Same-sex marriage has been legal in Finland since 1 March 2017. A bill for the legalisation of same-sex marriages was approved by the Finnish Parliament in a vote of 101–90 on 12 December 2014 and signed into law by President Sauli Niinistö on 20 February 2015. Further legislation to harmonise other laws with the legalisation of same-sex marriage was passed in 2016. The law took effect on 1 March 2017. Finland was the last Nordic sovereign state to legalise same-sex marriage, the 13th country in Europe overall, and the 21st worldwide.
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 is currently member of Centre Party.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Finland are among the most advanced in Europe. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity have been legal in Finland since 1971 with "promotion" thereof decriminalized and the age of consent equalized in 1999. Homosexuality was declassified as an illness in 1981. Discrimination based on sexual orientation in areas such as employment, the provision of goods and services, etc., was criminalized in 1995 and discrimination based on gender identity in 2005.
Varsinais-Suomi is one of the 13 electoral districts of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. The district was established as Turku and Pori Province South in 1907 when the Diet of Finland was replaced by the Parliament of Finland. It was renamed Varsinais-Suomi in 1997. It is conterminous with the region of Southwest Finland. The district currently elects 17 of the 200 members of the Parliament of Finland using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2023 parliamentary election it had 398,903 registered electors.
Helsinki is one of the 13 electoral districts of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. The district was established as Helsinki City in 1954 from parts of Uusimaa Province. It was renamed Helsinki in 1997. It is conterminous with the municipality of Helsinki. The district currently elects 23 of the 200 members of the Parliament of Finland using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2023 parliamentary election it had 546,375 registered electors.
Oulu is one of the 13 electoral districts of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. The district was established as Oulu Province South in 1907 when the Diet of Finland was replaced by the Parliament of Finland. It was renamed Oulu Province in 1939 and Oulu in 1997. It is conterminous with the regions of Kainuu and North Ostrobothnia. The district currently elects 18 of the 200 members of the Parliament of Finland using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2023 parliamentary election it had 393,643 registered electors.
Pirkanmaa is one of the 13 electoral districts of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. The district was established as Häme Province North in 1907 when the Diet of Finland was replaced by the Parliament of Finland. It was renamed Pirkanmaa in 1997. It is conterminous with the region of Pirkanmaa. The district currently elects 20 of the 200 members of the Parliament of Finland using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2023 parliamentary election it had 437,155 registered electors.
Satakunta is one of the 13 electoral districts of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. The district was established as Turku and Pori Province North in 1907 when the Diet of Finland was replaced by the Parliament of Finland. It was renamed Satakunta in 1997. It is conterminous with the region of Satakunta. The district currently elects eight of the 200 members of the Parliament of Finland using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2023 parliamentary election it had 176,653 registered electors.
Uusimaa is one of the 13 electoral districts of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. The district was established as Uusimaa Province in 1907 when the Diet of Finland was replaced by the Parliament of Finland. It was renamed Uusimaa in 1997. It is conterminous with the region of Uusimaa but excludes the municipality of Helsinki which has its own electoral district. The district currently elects 37 of the 200 members of the Parliament of Finland using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2023 parliamentary election it had 801,205 registered electors.
Åland is one of the 13 electoral districts of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. The district was established in 1947 from parts of Turku Province South. It is conterminous with the autonomous region of Åland. The district currently elects one of the 200 members of the Parliament of Finland using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2023 parliamentary election it had 28,236 registered electors.
Nanna Johanna Sumuvuori is a Finnish politician and former member of Finnish Parliament, representing the Green League. She has also been a member of the city council of Helsinki since 2001. Sumuvuori was first elected as a substitute member to the parliament in 2003, and became member of parliament on August 1, 2006, when Irina Krohn left to become the director of the Finnish Film Foundation. In 2007 she was directly elected, but failed to be returned at the General Election of April 2011. However, when Anni Sinnemäki left her seat in January 2015, Sumuvuori took her seat in the parliament for the remaining term. In the 2015 election, Sumuvuori got 4,159 votes, which was not enough for a seat in the parliament.
Mika Sinuhe Wallinheimo is a Finnish politician and former professional ice hockey goaltender. As the last team he represented JYP in the SM-liiga. After his sporting career he entered politics and was elected to the Parliament of Finland as an MP for the National Coalition Party in the 2011 election and reelected in 2015 and 2019. His parents derived his name Sinuhe from the protagonist of the novel The Egyptian.
Outi Alanko-Kahiluoto is a Finnish politician representing the Green League. She was elected to the Finnish Parliament in the parliamentary election of March 2007 and reelected in 2011. In the 2015 parliamentary elections, Alanko-Kahiluoto was again reelected to the parliament with 7,884 votes. She was not re-elected in the 2023 Finnish parliamentary election.
The Pirate Party is a Pirate Party in Finland that was registered as a political party from 2009 to 2023. The group currently has around 173 paying members. The chairman of the party is Pekka Mustonen. The party is a member of Pirate Parties International and European Pirate Party.
Länsi-Pakila (Finnish), Västra Baggböle (Swedish) is a neighbourhood in Northern Helsinki, about nine kilometers from the city center. Länsi-Pakila has approximately 6 874 inhabitants (1.1.2014).
Mika Pekka Raatikainen is a Finnish politician, policeman and a member of Finnish Parliament, representing the Finns Party. Raatikainen was born in Helsinki. He was first elected as a substitute member to the parliament in 2011, and became member of parliament on 4 July 2014, when Jussi Halla-aho left to the European Parliament. In the 2015 parliamentary election, Raatikainen got 3,370 votes and got elected.
Jari Tapani Lindström is a Finnish politician and former Minister of Employment. He represented the Finns Party till 2017 and was first elected to the Parliament in 2011 in the former constituency of Kymi. In 2014, Lindström was appointed the chairman of the Finns Party parliamentary group. In the 2015 elections he maintained his seat, standing in the newly formed South-Eastern constituency. He was appointed as both Minister of Justice and Minister of Employment in May 2015.
Southeast Finland is one of the 13 electoral districts of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. The district was established in 2013 by the merger of Kymi and South Savo districts. It is conterminous with the regions of Kymenlaakso, South Karelia and South Savo. The district currently elects 15 of the 200 members of the Parliament of Finland using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2023 parliamentary election it had 353,468 registered electors.
Savo-Karelia is one of the 13 electoral districts of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. The district was established in 2013 by the merger of North Karelia and North Savo districts. It is conterminous with the regions of North Karelia and North Savo. The district currently elects 15 of the 200 members of the Parliament of Finland using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2023 parliamentary election it had 343,887 registered electors.
Antero Jorma Laukkanen, is a Finnish priest and politician, who has represented the Christian Democrats in the City Council of Espoo since 2001 and in the Parliament of Finland since 2015. He was elected to the Parliament from the Uusimaa constituency in the 2015 elections with 2,520 votes.
