Finland and the United States currently have good relations. The United States recognized Finland on May 7, 1919 after it declared independence in 1917, and officially established diplomatic relations in 1920. Due to World War II and Soviet pressure, relations were suspended between 1942 and 1945 before being raised to embassy level in 1954. Finland has been of strategic importance to the United States due to its position bordering the Soviet Union and later Russia, and after the end of the Cold War in 1991 Finland's shift to the West has led to warmer relations. There is significant trade activity, including military procurement, between the two countries.
The United States supported Finland's NATO membership during Finland's accession into NATO, which was finalized on 4 April 2023, and later that year, the two countries entered into a Defense Cooperation Agreement. Currently, both countries are members of NATO and the Arctic Council. The United States is an observer of the BEAC and CBSS while Finland is a member of them.
Though the reelection of Donald Trump in 2025 saw relations between the U.S. and the EU rapidly deteriorating, Finland has maintained good relations with the U.S., with, for example, PM Petteri Orpo stating that Finland can still trust in the United States.[1] Finnish national public broadcasting service Yle has, however, reported that Finns have had unusual trouble in U.S. border checks.[2]The Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs has also reported that trans people might be denied entry to the United States.[3]
Diplomatic relations between the governments of Finland and the United States were established in 1920 at a legation level.[4]
During the Second World War, although the Finnish government co-operated with the Axis Powers, relations were maintained. The U.S. government resisted Soviet pressures to declare war on Finland, but on June 30, 1944, it agreed to sever diplomatic relations with the Finnish government. After Finland had withdrawn from the war and acted against German troops in early 1945, the U.S. government reopened its legation in Helsinki on March 1, 1945. On August 20, 1945, negotiations were started between the two governments on re-establishing diplomatic relations, which was done on August 31.[5]
Relations between the two countries were raised to embassy level on September 10, 1954.[citation needed]
Relations between the United States and Finland are warm. Some 270,000 U.S. citizens visit Finland annually, and about 6,000 U.S. citizens are residents there.[citation needed] The U.S. has an educational exchange program in Finland that is comparatively large for a Western European country of Finland's size. It is financed in part from a trust fund established in 1976 from Finland's final repayment of a U.S. loan made in the aftermath of World War I.[citation needed]
Finland is bordered on the east by Russia and, as one of the former Soviet Union's neighbors, has been of particular interest and importance to the U.S. both during the Cold War and in its aftermath. Before the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, longstanding U.S. policy was to support Finnish neutrality and to maintain and reinforce Finland's historic, cultural, and economic ties with the West. The U.S. has welcomed Finland's increased participation since 1991 in Western economic and political structures.[citation needed]
In 2003, Anneli Jäätteenmäki of the Centre Party won the elections after she had accused her rival, Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen, of allying neutral Finland with the United States in the Iraq War during a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush and thus associated Finland with what many Finns considered an illegalwar of aggression. Lipponen denied the claims and declared, "We support the UN and the UN Secretary-General". Jäätteenmäki resigned as prime minister after 63 days in office amid accusations that she had lied about the leak of the documents about the meeting between Bush and Lipponen. That series of events was considered scandalous and it is named Iraq leak, or Iraqgate.[6]
In 2019, Finnish Air Force and USSPACECOM signed a Memorandum of Understanding between Finland and the United States on space situational awareness cooperation in Helsinki, Finland. These agreements foster openness, predictability of space operations, and transparency for space domain awareness.
Economic and trade relations between Finland and the United States are active and were bolstered by the F-18 Hornet purchase. U.S.–Finland trade totals almost $5 billion annually. The U.S. receives about 7% of Finland's exports – mainly pulp and paper, ships, machinery, electronics, instruments, and refined petroleum products[7]–and provides about 7% of its imports–principally computers, semiconductors, aircraft, machinery. On August 3, 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved Finland and Sweden's accession bids to join NATO.[8] U.S. President Joe Biden approved the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden in August 2022.[9]
The agreement regulates the presence of the US armed forces and their dependents on the territory of the Finland, as well as the presence and activities of US suppliers on the territory of the Finland.
President Joe Biden visited Helsinki on July 12, 2023[13] and met with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö[14] and leaders of other Nordic nations, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The purpose was to celebrate[15] Finland joining the NATO.
During 1975–2023 six presidents of the United States have visited Finland. Of them, George H. W. Bush visited Finland twice. Basic facts of these visits are given in the table below. In some cases, the table contains only the arrival date.[16]
According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 48% of Finnish people approve of U.S. leadership, with 34% disapproving and 18% uncertain.[18]
Arctic relations
Finland–United States relations on Arctic issues are strong. Addressing these issues is normally done through the Arctic Council, as both countries believe it to be the leading way of cooperation on Arctic issues.
The League of Finnish-American Societies (Finnish: Suomi-Amerikka Yhdistysten Liitto) is a non-profit organization promoting cultural exchange between countries which operates in Finland. It has around 30 chapters in Finland, e.g. those in Helsinki, Turku, Oulu and Kuopio.[21]
Finnish Americans celebrate FinnFest USA, a festival held annually in the United States on the occasion of midsummer.
↑ K. Marianne Wargelin Brown, "Finnish Americans." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2014), pp. 137-151.
↑ Department of State Bulletin, September 2, 1945, p. 339
↑ Hämäläinen, Unto (13 July 2023). "Seitsemän vierailua Suomeen"[‘Seven visits to Finland’]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki: Sanoma. pp.A 8–10. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
Fields, Marek. "Reinforcing Finland's Attachment to the West: British and American Propaganda and Cultural Diplomacy in Finland, 1944-1962." (2015). Abstract
Golubev, Alexey, and Irina Takala. The Search for a Socialist El Dorado: Finnish Immigration to Soviet Karelia from the United States and Canada in the 1930s (MSU Press, 2014)
Hasan, Ali Ghafil. "US-Finland Economic Relations 1917-1945." Eurasian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 2 (2021): 28-34. online
Jakobson, Max. The diplomacy of the winter war: an account of the Russo-Finnish War, 1939-1940 (Harvard Univ Press, 1961.)
Rislakki, Jukka, "`Without Mercy': U.S. Strategic Intelligence and Finland in the Cold War," Journal of Military History, (Jan. 2015) 79#1 pp: 127–49.
Schwartz, Andrew J. America and the Russo-Finnish War (Public Affairs Press, 1960)
Wargelin Brown, K. Marianne. "Finnish Americans." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2014), pp. 137–151. online
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
