The politics of Finland take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy. Finland is a republic whose head of state is President Alexander Stubb, who leads the nation's foreign policy and is the supreme commander of the Finnish Defence Forces. Finland's head of government is Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, who leads the nation's executive branch, called the Finnish Government. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Finland, and the Government has limited rights to amend or extend legislation. The Constitution of Finland vests power to both the President and Government: the President has veto power over parliamentary decisions, although this power can be overruled by a majority vote in the Parliament.
The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomous areas of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. The representatives are members of parliament in their respective countries or areas and are elected by those parliaments. The Council holds ordinary sessions each year in October/November and usually one extra session per year with a specific theme. The council's official languages are Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish, though it uses only the mutually intelligible Scandinavian languages—Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish—as its working languages. These three comprise the first language of around 80% of the region's population and are learned as a second or foreign language by the remaining 20%.
Nils Ole Hilmer Torvalds is a Finnish politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2012. He is a member of the Swedish People's Party of Finland, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.
The president of the Republic of Finland is the head of state of Finland. The incumbent president is Alexander Stubb, since 1 March 2024. He was elected president for the first time in 2024.
The Parliament of Finland is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The Parliament consists of 200 members, 199 of whom are elected every four years from 13 multi-member districts electing 6 to 37 members using the proportional D'Hondt method. In addition, there is one member from Åland.
Finland is divided into 19 regions which are governed by regional councils that serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of each region. The councils are composed of delegates from the municipal councils. The main tasks of regional councils are regional planning, the development of enterprises, and education. Between 2004 and 2012, the regional council of Kainuu was elected via popular elections as part of an experimental regional administration.
The Swedish People's Party of Finland is a Finnish political party founded in 1906. Its primary aim is to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finland. The party is currently a participant in the Government of Petteri Orpo, holding the posts of Minister of Education, Minister for European Affairs, and Minister of Youth, Sport and Physical Activity.
Jan-Erik Enestam is a Finnish politician from the Swedish People's Party. He served as Minister of Defence from 1999 to 2003 under Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen and Minister of the Environment under Prime Ministers Anneli Jäätteenmäki and Matti Vanhanen from 2003 to 2006.
Erkki Sakari Tuomioja is a Finnish politician and has previously been a member of the Finnish Parliament. From 2000 to 2007 and 2011 to 2015, he served as the minister for foreign affairs. He was president of the Nordic Council in 2008.
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.
Märta Elisabeth Rehn is a Finnish former politician and diplomat. She served as the Minister of Defence of Finland during 1990 to 1995 and as an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations during 1998 to 1999. She was also a member of the Finnish Parliament and parliamentary leader of the Swedish People's Party of Finland, and a member of the European Parliament.
Kyösti Tapio Virrankoski is a Finnish politician, member of the Finnish parliament and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) with the Centre Party of Finland, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and its Committee on Budgetary Control and the Committee on Budgets.
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.
Vaasa is one of the 13 electoral districts of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. The district was established in 1960 by the merger of Vaasa Province North and Vaasa Province South districts. It is conterminous with the regions of Central Ostrobothnia, Ostrobothnia and South Ostrobothnia. The district currently elects 16 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 365,027 registered electors.
Ilkka Olavi Suominen was a Finnish politician from the National Coalition Party. He was President of the Nordic Council in 1992.
Pär Stenbäck is a Finnish politician and debater. Stenbäck was elected to the Finnish parliament at the age of 28 and functioned as the party chairman for the Swedish People's Party 1977–1985. He was Minister of Education and then Foreign Minister in two governments, 1979–1983. This was followed by significant roles within the International Red Cross, International Youth Foundation, the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland and several other organisations.
Matti Kalevi Louekoski is a Finnish politician and a lawyer as profession. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP) and a former long-term member of the governing board of the Bank of Finland.
Presidential elections were held in Finland on 28 January 2024, with a second round held on 11 February. Voters elected a president of the Republic for a six-year term. Incumbent president Sauli Niinistö was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election, having served the maximum two terms, ensuring the president elected would be the country's thirteenth.
Carl Olof Tallgren is a Finnish politician who served as the minister of finance between 1970 and 1971. He is one of the former heads of the Swedish People's Party of Finland.
