Politics

The Parliament of Finland's main building. Main article: Politics of Finland See also: List of political parties in Finland and Human rights in Finland Constitution

The Constitution of Finland defines the political system. Finland is a parliamentary democracy, and the prime minister is the country's most powerful politician. The constitution in its current form came into force on 1 March 2000, and was amended on 1 March 2012. Citizens can run and vote in parliamentary, municipal, and presidential elections, and in European Union elections.

President

According to the Constitution, the President of Finland is the head of state. Finland was formerly considered a semi-presidential parliamentary system, but under the 2000 constitution, and even further under its 2012 amendment, the presidency became largely a ceremonial, non-executive position. The position still does entail some powers, including responsibility for foreign policy (excluding affairs related to the European Union) in cooperation with the cabinet, being the head of the armed forces, some decree powers, and some appointive powers. Direct, one- or two-stage elections are used to elect the president for a term of six years and for a maximum of two consecutive terms. The current president is Sauli Niinistö; he took office on 1 March 2012. The former presidents were K. J. Ståhlberg (1919–1925), L. K. Relander (1925–1931), P. E. Svinhufvud (1931–1937), Kyösti Kallio (1937–1940), Risto Ryti (1940–1944), C. G. E. Mannerheim (1944–1946), J. K. Paasikivi (1946–1956), Urho Kekkonen (1956–1982), Mauno Koivisto (1982–1994), Martti Ahtisaari (1994–2000) and Tarja Halonen (2000–2012).

Parliament Finland This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Finland State Constitution Declaration of Independence Human rights Executive President (List) Sauli Niinistö Prime Minister (List) Jyrki Katainen Cabinet Executive Departments Legislative 36th Parliament Speaker Eero Heinäluoma Judiciary General Courts Supreme Court Courts of Appeal District Courts Administrative Courts Supreme Administrative Court Regional Administrative Courts Prosecutor General Matti Kuusimäki Chancellor of Justice Elections 1991 parliamentary 1994 presidential EU Membership Referendum 1995 parliamentary 1996 European 1999 parliamentary 1999 European 2000 presidential 2003 parliamentary 2004 European 2006 presidential 2007 parliamentary 2011 parliamentary Divisions Regions (Maakunnat / Landskap) Sub-regions (Seutukunnat / Ekonomiska regioner) Municipalities (Kunnat / Kommuner) Political parties KOK (National Coalition Party) SDP (Social Democratic Party) PS (True Finns) KESK (Centre Party) VAS (Left Alliance) VIHR (Green League) RKP (Swedish People's Party) KD (Christian Democrats) Politicians Foreign policy Foreign relations Ambassadors Politics of the European Union Other countries Atlas

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The 200-member unicameral Parliament of Finland exercises supreme legislative authority. It may alter the constitution and ordinary laws, dismiss the cabinet, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review; the constitutionality of new laws is assessed by the parliament's constitutional law committee. The parliament is elected for a term of four years using the proportional D'Hondt method within a number of multi-seat constituencies. Various parliament committees listen to experts and prepare legislation. The speaker is currently Eero Heinäluoma (Social Democrats).

Since universal suffrage was introduced in 1906, the parliament has been dominated by the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), the National Coalition Party (conservatives) and the Social Democrats. These parties have enjoyed approximately equal support, and their combined vote has totalled about 65–80% of all votes. Their lowest common total of MPs, 121, was reached in the 2011 elections. For a few decades after 1944, the Communists were a strong fourth party. Due to the electoral system of proportional representation, and the relative reluctance of voters to switch their support between parties, the relative strengths of the parties have commonly varied only slightly from one election to another. However, there have been some long-term trends, such as the rise and fall of the Communists during the Cold War; the steady decline into insignificance of the Liberal party and its predecessors from 1906 to about 1980; and the rise of the Green party and its predecessor since 1983. In the 2011 elections, the True Finns achieved exceptional success, increasing its representation from 5 to 39 seats, and thus surpassing the Centre Party.

The autonomous province of Åland, which forms a federacy with Finland, elects one member to the parliament, who traditionally joins the parliamentary group of the Swedish People's Party of Finland. (The province also holds elections for its own permanent regional council, and in the 2011 elections, Åland Centre was the largest party.)

The Parliament can be dissolved by a recommendation of the Prime minister endorsed by the President. This procedure has never been used, although the parliament was dissolved several times under the pre-2000 constitution, when this action was the sole prerogative of the president.

After the parliamentary elections on 17 April 2011, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows:

Party Seats Net gain/loss  % of seats  % of votes National Coalition Party 44 −6 22.0 20.4 Social Democratic Party 42   -3 21.0 19.1 True Finns 39   +34 19.5 19.1 Centre Party 35   -16 17.5 15.8 Left Alliance 14   -2 7.0 8.1 Green League 10    -5 5.0 7.3 Swedish People's Party 9     0 4.5 4.3 Christian Democrats 6    -1 3.0 4.0 Others  1a     0 0.5 0.4 a Province of Åland's representative. Cabinet

After parliamentary elections, the parties negotiate among themselves on forming a new cabinet (the Finnish Council of State), which then has to be approved by a simple majority vote in the parliament. The cabinet can be dismissed by a parliamentary vote of no confidence, although this rarely happens (the last time in 1957), as the parties represented in the cabinet usually make up a majority in the parliament.

The cabinet exercises most executive powers, and originates most of the bills that the parliament then debates and votes on. It is headed by the Prime Minister of Finland, and consists of him or her, of other ministers, and of the Chancellor of Justice. The current prime minister is Jyrki Katainen (National Coalition Party). Each minister heads his or her ministry, or, in some cases, has responsibility for a subset of a ministry's policy. After the prime minister, the most powerful minister is the minister of finance.

As no one party ever dominates the parliament, Finnish cabinets are multi-party coalitions. As a rule, the post of prime minister goes to the leader of the biggest party and that of the minister of finance to the leader of the second biggest.

Law Main articles: Law of Finland and Judicial system of Finland

The judicial system of Finland is a civil law system divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with jurisdiction over litigation between individuals and the public administration. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. The court system for civil and criminal jurisdiction consists of local courts (käräjäoikeus, tingsrätt), regional appellate courts (hovioikeus, hovrätt), and the Supreme Court (korkein oikeus, högsta domstolen). The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts (hallinto-oikeus, förvaltningsdomstol) and the Supreme Administrative Court (korkein hallinto-oikeus, högsta förvaltningsdomstolen). In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges against certain high-ranking officeholders.

Around 92% of residents have confidence in Finland's security institutions. The overall crime rate of Finland is not high in the EU context. Some crime types are above average, notably the highest homicide rate in Western Europe. A day fine system is in effect and also applied to offenses such as speeding.

Finland has successfully fought against government corruption, which was more common in the 1970s and 1980s. For instance, economic reforms and EU membership introduced stricter requirements for open bidding and many public monopolies were abolished. Today, Finland has a very low number of corruption charges; Transparency International ranks Finland as one of the least corrupt countries in Europe. Also, Finland's public records are among the world's most transparent.

In 2008, Transparency International criticized the lack of transparency of the system of Finnish political finance. According to GRECO in 2007 corruption should be taken into account in the Finnish system of election funds better. A scandal revolving around campaign finance of the 2007 parliamentary elections broke out in spring 2008. Nine Ministers of Government submitted incomplete funding reports and even more of the Members of Parliament. The law includes no punishment of false funds reports of the elected politicians.

Foreign relations Ahtisaari receives his Nobel prize. Finland is represented in the European Parliament and has been a member of the European Union since 1995. Main article: Foreign relations of Finland

According to the 2012 constitution, the president (currently Sauli Niinistö) leads foreign policy in cooperation with the government, except that the president has no role in EU affairs.

In 2008, president Martti Ahtisaari was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Finland was considered a cooperative model state, and Finland did not oppose proposals for a common EU defence policy. This was reversed in the 2000s, when Tarja Halonen and Erkki Tuomioja made Finland's official policy to resist other EU members' plans for common defence.

Social security Main article: Social security in Finland

Finland has one of the world's most extensive welfare systems, one that guarantees decent living conditions for all residents, Finns and non-citizens. Since the 1980s the social security has been cut back, but still the system is one of the most comprehensive in the world. Created almost entirely during the first three decades after World War II, the social security system was an outgrowth of the traditional Nordic belief that the state was not inherently hostile to the well-being of its citizens, but could intervene benevolently on their behalf. According to some social historians, the basis of this belief was a relatively benign history that had allowed the gradual emergence of a free and independent peasantry in the Nordic countries and had curtailed the dominance of the nobility and the subsequent formation of a powerful right wing. Finland's history has been harsher than the histories of the other Nordic countries, but not harsh enough to bar the country from following their path of social development.

Armed forces The Hamina-class fast-attack craft FNS Hanko of the Finnish Navy. Main articles: Finnish Defence Forces and Military history of Finland See also: List of wars involving Finland

The Finnish Defence Forces consist of a cadre of professional soldiers (mainly officers and technical personnel), currently serving conscripts, and a large reserve. The standard readiness strength is 34,700 people in uniform, of which 25% are professional soldiers. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all male Finnish nationals above 18 years of age serve for 6 to 12 months of armed service or 12 months of civilian (non-armed) service.

A Leopard 2A4 main battle tank of the Finnish Army on Independence Day.

Alternative non-military service for men is possible, as is voluntary military service for women (currently approximately 500 annually). Finland is the only non-NATO EU country bordering Russia. Finland's official policy states that the 350,000 reservists, armed mostly with ground weaponry, are a sufficient deterrent.

An F-18 of the Finnish Air Force.

The armed forces favour partnerships with Western institutions such as NATO, WEU and the EU, but are careful to avoid politics. Finland's defence budget equals about €2 billion or about 1.4–1.6% of the GDP. Finnish defence expenditure is around the sixth highest in the EU.

Voluntary post-conscription overseas peacekeeping service is popular, and troops serve around the world in UN, NATO and EU peacekeeping missions. Residents claim around 80% homeland defence willingness, one of the highest rates in Europe.

The armed forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence (currently General Ari Puheloinen), who is directly subordinate to the president in matters related to military command. The branches of the military are the army, the navy and the air force. The border guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required for defence readiness.