President of Finland

The president of the Republic of Finland (Suomen tasavallan presidentti; Republiken Finlands president) is the head of state of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the Finnish Government and the president, with the latter possessing only residual powers. The president is directly elected by universal suffrage for a term of six years. Since 1994, no president may be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The president must be a natural-born Finnish citizen. The presidential office was established in the Constitution Act of 1919. The incumbent president is Sauli Niinistö. He was elected for the first time in 2012 and was re-elected in 2018. Finland has, for most of its independence, had a semi-presidential system in which the president had much authority and power over both foreign and domestic policy, but constitutional amendments adopted in 1991, 2000 and 2012 reduced the president's powers and moved the country towards a more parliamentary system. The president still leads the nation's foreign politics in conjunction with the Government, and is the commander-in-chief of the Finnish Defence Forces. Officially, the current head of state of Finland is the president of the Republic of Finland (Suomen tasavallan presidentti; Republiken Finlands president) or, more often, the president of the Republic (tasavallan presidentti, republikens president). This is in contrast to the former presidents, who retain the title "President". Presidential candidates can be nominated by registered parties which have received at least one seat in the previous parliamentary elections. A candidate may also be nominated by 20,000 enfranchised citizens. Between 1919 and 1988, the president was elected indirectly by an electoral college made up of electors chosen by voters in the presidential election. In the 1988 presidential election, a direct and an indirect election were conducted in parallel: if no candidate could gain a majority, the president was elected by an electoral college formed in the same elections.

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Related concepts (17)

Finnish Government

The Finnish Government (Suomen valtioneuvosto; Finlands statsråd; Finland's council of state) is the executive branch and cabinet of Finland, which directs the politics of Finland and is the main source of legislation proposed to the Parliament. The Government has collective ministerial responsibility and represents Finland in the Council of the European Union. In the incumbent Orpo Cabinet, the Government comprises 19 ministers leading 12 ministries.

Politics of Finland

The politics of Finland take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy. Finland is a republic whose head of state is President Sauli Niinistö, 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 (Suomen eduskunta, Finlands riksdag), and the Government has limited rights to amend or extend legislation.

Parliament of Finland

The Parliament of Finland (Suomen eduskunta ˈsuo̯men ˈeduskuntɑ; Finlands riksdag ˈfinlɑnds ˈriksdɑː(ɡ)) 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 7 to 36 members using the proportional D'Hondt method. In addition, there is one member from Åland.