy. The Finnish answer was mainly legislative and constitutional resistance, of which Svinhufvud became a figure as a judge in the Court of Appeals. Bobrikov demanded that they be stopped, and when this did not happen, he used a decree which the Finns regarded as illegal to dismiss sixteen officials of the court, including Svinhufvud. He moved to Helsinki to work as a lawyer and participated in the activities both of the Diet and of a secret society, Kagal. Svinhufvud played a key role in the birth of a new system in 1905
11.
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
12.
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
13.
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
14.
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
15.
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
16.
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
17.
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
18.
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
19.
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
20.
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
21.
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
22.
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
23.
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
24.
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
25.
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
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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
28.
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
29.
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
30.
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
31.
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
32.
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
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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
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