Tarja Kaarina Halonen is a Finnish politician who served as the 11th president of Finland, and the first and to date only woman to hold the position, from 2000 to 2012. She first rose to prominence as a lawyer with the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), and as the Prime Minister's parliamentary secretary (1974–1975) and a member of the City Council of Helsinki (1977–1996). Halonen was a Social Democratic Party member of parliament from 1979 until her election to the presidency in 2000. She also served as a minister at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health from 1987 to 1990, as Minister of Justice from 1990 to 1991, and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 2000.
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen, often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as prime minister, and held various other cabinet positions. He was the third and most recent president from the Agrarian League/Centre Party. Head of state for nearly 26 years, he dominated Finnish politics for 31 years overall. Holding a large amount of power, he won his later elections with little opposition and has often been classified as an autocrat.
The Centre Party, officially the Centre Party of Finland, is an agrarian-centrist political party in Finland. Ideologically, the Centre Party is positioned in the centre on the political spectrum. It has been described as liberal, social-liberal, liberal-conservative, and conservative-liberal. The party’s leader is Annika Saarikko, who was elected in September 2020 to follow Katri Kulmuni, the former finance minister of Finland. As of December 2019, the party has been a coalition partner in the Marin Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Sanna Marin of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Matti Taneli Vanhanen is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2003 to 2010. He was also Chairman of the Centre Party in 2006. In his earlier career, he was a journalist. Vanhanen is the son of professor Tatu Vanhanen and Anni Tiihonen.
Johannes Virolainen was a Finnish politician and who served as 30th Prime Minister of Finland, helped inhabitants of Karelia, opposed the use of alcohol and created Mandatory Swedish in Finnish basic schools.
This article gives an overview of liberalism and centrism in Finland. It is limited to liberal and centrist parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ means a reference to another party in that scheme. For inclusion in this scheme it is not necessary so that parties labeled themselves as a liberal party.
The Karelian question or Karelian issue is a dispute in Finnish politics over whether to try to regain control over eastern Karelia and other territories ceded to the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War. Despite the name "Karelian question", the term may refer also to the return of Petsamo, ceded parts of Salla and Kuusamo, and four islands in the Gulf of Finland. Sometimes the phrase "debate on the return of the ceded territories" is used. The Karelian question remains a matter of public debate rather than a political issue.
Tanja Tellervo Karpela is a Finnish former politician and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Finland 1991. She was a Member of Parliament from 1999 to 2011 and served in the government of Finland as Minister of Culture from 2003 to 2007.
Olli Ilmari Rehn is a Finnish economist and public official who has been serving as governor of the Bank of Finland since 2018. A member of the Centre Party, he previously served as the European Commissioner for Enlargement from 2004 to 2010, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro from 2010 to 2014, and Minister of Economic Affairs in Juha Sipilä's cabinet from 2015 until 2016. Rehn ran for President of Finland as an independent candidate in 2024, but was not elected.
Paavo Matti Väyrynen is a Finnish politician who, in his long and eventful political career, has served, among other things, as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1977 to 1982, and again from 1983 to 1987 and from 1991 to 1993. He is a former member of the Finnish Parliament who has represented the Seven Star Movement, the Citizen's Party and Centre Party. He left the Centre Party in 2023.
Jari Pekka Olavi Vilén is a Finnish diplomat and a politician. Vilén served in the Finnish Parliament, representing the National Coalition Party and the district of Lapland from 1999–2007.
Tatu Vanhanen was a Finnish political scientist and sociologist. He was a professor of political science at the University of Tampere in Tampere, Finland. Vanhanen was a coauthor with Richard Lynn of IQ and the Wealth of Nations (2002) and IQ and Global Inequality (2006), and author of Ethnic Conflicts Explained by Ethnic Nepotism (1999).
Johan Bjarne Kallis is the former chairman of the Christian Democratic Party (KD), previously known as the Finnish Christian Coalition (SKL), and a member of the Parliament of Finland. Kallis works as the principal of the Kokkola academy of commerce and has a master's degree in political sciences.
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.
Suomen Sisu is a nonpartisan Finnish association that defines itself as nationalist and patriotic, criticizing unlimited immigration and multiculturalism. Suomen Sisu proclaims to support the idea of independent nation states, that govern themselves sovereignly, and opposes supranational co-operation, especially the European Union. Suomen Sisu was established as the Youth Organisation of the Association of Finnish Culture and Identity in 1998, but this affiliation was broken in 2000. The organization is not affiliated with any political party, but its members have operated in several parties as individuals, particularly within the Finns Party.
Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 2 and 3 January 1972.
Presidential elections were held in Finland in January and February 2012. The first round took place on 22 January 2012 with advance voting between 11 and 17 January. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round was held on 5 February, with advance voting between 25 and 31 January. Sauli Niinistö was elected the President of Finland for a term from 1 March 2012 until 1 March 2018.
Finnish Centre Students Finnish: Keskustaopiskelijat is one of the oldest political student organizations in Finland and the student wing of the Centre Party.
Presidential elections were held in Finland on 28 January 2018. The incumbent Sauli Niinistö received 63% of the vote and was elected for a second term, avoiding a second round. He received a plurality of the vote in every municipality and a majority in all but 13 municipalities.
Katri Briitta Ilona Kulmuni is a Finnish politician who served as the 35th deputy prime minister of Finland and the leader of the Centre Party between 2019 and 2020. A member of the Centre Party, she has been a Member of Parliament since 2015.
