Centre Party (Finland) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Centre Party is a centrist

Centrism

In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...

and Nordic agrarian

Nordic Agrarian parties

The Nordic agrarian parties, or Nordic Centre parties, are agrarian political parties that belong to a political tradition peculiar to the Nordic countries...

political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

in Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. It is one of the four largest political parties in the country, along with the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party of Finland

The Social Democratic Party of Finland is one of the three major political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. Jutta Urpilainen is the current SDP leader. The party has been in the Finnish government cabinet for long periods and has set many...

(SDP), the National Coalition Party and the True Finns

True Finns

True Finns or The Finns is a populist and nationalist political party in Finland, founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The head of the movement is Timo Soini. In the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election, The party won 19.1% of votes, becoming the third largest party...

(PS), and currently has 35 seats in the Finnish Parliament. Its chairman is Mari Kiviniemi

Mari Kiviniemi

Mari Johanna Kiviniemi is a Finnish politician and former Prime Minister of Finland. On 22 June 2010, as the new leader of the Centre Party, she was elected Prime Minister of Finland by the Finnish Parliament following the resignation of Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen...

, who served as Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Finland

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 Jyrki Katainen of the National Coalition Party.-Overview:...

from 2010 to 2011.

Founded in 1908 as the Agrarian League, the party represented rural communities and supported decentralisation

Décentralisation

Décentralisation is a french word for both a policy concept in French politics from 1968-1990, and a term employed to describe the results of observations of the evolution of spatial economic and institutional organization of France....

of political power from Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

. In the 1920s, the party emerged as the main rivals to the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party of Finland

, and the party's first Prime Minister, Kyösti Kallio

Kyösti Kallio

Kyösti Kallio was the fourth President of Finland . He was a prominent leader of the Agrarian League, and served as Prime Minister four times and Speaker of the Parliament six times.-Early life:...

, held the office four times between 1922 and 1937. After the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the party settled as one of the four major parties. Urho Kekkonen

Urho Kekkonen

Urho Kaleva Kekkonen , was a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland and later as the eighth President of Finland . Kekkonen continued the “active neutrality” policy of his predecessor President Juho Kusti Paasikivi, a doctrine which came to be known as the “Paasikivi–Kekkonen...

served as President of Finland

President of Finland

The President of the Republic of Finland is the nation's head of state. Under the Finnish constitution, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people of Finland for a term of six years....

from 1956 to 1982: by far the longest period of any President. 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, during which time Matti Vanhanen

Matti Vanhanen

Matti Taneli Vanhanen is a Finnish politician. He is a former Prime Minister of Finland and a former Chairman of the Centre Party. In the second half of 2006 he was President of the European Council. In his earlier career he was a journalist...

was Prime Minister from seven years. At the 2011 election

Finnish parliamentary election, 2011

An election to the Eduskunta was held 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%....

, the party fell from the largest party to fourth-largest.

Its political influence is greatest in small and rural municipalities, where it often holds a majority of the seats in the municipal councils. Decentralisation is the policy that is most characteristic of the Centre Party. The Centre has been the ruling party in Finland number of times since the Finnish independence. 12 of the Prime Ministers of Finland

Prime Minister of Finland

, three of the presidents

President of Finland

and the current 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.

History

The party was founded in 1906 as a movement of citizens in the Finnish countryside. Before Finnish independence, political power in Finland was centralized in the capital and to the estates of the realm

Estates of the realm

The Estates of the realm were the broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in Christian Europe; they are sometimes distinguished as the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and commoners, and are often referred to by...

. The centralization gave space for a new political movement. In 1906 were founded two agrarian movements which in 1908 merged into one political party: the Agrarian League or Maalaisliitto. An older, related movement was the temperance movement, which had overlapping membership and which gave future Agrarian League activists experience in working in an organization.

From the very beginning of its presence, the party has supported the idea of decentralisation

Decentralization

__FORCETOC__Decentralization or decentralisation is the process of dispersing decision-making governance closer to the people and/or citizens. It includes the dispersal of administration or governance in sectors or areas like engineering, management science, political science, political economy,...

. At the dawn of Finnish independence the party supported republicanism

Republicanism

Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...

as opposed to a monarchy

Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

backed by conservative

Conservatism

Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...

social forces.

Soon the ideas of humanity, education, the spirit of the land, peasant-like freedom, decentralization

Decentralization

, "the issue of poor people", progressivism, and later the "green wave" became the main political phrases used to describe the ideology of the party. Santeri Alkio

Santeri Alkio

Santeri Alkio was a Finnish politician, author and journalist. He is also considered to be the ideological father of Finnish Centre Party.-History:...

was the most important ideological father of the party. In the 1930s centre forces led the fight against the threatening extreme right-wing movement

Lapua Movement

The Lapua Movement , was a Finnish radical nationalist and anti-communist political movement founded in and named after the town of Lapua. After radicalisation it turned towards far-right politics and was banned after a failed coup-d'état in 1932...

.

In 1956, Urho Kekkonen

Urho Kekkonen

, the candidate of the Agrarian Union, was elected President of Finland

President of Finland

, after serving as Prime Minister several times. Kekkonen remained President until 1981.

Veikko Vennamo

Veikko Vennamo

Veikko Emil Aleksander Vennamo was a Finnish politician. In 1959, he founded the Finnish Rural Party , which was succeeded by the True Finns in 1995. He had originally been the leader of a faction of the Agrarian League...

, a vocal Agrarian politician, ran into serious disagreement particularly with Arvo Korsimo, then Party Secretary of the Agrarian Union, and was excluded from the parliamentary group. As a result, Vennamo immediately started building his own organization and founded a new party, the Finnish Rural Party

Finnish Rural Party

The Finnish Rural Party was a Finnish populist party. Starting out as a breakaway faction of the Agrarian League in 1959, the party was identified with the person of Veikko Vennamo, a former Agrarian League Member of Parliament known for his opposition to the politics of President Urho Kekkonen...

(Suomen maaseudun puolue, SMP) in 1959. Vennamo was a populist and became a critic of Kekkonen and political corruption

Political corruption

Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...

within the "old parties", particularly the Centre Party. Although this party had minor successes, it was essentially tied to Veikko Vennamo's person. His son Pekka Vennamo was able to raise the party to new success in 1983, but after this the Rural Party's support declined steadily and eventually the party went bankrupt in 1995. However, immediately after this, the party True Finns

True Finns

(Perussuomalaiset) was founded by former members of SMP.

In 1965, the party changed its name to "Centre Party" or Keskustapuolue and in 1988 took its current name Suomen Keskusta (literally Centre of Finland). Despite urbanization of Finland and a temporary nadir in support, the party managed to continue to attract voters.

The Liberal People's Party (LKP) became a 'member party' of the Centre Party in 1982. The two separated again after the success of the Liberal People's Party

Liberal People's Party (Sweden)

The Liberal People's Party is a political party in Sweden. The party advocates social liberalism and is part of the governing centre-right coalition The Alliance, which achieved a majority in the general election of 17 September 2006...

in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

in 1985

Swedish general election, 1985

Elections to the Swedish Riksdag held 15 September 1985.-Election campaign:At a campaign meeting in Sundsvall on 22 August, Minister of social welfare Sten Andersson promised to increase the state pensions as a compensation for the price increases following the devaluation of the krona in 1982...

.

The Centre Party was a key player in making the decision to apply for Finnish EU membership in 1992. As the leading governing party its support to the application was crucial. The party itself, both leadership and supporters, was far from united on the issue. In the parliament 22 out of 55 Centre MPs voted against the application. The party congress decided in June 1994 to support the EU membership (by 1607 votes to 834) only after the Prime Minister and party chairman Esko Aho

Esko Aho

Esko Tapani Aho is a statesman and former Prime Minister of Finland.-Early life and career:Aho was born in Veteli, Finland. Prior to attending university, he began a career in politics. From 1974 to 1979, he was Chairman of the Finnish Centre Youth, which had before him grown many of his...

threatened to resign if the party opposed the membership.

The centrist tradition to defend equal political and economic rights of peripheries was reflected in the internal resistance opposing chairman Aho's ambitions to lead Finland to the EU. The Centre Party was in opposition 1995—2003 and opposed adopting the euro

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

as Finland's currency. However, after regaining power in 2003, the party accepted the euro.

The current chairman, Mari Kiviniemi, succeeded Matti Vanhanen as Prime Minister in 2010, serving in the office for one year. At the time she was the third Centre Party Prime Minister of Finland in row. Anneli Jäätteenmäki

Anneli Jäätteenmäki

Anneli Tuulikki Jäätteenmäki, Master of Laws was the first female Prime Minister of Finland, in office from 17 April 2003 to 24 June 2003....

preceded Vanhanen and she was the first woman as a Prime Minister of Finland.

Finland's EU commisioner

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

Olli Rehn

Olli Ilmari Rehn is a Finnish politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs. He had previously served as Commissioner for Enlargement...

is a member of Centre Party. He has been in the Commission since 2004 and is currently serving as European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs.

The Centre Party was the biggest loser of the 2011 parliamentary election

Finnish parliamentary election, 2011

, losing 16 seats and going from largest party to fourth place. The party's support was lower than in any parliamentary election since 1917

Finnish parliamentary election, 1917

The Finnish parliamentary election 1917 was a result of the constitutional crisis in Finland resulting from the Russian revolution. As the Russian tsar, head of state in Finland, had abdicated without there being a successor, the Finnish parliament stated that it would take the highest power in...

Stance

The party is a member of the Liberal International

Liberal International

Liberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...

and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party

European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party

The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party is a European political party mainly active in the European Union, composed of 56 national-level liberal and liberal-democratic parties from across Europe...

and subscribes to the liberal manifestos of these organisations. Its members in the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

are members of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe is a transnational alliance between two European political parties: the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and the European Democratic Party. It has political groups in the European Parliament, the EU Committee of the Regions, the...

. The Centre Party has been a full member of the Liberal International

Liberal International

since 1988, having first joined as an observer member in 1983.

Despite belonging to the Liberal International, the Centre Party does not play quite the same role in Finnish politics as do Liberal parties in other countries because it evolved from agrarian roots: leading figures in the party, such as Paavo Väyrynen

Paavo Väyrynen

Paavo Matti Väyrynen is a Finnish veteran politician of the Centre Party. Väyrynen has held several ministerial portfolios and is also a former Member of the European Parliament.-Career:...

, have recently criticized overt economic

Economic liberalism

Economic liberalism is the ideological belief in giving all people economic freedom, and as such granting people with more basis to control their own lives and make their own mistakes. It is an economic philosophy that supports and promotes individual liberty and choice in economic matters and...

and social liberalism

Social liberalism

Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...

. In addition, in 2010 the party congress voted to oppose same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....

.

The party is also divided on the issue of deepening European integration, and contains a notable eurosceptic

Euroscepticism

Euroscepticism is a general term used to describe criticism of the European Union , and opposition to the process of European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state...

faction based on its more rural interests. The party expressly rejects a federal Europe. The party was originally opposed to membership of the Euro

Euro

, but later stated that it would not seek to withdraw from the Economic and Monetary Union

Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union

The Economic and Monetary Union is an umbrella term for the group of policies aimed at converging the economies of members of the European Union in three stages so as to allow them to adopt a single currency, the euro. As such, it is largely synonymous with the eurozone.All member states of the...

once Finland had entered.

In Finland, there is no large party that supports liberalism

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

per se. Instead, liberalism is found in most major parties including the Centre Party, which supports decentralisation, free will, free and fair trade, and small enterprise. The Centre Party characteristically supports decentralisation, particularly decreasing the central power, increasing the power of municipalities and populating the country evenly. During the party's premierships 2003—2011 these policies were also manifested as transferals of certain government agencies from the capital to smaller cities in the regions.

Throughout the period of Finland's independence the Centre Party has been the party most often represented in the government. The country's longest-serving president, Urho Kekkonen

Urho Kekkonen

, was from the party, as were two other presidents.

Today, only a small portion (about 5%) of the votes given to the party come from farmers and the Centre Party draws support from a wide range of professions. However, even today rural Finland and small towns form the strongest base of support for the party, although it has worked toward making a breakthrough in the major southern cities as well. In the 2011 parliamentary election

Finnish parliamentary election, 2011

the party received only 4.5 per cent of votes cast in the capital Helsinki, compared to 33.4 per cent in the largely rural electoral district of Oulu.

Prominent party leaders

Lauri Kristian Relander
Lauri Kristian Relander
Lauri Kristian Relander was the second President of Finland . A prominent member of the Agrarian League, he served as a member of Parliament, and as Speaker, before his election as President....

, President 1925-1931
Kyösti Kallio
Kyösti Kallio
Kyösti Kallio was the fourth President of Finland . He was a prominent leader of the Agrarian League, and served as Prime Minister four times and Speaker of the Parliament six times.-Early life:...

, Prime Minister four times 1922-1937, President 1937-1940
Urho Kekkonen
Urho Kekkonen
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen , was a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland and later as the eighth President of Finland . Kekkonen continued the “active neutrality” policy of his predecessor President Juho Kusti Paasikivi, a doctrine which came to be known as the “Paasikivi–Kekkonen...

, Prime Minister twice 1950-1956, President 1956-1981
Martti Miettunen
Martti Miettunen
Martti Johannes Miettunen , was a politician in Finland. He was prime minister in 1961–1962 and 1975–1977.Miettunen was born in Simo...

, Prime Minister twice 1961-1977
Ahti Karjalainen
Ahti Karjalainen
Ahti Kalle Samuli Karjalainen was a Finnish politician. He was a member of the Agrarian League and was Prime Minister of Finland for two terms...

, Prime Minister twice 1962-1963 and 1970–1971
Esko Aho
Esko Aho
Esko Tapani Aho is a statesman and former Prime Minister of Finland.-Early life and career:Aho was born in Veteli, Finland. Prior to attending university, he began a career in politics. From 1974 to 1979, he was Chairman of the Finnish Centre Youth, which had before him grown many of his...

, Prime Minister 1991-1995
Anneli Jäätteenmäki
Anneli Jäätteenmäki
Anneli Tuulikki Jäätteenmäki, Master of Laws was the first female Prime Minister of Finland, in office from 17 April 2003 to 24 June 2003....

, first female Prime Minister 2003
Matti Vanhanen
Matti Vanhanen
Matti Taneli Vanhanen is a Finnish politician. He is a former Prime Minister of Finland and a former Chairman of the Centre Party. In the second half of 2006 he was President of the European Council. In his earlier career he was a journalist...

, Prime Minister 2003-2010
Mari Kiviniemi
Mari Kiviniemi
Mari Johanna Kiviniemi is a Finnish politician and former Prime Minister of Finland. On 22 June 2010, as the new leader of the Centre Party, she was elected Prime Minister of Finland by the Finnish Parliament following the resignation of Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen...

, Prime Minister 2010-2011

List of party presidents

President	Term begin	Term end
Otto Karhi Otto Karhi Otto Karhi was the first Chairman of Centre Party, then the League of the Rural People of Finland from 1906 to 1908 from 1906 to 1909 . He was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1907 to 1913 from Oulu southern electoral district. He quit the Agrarian League in 1914 and stayed passive...	1906	1909
Kyösti Kallio Kyösti Kallio Kyösti Kallio was the fourth President of Finland . He was a prominent leader of the Agrarian League, and served as Prime Minister four times and Speaker of the Parliament six times.-Early life:...	1909	1917
Filip Saalasti	1917	1918
Santeri Alkio Santeri Alkio Santeri Alkio was a Finnish politician, author and journalist. He is also considered to be the ideological father of Finnish Centre Party.-History:...	1918	1919
Petter Vilhelm Heikkinen	1919	1940
Viljami Kalliokoski Viljami Kalliokoski Viljami Kalliokoski was a Finnish farmer and politician. He was a member of the Agrarian League. He served as Deputy minister of Agriculture in Kyösti Kallio's fourth cabinet and as Minister of Agriculture in Risto Ryti's second cabinet , in Jukka Rangell's cabinet Viljami Kalliokoski (15 May...	1940	1945
Vieno Johannes Sukselainen	1945	1964
Johannes Virolainen Johannes Virolainen Johannes Virolainen was a Finnish politician.Virolainen was born near Viipuri. After the Continuation War Virolainen moved to Lohja, but he remained one of the leaders of the evacuated Karelians, and never gave up the hope that Soviet Union and later Russia would return Finnish Karelia to Finland...	1964	1980
Paavo Väyrynen Paavo Väyrynen Paavo Matti Väyrynen is a Finnish veteran politician of the Centre Party. Väyrynen has held several ministerial portfolios and is also a former Member of the European Parliament.-Career:...	1980	1990
Esko Aho Esko Aho Esko Tapani Aho is a statesman and former Prime Minister of Finland.-Early life and career:Aho was born in Veteli, Finland. Prior to attending university, he began a career in politics. From 1974 to 1979, he was Chairman of the Finnish Centre Youth, which had before him grown many of his... (first time)	1990	2000
Anneli Jäätteenmäki Anneli Jäätteenmäki Anneli Tuulikki Jäätteenmäki, Master of Laws was the first female Prime Minister of Finland, in office from 17 April 2003 to 24 June 2003.... (first time)	2000	2001
Esko Aho Esko Aho Esko Tapani Aho is a statesman and former Prime Minister of Finland.-Early life and career:Aho was born in Veteli, Finland. Prior to attending university, he began a career in politics. From 1974 to 1979, he was Chairman of the Finnish Centre Youth, which had before him grown many of his... (second time)	2001	2002
Anneli Jäätteenmäki Anneli Jäätteenmäki Anneli Tuulikki Jäätteenmäki, Master of Laws was the first female Prime Minister of Finland, in office from 17 April 2003 to 24 June 2003.... (second time)	2002	2003
Matti Vanhanen Matti Vanhanen Matti Taneli Vanhanen is a Finnish politician. He is a former Prime Minister of Finland and a former Chairman of the Centre Party. In the second half of 2006 he was President of the European Council. In his earlier career he was a journalist...	2003	2010
Mari Kiviniemi Mari Kiviniemi Mari Johanna Kiviniemi is a Finnish politician and former Prime Minister of Finland. On 22 June 2010, as the new leader of the Centre Party, she was elected Prime Minister of Finland by the Finnish Parliament following the resignation of Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen...	2010	Present day

Elections

Parliament>ry elections

Year	MPs	Votes
1907 Finnish parliamentary election, 1907 The Finnish parliamentary election in 1907, in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, was the first parliamentary election in which members of parliament were elected to the new Parliament of Finland by universal suffrage....	9	51,242	5.75 %
1908 Finnish parliamentary election, 1908 -Issues, Campaign and Results :The Russian Czar Nicholas II dissolved the first modern and democratic Finnish Parliament after its Speaker, Mr. Pehr E. Svinhufvud refused, in the Czar´s opinion, to show enough respect for him when speaking at the parliamentary session´s opening...	10	51,756	6.39 %
1909 Finnish parliamentary election, 1909 - Results :...	13	56,943	6.73 %
1910 Finnish parliamentary election, 1910 - Results :...	17	60,157	7.60 %
1911 Finnish parliamentary election, 1911 - Results :...	16	62,885	7.84 %
1913 Finnish parliamentary election, 1913 -Issues, Campaign and Results :The Finnish voters´growing frustration with the Parliament´s performance was reflected in the low voter turnout. The Social Democrats and Agrarians, championing the cause of poor workers and farmers, kept gaining votes at the expense of the Old Finns, whose main...	18	56,977	7.87 %
1916 Finnish parliamentary election, 1916 -Issues, Campaign and Results :The Finnish Parliament had not been in session during the early years of World War I. The workers´and tenant farmers´discontent with their social and economic problems -Issues, Campaign and Results :The Finnish Parliament had not been in session during the early...	19	71,608	9.00 %
1917 Finnish parliamentary election, 1917 The Finnish parliamentary election 1917 was a result of the constitutional crisis in Finland resulting from the Russian revolution. As the Russian tsar, head of state in Finland, had abdicated without there being a successor, the Finnish parliament stated that it would take the highest power in...	26	122,900	12.38 %
1919 Finnish parliamentary election, 1919 Parliamentary elections were held in Finland between 1 and 3 March 1919. The Social Democratic Pary emerged as the largest in Parliament with 80 of the 200 seats. Voter turnout was 67.1%.-Background:...	42	189,297	19.70 %
1922 Finnish parliamentary election, 1922 Parliamentary elections were held in Finland between 1 and 3 July 1922. The Social Democratic Pary remained the largest in Parliament with 53 of the 200 seats...	45	175,401	20.27 %
1924 Finnish parliamentary election, 1924 Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 1 and 2 April 1924. Although the Social Democratic Pary remained the largest in Parliament with 60 of the 200 seats, Lauri Ingman of the National Coalition Party formed a centre-right majority government in May 1924. It remained intact until the...	44	177,982	20.25 %
1927 Finnish parliamentary election, 1927 Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 1 and 2 July 1927. Although the Social Democratic Pary remained the largest in Parliament with 60 of the 200 seats, Juho Sunila of the Agrarian League formed a minority government in May 1924. It remained intact until the Agrarians left in November 1924...	52	205,313	22.56 %
1929 Finnish parliamentary election, 1929 Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 1 and 2 July 1929. The result was a victory for the Agrarian League, which won 60 of the 200 seats in Parliament...	60	248,762	26.15 %
1930 Finnish parliamentary election, 1930 Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 1 and 2 October 1930. The Social Democratic Party emerged as the largest in Parliament with 66 of the 200 seats. Voter turnout was 65.9%.-Background:...	59	308,280	27.28 %
1933 Finnish parliamentary election, 1933 Parliamentary elections were held in Finland between 1 and 3 July 1933. The Social Democratic Party remained the largest party in Parliament with 78 of the 200 seats...	53	249,758	22.54 %
1936 Finnish parliamentary election, 1936 Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 1 and 2 July 1936.-Background:Finland had clearly recovered from the Great Depression since 1933, and unemployment had been almost eliminated. Prime Minister Kivimäki wanted to continue in office and to broaden his narrow right-wing minority government...	53	262,917	22.41 %
1939 Finnish parliamentary election, 1939 Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 1 and 2 July 1939.-Background:The leading issues of the 1939 Finnish parliamentary election, held on 1 and 2 July, were the distribution of the growing prosperity's benefits, the prospects for the centre-left coalition government's continuation, the...	56	296,529	22.86 %
1945 Finnish parliamentary election, 1945 Eduskunta election in 1945 was held from March 17 to 18, 1945. In Finland, the communists could for the first time since 1929 freely present their candidates. Through the Finnish People's Democratic League, they were able to win over a large section of Social Democratic voters. The Patriotic...	49	362,662	21.35 %

table class="wikitable">

Year

MPs

Votes

1948

Finnish parliamentary election, 1948

Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 1 and 2 July 1948.-Background:The political atmosphere during the July 1948 Finnish parliamentary elections was heated. Many Finns across the party lines believed that the Communists and People's Democrats had pursued their goal of making Finland a...

455,635

24.24 %

1951

Finnish parliamentary election, 1951

Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 1 and 2 July 1951.-Background:Urho Kekkonen had served as Prime Minister since March 1950, after losing the February 1950 presidential election clearly to President J.K...

421,613

23.26 %

1954

Finnish parliamentary election, 1954

Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 7 and 8 March 1954.-Background:In June 1953, Prime Minister Kekkonen had presented a simultaneous deflationary program, which tried to lower wages, prices and public expenditures to the level of the export industry's profitability...

483,958

24.10 %

1958

Finnish parliamentary election, 1958

Year 1958 Eduskunta election took place 6–7 July 1958. As the result of the election Democratic Alliance of the Finnish People has been one of a few cases for a communist party to have become the dominant party in a Western European country during the Cold War...

448,364

23.06 %

1962

Finnish parliamentary election, 1962

Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 4 and 5 February 1962.-Background:Sukselainen's second minority government had resigned in 1961, followed by Prime Minister Martti Miettunen's first government, also a centrist minority government. In the spring of 1961, Mr...

528,409

22.95 %

1966

Finnish parliamentary election, 1966

Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 20 and 21 March 1966.-Background:Prime Minister Johannes Virolainen had led a centre-right coalition government since September 1964. Meanwhile, the Social Democratic leader Rafael Paasio had moved the party somewhat more to the left, in order to...

503,047

21.23 %

1970

Finnish parliamentary election, 1970

Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 15 and 16 March 1970.-Background:Social Democrat Mauno Koivisto had replaced his party leader Rafael Paasio as Prime Minister in March 1968. His government was very broad-based, including the Social Democrats, Centrists, Communists, Swedish People's...

434,150

17.12 %

1972

Finnish parliamentary election, 1972

Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 2 and 3 January 1972.-Background:Prime Minister Karjalainen's centre-left government lost one party, the Communists, in March 1971 and was forced to resign in October 1971, due to the Social Democrats' and Centrists' disagreement over the amount of...

423,039

16.41 %

1975

Finnish parliamentary election, 1975

Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 21 and 22 September 1975.-Background:Prime Minister Kalevi Sorsa's government survived until June 1975. It resigned because of internal disagreements over the ways to combat Finland's recession, which had largely been caused by the 1973 Oil Crisis,...

484,772

17.63 %

1979

Finnish parliamentary election, 1979

Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 18 and 18 March 1979.-Background:Prime Minister Miettunen's centrist minority government had resigned in May 1977. After a two-year break, Social Democrat Kalevi Sorsa returned to office as Prime Minister...

500,478

17.29 %

1983

Finnish parliamentary election, 1983

The Finnish parliamentary election in 1983 was held after the victory of Mauno Koivisto in the presidential election of 1982. As was customary in Finland after a presidential election, the government resigned after Koivisto's victory in January 1982...

525,207

17.63 %

1987

Finnish parliamentary election, 1987

The Finnish parliamentary election of 1987 moved the country somewhat to the right. It was uncertain how far, because the voter participation rate--at a comparatively low 75 percent, 5 percent lower than usual--hurt the left more than the right and had a varying impact...

507,460

17.62 %

1991

Finnish parliamentary election, 1991

The Finnish Parliamentary election of 1991, held on March 17, was historic, since it led to the Centre Party becoming the largest parliamentary party, forming a purely centre-right government for the first time after 1966 The Finnish Parliamentary election of 1991, held on March 17, was historic,...

676,717

24.83 %

1995

Finnish parliamentary election, 1995

The 32nd elections to the Finnish parliament were held on March 19, 1995. The previous centre-right cabinet fell, as the Social Democrats made strong gains and achieved the best result of any party after the Second World War...

552,003

19.85 %

1999

Finnish parliamentary election, 1999

The 1999 Finnish parliamentary election was held on March 21, 1999. Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen's Social Democrats remained the largest party of the Eduskunta, despite significant losses...

600,592

22.40 %

2003

Finnish parliamentary election, 2003

The Finnish parliamentary election of 2003 was the 34th election to the Eduskunta , held on 16 March 2003 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term...

689,391

24.69 %

2007

Finnish parliamentary election, 2007

The Finnish parliamentary election of 2007 was the 35th election to the Eduskunta , held on 18 March 2007 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term. Early voting was possible from the 7–13 March. Two hundred MPs were elected from 15 constituencies.Election themes included a reduction...

640,428

23.11 %

2011

Finnish parliamentary election, 2011

463,160

15.82 %

Municipal >lections

Year	Councillors	Votes
1950		121,804	8.09 %
1953		282,331	16.04 %
1956		366,380	21.91 %
1960		401,346	20.44 %
1964		413,561	19.28 %
1968	3 533	428,841	18.93 %
1972	3 297	449,908	17.99 %
1976	3 936	494,423	18.43 %
1980	3 889	513,362	18.72 %
1984	4 052	545,034	20.21 %
1988	4 227	554,924	21.10 %
1992	3 998	511,954	19.22 %
1996	4 459	518,305	21.81 %
2000	4 625	528,319	23.75 %
2004	4 425	543,885	22.77 %
2008	3 518	512,220	20.09 %

European p>rliament

Year	MEPs	Votes
1996 European Parliament election, 1996 (Finland) The European Parliament election of 1996 in Finland was the first election of the Finnish delegation to the European Parliament.-Background:In 1996, Finland had a population of 5.1 million . The government was a broad coalition led by the social democrat Paavo Lipponen...	4	548,041	24.36 %
1999 European Parliament election, 1999 The European Parliament Election, 1999 was a European election for all 626 members of the European Parliament held across the 15 European Union member states on 10, 11 and 13 June 1999. The voter turn-out was generally low, except in Belgium and Luxembourg, where voting is compulsory and where...	4	264,640	21.30 %
2004 European Parliament election, 2004 Elections to the European Parliament were held from 10 June 2004 to 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom...	4	387,217	23.37 %
2009 European Parliament election, 2009 Elections to the European Parliament were held in the 27 member states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history...	3	316,798	19.03 %

b>Presidential elections

indirect elections
Year	Candidate	Electors	Votes
1925 Finnish presidential election, 1925 Two-stage presidential elections were held in Finland in 1925. On 15 and 16 January the public elected presidential electors to an electoral college. They in turn elected the President. The result was a victory for Lauri Kristian Relander, who won in the third round of voting. Voter turnout in the...	Lauri Kristian Relander Lauri Kristian Relander Lauri Kristian Relander was the second President of Finland . A prominent member of the Agrarian League, he served as a member of Parliament, and as Speaker, before his election as President....	69	123,932	19.9 %
1931 Finnish presidential election, 1931 Two-stage presidential elections were held in Finland in 1931. On 15 and 16 January the public elected presidential electors to an electoral college. They in turn elected the President. The result was a victory for Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, who won in the third round of voting by just two votes. Voter...	Kyösti Kallio Kyösti Kallio Kyösti Kallio was the fourth President of Finland . He was a prominent leader of the Agrarian League, and served as Prime Minister four times and Speaker of the Parliament six times.-Early life:...	69	167,574	20.0 %
1937 Finnish presidential election, 1937 Two-stage presidential elections were held in Finland in 1937. On 15 and 16 January the public elected presidential electors to an electoral college. They in turn elected the President. Whilst Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg was one vote short of winning in the first round, the result was a victory for...	Kyösti Kallio	56	184,668	16.6 %
1950 Finnish presidential election, 1950 Two-stage presidential elections were held in Finland in 1950, the first time the public had been involved in a presidential election since 1937 as three non-public elections had taken place in 1940, 1943 and 1946. On 16 and 17 January the public elected presidential electors to an electoral...	Urho Kekkonen Urho Kekkonen Urho Kaleva Kekkonen , was a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland and later as the eighth President of Finland . Kekkonen continued the “active neutrality” policy of his predecessor President Juho Kusti Paasikivi, a doctrine which came to be known as the “Paasikivi–Kekkonen...	62	309,060	19.6 %
1956 Finnish presidential election, 1956 Two-stage presidential elections were held in Finland in 1956. On 16 and 17 January the public elected presidential electors to an electoral college. They in turn elected the President. The result was a victory for Urho Kekkonen, who won in the third round of voting. Voter turnout in the public...	Urho Kekkonen	88	510,783	26.9 %
1962 Finnish presidential election, 1962 Two-stage presidential elections were held in Finland in 1962. On 15 and 16 January the public elected presidential electors to an electoral college. They in turn elected the President. The result was a victory for Urho Kekkonen, who won in the first round of voting. Voter turnout in the public...	Urho Kekkonen	111	698,199	31.7 %
1968 Finnish presidential election, 1968 Two-stage presidential elections were held in Finland in 1968. On 15 and 16 January the public elected presidential electors to an electoral college. They in turn elected the President. The result was a victory for Urho Kekkonen, who won in the first round of voting. Voter turnout in the public...	Urho Kekkonen	65	421,197	20.66 %
1978 Finnish presidential election, 1978 Two-stage presidential elections were held in Finland in 1978, the first since 1968 after Urho Kekkonen's term was extended by four years by Parliament. The public elected presidential electors to an electoral college on 15 and 16 January. They in turn elected the President. The result was a...	Urho Kekkonen	64	475,372	19.4 %
1982 Finnish presidential election, 1982 Two-stage presidential elections were held in Finland in 1982. The public elected presidential electors to an electoral college on 17 and 18 January. They in turn elected the President...	Johannes Virolainen Johannes Virolainen Johannes Virolainen was a Finnish politician.Virolainen was born near Viipuri. After the Continuation War Virolainen moved to Lohja, but he remained one of the leaders of the evacuated Karelians, and never gave up the hope that Soviet Union and later Russia would return Finnish Karelia to Finland...	53	534,515	16.8 %
1988 Finnish presidential election, 1988 Presidential elections were held in Finland in 1988. They were the first elections held under the new system. Previously the public had elected an electoral college that in turn elected the President...	Paavo Väyrynen Paavo Väyrynen Paavo Matti Väyrynen is a Finnish veteran politician of the Centre Party. Väyrynen has held several ministerial portfolios and is also a former Member of the European Parliament.-Career:...	68	647,769	21.70 %

table class="wikitable">

direct elections

Year

Candidate

Votes

1988

Finnish presidential election, 1988

Presidential elections were held in Finland in 1988. They were the first elections held under the new system. Previously the public had elected an electoral college that in turn elected the President...

Paavo Väyrynen

Paavo Matti Väyrynen is a Finnish veteran politician of the Centre Party. Väyrynen has held several ministerial portfolios and is also a former Member of the European Parliament.-Career:...

¹ 636,375

¹ 20.57 %

1994

Finnish presidential election, 1994

Presidential elections were held in Finland on 16 January 1994, with a second round on 6 February. It was the first time the President had been solely elected by a popular vote and saw Martti Ahtisaari defeat Elisabeth Rehn in the second round. Voter turnout was 78.4% in the first round and 78.7%...

Paavo Väyrynen

¹ 623,415

¹ 19.5 %

2000

Finnish presidential election, 2000

Presidential elections were held in Finland on 16 January 2000, with a second round on 6 February. The result was a victory for Tarja Halonen of the Social Democratic Party, who became the country's first female President. During the elections Halonen was the incumbent Minister for Foreign...

Esko Aho

¹ 1,051,159
² 1,540,803

¹ 34.4 %
² 48.4 %

2006

Finnish presidential election, 2006

The Finnish Presidential election of 2006 saw 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...

Matti Vanhanen

¹ 561,990

¹ 18.6 %

External links

Official website Centre Party: Swedish-speaking section Website in English Youth organizations official website

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