President of Finland

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 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. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the Finnish Government and the president, with the latter possessing only residual powers. Only formally, the president ranks first in the protocol, before the speaker of the parliament and the prime minister of Finland.

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 policy in conjunction with the Government, and is the commander-in-chief of the Finnish Defence Forces.

Title

Officially, the current head of state of Finland is known as the president of the Republic of Finland (; ) or, more often, the president of the Republic (', '). This is in contrast to former presidents, who retain the title "President".

Election

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. The usual practice is that each political party sets its own, distinct candidate. 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. Since 1994, the president has been elected by a direct popular vote.

If only one candidate is nominated, that candidate becomes president without an election. Otherwise, the first round of balloting takes place on the fourth Sunday of January in the election year. The elections are two-staged. If one of the candidates receives more than half of the votes cast, that candidate is elected president. If no candidate wins a majority in the first stage, the top two candidates rerun in the second stage two weeks

The term of the president-elect begins at the moment the affirmation has been made (around 12:20 on the day of the inauguration). After the inauguration, the new president, accompanied by their predecessor, inspects the guard of honour outside Parliament House.

Presidential sessions

thumb|right|Newly sworn President [[Martti Ahtisaari (2nd left) inspects the company of honor with outgoing President Koivisto (c.), followed by others, c. 1994]]

thumb|right|New President [[Sauli Niinistö (rt.) and outgoing President Halonen (2nd rt.) accompanied by military leaders, inspect the company of honor, c. 2012]]

The president exercises governmental powers "in council" with the Finnish Government, echoing the royal curia regis. The session is customarily arranged once a week. There is quorum of five ministers and the chancellor of justice is present as well. In the session, the respective ministers present the topic and a proposal for decision. Based on the proposal, the president makes his decision. The president may depart from the proposal and may return the proposal to the Government for reconsideration. There is no voting and normally there are no speeches aside from the aforementioned proposals. Except for approvals of new laws and appointments, the Government may present the issue to the Parliament, which will make the final decision on the matter on the Government's proposal.

Duties and powers

thumb|[[Mauno Koivisto with President Ronald Reagan during a trip to Finland]]

thumb|The [[Presidential Palace, Helsinki is the official state residence of the president]]

The president's functions and powers are directly defined in the Constitution. In addition to those specified there, the president also discharges functions assigned to the president in other laws. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the president and the Government, which must enjoy the confidence of parliament. This principle is reflected in other provisions of the constitution concerning the president's functions and powers dealing with legislation, decrees, and appointment of public officials. Custom dictates that the president renounces any party affiliation while serving, to remain above day-to-day politics.

The president was originally vested with fairly broad executive power, particularly in the realm of foreign policy. Constitutional amendments enacted in 1999 reduced the president's powers somewhat, and the president now shares executive authority with the Prime Minister. Nevertheless, presidents are still seen as providing a measure of stability, given that it is all but impossible for one party to win an outright majority in Parliament.

Governor, and other members of the board of the Bank of Finland
Chancellor of justice and the vice-chancellor of justice
Prosecutor-general and the vice prosecutor-general
Ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions abroad
Executive of Kela (Social Insurance Institution)
Secretary general and presenters at Office of the President of the Republic

Most of the appointment process is conducted at the respective ministry: The Office of the President does not process preparations or presentations of the appointment. Nevertheless, presidents have used these powers publicly, even against the internal recommendation of the agency.

In addition, the president appoints or gives commission to:

Officers of the Finnish Defence Forces and the Finnish Border Guard
Permanent judges, including presidents and members of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court, presidents and members of the courts of appeal and administrative courts of appeal.

International relations

The president conducts Finland's foreign policy in co-operation with the Finnish Government. The provisions of treaties and other international obligations are implemented by acts of parliament if they are of legislative nature. Otherwise a presidential or governmental decree is used. Presidential or governmental degree is also used to further implement any act of parliament providing the obligations. In both cases of decree use, governmental degree is used if the matter concerns the EU or otherwise is not provided by the authorising act.. Decisions on war and peace are taken by the president with the assent of parliament.

Legislation

The president must sign and approve all bills adopted by Parliament before they become law. The president must decide on ratification within three months of receiving the bill and may request an opinion from the Supreme Court or the Supreme Administrative Court before giving assent. Should the president refuse assent or fail to decide on the matter in time, Parliament reconsiders the bill and can readopt it with a majority of votes cast. The bill will then enter into force without ratification. If Parliament fails to readopt the bill, it is deemed to have lapsed. Presidential vetoes are generally successful in preventing a bill from becoming law.

Presidential pardon

In single cases, the president has the power of pardon from a penalty or any other criminal sanction imposed by a court. General pardon requires an act of parliament.

The power of pardon has effectively become the instrument to limit life imprisonment to 12 years or more, since successive presidents have eventually given pardon to all felons. The president, however, retains the power to deny pardon. In autumn 2006, the regular paroling of convicts serving a life sentence power was transferred to the Helsinki Court of Appeals, and the peculiar arrangement, where the president exercises judicial power, ended. The presidential power of giving pardon is, however, retained. Its use has diminished under president Sauli Niinistö, who exercised the power particularly sparingly.

In 2022 the Supreme Court of Finland issued an advisory opinion that interpreted the constitution to include bans on business operations as criminal sanctions. This overturned previous precedent that interpreted such to not be within the scope of presidential pardon powers.

Commander-in-chief of the defence forces

The president of the republic is the commander-in-chief of the Finnish Defence Forces, but may delegate this position to another Finnish citizen. Delegation of the position of commander-in-chief is an exception to the principle that the president cannot delegate functions to others. The last time this has occurred was in the Second World War (to Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim). The president commissions officers and decides on the mobilisation of the Defence Forces. If Parliament is not in session when a decision to mobilise is taken, it must be immediately convened. As commander-in-chief, the president has the power to issue military orders concerning general guidelines for military defence, significant changes in military preparedness and the principles according to which military defence is implemented.

Decisions concerning military orders are made by the president in conjunction with the prime minister, and the minister of defence. The president decides on military appointments in conjunction with the minister of defence.

Emergency powers

Under the Preparedness Act, in exceptional circumstances the president may issue a decree authorising the government to exercise emergency powers for up to one year at a time. The decree must be submitted to Parliament for its approval. Should the powers available under the Preparedness Act prove inadequate in an emergency, additional powers can be assumed under the State of Defence Act. The president may declare a state of defence by decree for a maximum of three months initially. If necessary, it can be extended for a maximum of one year at a time. A state of defence may also be declared in a region of the country. The decree must be submitted to parliament for approval.

Decorations

thumb|All three Finnish orders on display at the [[state funeral of Martti Ahtisaari together with his Nobel Peace Prize.]]

The president, as grand master, awards decorations and medals belonging to the Order of the White Rose of Finland, the Order of the Lion of Finland and the Order of the Cross of Liberty to Finnish and foreign citizens. Likewise, titles of honor are awarded by the president; these include, for example, "professor" and different "counsellor" titles. These titles are symbolic, carry no responsibilities and have a similar role as knighting in monarchies. The highest titles are valtioneuvos (statesman) and vuorineuvos (industrial).

Speeches

200px|thumb|Urho Kekkonen's New Year's speech (1.1.1958)

The president makes a number of important public speeches and statements each year. The most notable of these are the annual New Year's Speech on 1 January, and the speech at the opening of each annual session of parliament.

Compensation

From 2012 to 2013, the president received an annual salary of 160,000 euros. The salary and other benefits are exempt from all taxes. In 2013, the salary was cut to 126,000 euros on the initiative of Sauli Niinistö.

The president and president's spouse greet the guests individually in the State Hall at the beginning of the evening. Later on there is dancing, music provided by the Guards Band, and a traditional buffet.

History

right|thumb|The President of Finland [[P. E. Svinhufvud's 75th birthday on 15 December 1936. Svinhufvud sitting on the dais with his wife Ellen; from them to the left, the President K. J. Ståhlberg and his wife Ester, the President Lauri Kristian Relander and his wife Signe as well as the Prime Minister, later President Kyösti Kallio and his wife Kaisa. To the upper left of Signe Relander is the Minister of Justice, later President Urho Kekkonen]]

thumb|[[K. J. Ståhlberg, the 1st President of Finland, at his office in 1919]]

After Finland's independence and the Civil War in Finland the matter of whether Finland should be a republic or a constitutional monarchy was much debated (see Frederick Charles of Hesse), and the outcome was a compromise: a rather monarchy-like, strong presidency with great powers over Finland's foreign affairs, the appointment of the Government and the officers of the civil service. The Constitution was changed in 2000, to redistribute some of this power to Parliament and the Government. The Constitution specifies how the principles of parliamentarism are to be followed. Most significantly, the president can no longer nominate the prime minister or individual ministers independently. For example, this power was previously used to form governments where the party in plurality was excluded. Regarding the right to dissolve Parliament, consultation with the prime minister and heads of parliamentary groups was made mandatory before Parliament could be dissolved and new elections ordered. Furthermore, some appointing powers, such as appointment of provincial governors and department heads at ministries, were transferred to the Government.

Pre-republican heads of state

From the declaration of Finland's independence on 6 December 1917 until the end of the Finnish Civil War in May 1918, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud was the head of state of White Finland in his capacity as chairman of the Senate. Between May 1918 and July 1919, Finland had two regents (, , lit. Care-taker of State) and, for a time, an elected king, although the latter renounced the throne:

Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, Regent (18 May 1918 – 12 December 1918)
Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse, elected as King of Finland on 7 October 1918 but never took office and renounced the throne on 4 December after Germany's defeat in World War Ihe had not time enough to arrive in Finland before the political climate changed following the end of the war. It is said that his regnal name was to be Väinö I of Finland ("Väinö" obviously referring to Väinämöinen, one of the main characters in the Finnish national epic Kalevala), but due to there not being contemporary records of this name it is widely considered a popular misbelief, probably created by columnist Väinö Nuorteva.
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Regent (12 December 1918 – 26 July 1919)

Both Svinhufvud and Mannerheim later served as president of Finland.

File:P. E. Svinhufvud tutustumassa uuteen edustusautoon.jpg|Chrysler Imperial from 1931

File:Paasikiven Cadillac.jpg|Cadillac from 1952

File:Kekkosen Chrysler 1968.jpg|Chrysler New Yorker from 1968

File:COA Finland on a Chrysler New Yorker for president Kekkonen, 1972.jpg|Chrysler New Yorker from 1972

File:Koiviston Cadillac.jpg|Cadillac from 1991

File:Ahtisaari's Mercedes W140.jpg|Mercedes-Benz from 1990s

File:Ennen Lippujuhlan päivän 2017 paraatin alkua 02 presidentti saapuu.JPG|Mercedes-Benz S600 L Guard from 2017

File:Finnish presidential Audi A8 at Senaatintori.jpg|Audi A8 from 2025

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Timeline

Notes

References

External links

Official Site (in English)
Archived former site
The Constitution of Finland