The Minister of Defence is a member of the Finnish Council of State. As the head of the Ministry of Defence, the minister is responsible for the administration of national defence. The ministry is headquartered in 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...

. The current Minister of Defence is Stefan Wallin

Stefan Wallin

Stefan Erik Wallin is a Swedish-speaking Finnish politician. He is currently Finland's Minister of Defence in Jyrki Katainen's cabinet....

.

From June to November 1918 the post was called Chief of the War Department, and from then until 1922 the post was called the Minister of War.

The President of the Republic

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....

 is the commander-in-chief of the Finnish Defence Forces. The commander of the military forces is the Chief of Defence

Chief of Defence (Finland)

The Chief of Defence is the Chief of Defence and commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, under the authority of the Commander in Chief, President of Finland. He commands the Finnish Army, the Finnish Air Force, the Finnish Navy and is assisted by the Defence Command...

.

List of Ministers of Defence

Period of Office	Minister of Defence
1918	Wilhelm Thesleff
1918-1919	Rudolf Walden Rudolf Walden Karl Rudolf Walden was a Finnish industrialist and general.He received his military education in Hamina Cadet School 1892–1900....
1919-1920	Karl Emil Berg
1920-1921	Bruno Jalander
1921	Onni Hämäläinen
1921-1923	Bruno Jalander
1923	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:...
1923-1924	Wilho Petter Nenonen Vilho Petter Nenonen Vilho Petter Nenonen was a Finnish general.Received his military education in the Hamina Cadet School 1896-1901, in the Mihailov Artillery School in St Petersburg 1901-1903, and in St Petersburg Artillery Academy 1906-1909. He served in the Russian army during World War I...
1924	Viktor Schvindt
1924	Ivar Aminoff
1924-1925	Kaarlo Malmberg
1925	Aleksander Lampén
1925-1926	Leonard Hjelmman
1926-1927	Kaarlo Heinonen
1927-1928	Jalo Lahdensuo
1928-1929	Aimo Cajander Aimo Cajander Aimo Kaarlo Cajander was, outside of botany, best known as Prime Minister of Finland up to the Winter War....
1929-1930	Juho Niukkanen Juho Niukkanen Juho Niukkanen was a Finnish politician prior to, during, and after the Winter War. He was a member of parliament 1917–1932 and 1936–1954, and represented the Agrarian Party . He served as a minister in many cabinets...
1930	Albin Manner
1930-1931	Hugo Viktor Österman Hugo Viktor Österman Hugo Viktor Österman was a Finnish Lieutenant-General during World War II. He was commander of the Finnish Army 1933-1939....
1930-1931	Albin Manner
1931-1932	Jalo Lahdensuo
1932-1937	Arvi Oksala
1937-1940	Juho Niukkanen Juho Niukkanen Juho Niukkanen was a Finnish politician prior to, during, and after the Winter War. He was a member of parliament 1917–1932 and 1936–1954, and represented the Agrarian Party . He served as a minister in many cabinets...
1940-1944	Rudolf Walden Rudolf Walden Karl Rudolf Walden was a Finnish industrialist and general.He received his military education in Hamina Cadet School 1892–1900....
1944-1945	Väinö Valve
1945-1948	Mauno Pekkala Mauno Pekkala Mauno Pekkala was a Finnish left-wing politician and Prime Minister from 1946 to 1948 . Pekkala was a member of the Social Democratic Party of Finland until he left the party during the Continuation war. After the war, Pekkala joined the Finnish People's Democratic League , an alliance of...
1946-1948	Yrjö Kallinen
1948-1950	Emil Skog
1950-1951	Kustaa Tiitu
1951-1953	Emil Skog
1953	Kauno Kleemola Kauno Kleemola Kauno Antero Kleemola was a Finnish politician from the Agrarian League.Kleemola was a farmer from Central Ostrobothnia and as politician an advocate of Central Ostrobothnia in Helsinki. He was speaker of the parliament 1962-1965 and minister in several cabinets of Kekkonen, and hold the title of...
1953-1954	Päiviö Hetemäki Päiviö Hetemäki Päiviö Hetemäki was a politician of the National Coalition Party in Finland. He served four times as a minister in the Finnish Council of State. Hetemäki was also the chairman of the Confederation of Finnish Industries....
1954-1957	Emil Skog
1957	Atte Pakkanen
1957	Pekka Malinen Pekka Malinen Pekka Kullervo Malinen was a Finnish diplomat and politician. He was a member of the People's Party of Finland...
1957-1958	Kalle Lehmus
1958	Lars Björkenheim
1958-1959	Toivo Wiherheimo
1959-1961	Leo Häppölä
1961-1962	Lars Björkenheim
1962-1963	Arvo Pentti
1963-1964	Kaarlo Leinonen Kaarlo Leinonen Kaarlo Olavi Leinonen was a Finnish general and Minister of Defence. He was the Chief of Defence of the Finnish Defence Forces between 1969 and 1974.-External links:*...
1964-1966	Arvo Pentti
1966-1970	Sulo Suorttanen
1970	Arvo Pentti
1970-1971	Kristian Gestrin
1971-1972	Arvo Pentti
1972	Sulo Hostila
1972-1974	Kristian Gestrin
1974-1975	Carl-Olof Homén
1975	Erkki Huurtamo
1975-1976	Ingvar Melin
1976-1977	Seppo Westerlund
1977-1979	Taisto Tähkämaa
1979-1982	Lasse Äikäs
1982-1983	Juhani Saukkonen
1983-1987	Veikko Pihlajamäki
1987-1990	Ole Norrback Ole Norrback Johan Ole Norrback is a Finland-Swedish politician and diplomat.Norrback graduated as a folkskola teacher in 1965 and was the ombudsman for the Swedish People's Party in Ostrobothnia between 1967 and 1971, and a member of the Swedish Ostrobothnia's Region Board between 1971 and 1989...
1990-1995	Elisabeth Rehn Elisabeth Rehn Märta Elisabeth Rehn is a former MP of the Swedish People's Party and the first female Minister of Defence in Finland. In the 1994 presidential elections she was narrowly defeated by Martti Ahtisaari.Elisabeth Rehn spent her childhood in Mäntsälä, where her father worked as a community medical...
1995	Jan-Erik Enestam Jan-Erik Enestam Jan-Erik Enestam is a Finland-Swedish politician from the Swedish People's Party. He has a degree from the Åbo Akademi university in Turku....
1995-1999	Anneli Taina
1999-2003	Jan-Erik Enestam Jan-Erik Enestam Jan-Erik Enestam is a Finland-Swedish politician from the Swedish People's Party. He has a degree from the Åbo Akademi university in Turku....
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...
2003-2007	Seppo Kääriäinen Seppo Kääriäinen Seppo Arimo Kääriäinen is a Finnish politician of the Centre Party and Doctor in Social Sciences. He served as the Minister of Defence of Finland between 2004-2007. He has been MP since 1987 and was Minister of Trade and Industry and Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1993-1995...
2007-2011	Jyri Häkämies Jyri Häkämies Jyri Jukka Häkämies is the current Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs and a representative of the National Coalition Party, and the minister responsible for supervision of government enterprises with the exception of Patria, which is supervised by Jan Vapaavuori...
2011-present	Stefan Wallin Stefan Wallin Stefan Erik Wallin is a Swedish-speaking Finnish politician. He is currently Finland's Minister of Defence in Jyrki Katainen's cabinet....