Finland Government

What is the capital of Finland?

Country Name	Finland
Full Country Name	Republic of Finland
Local - Long	Suomen tasavalta (Finnish)/ Republiken Finland (Swedish)
Local - Short	Suomi (Finnish)/ Finland (Swedish)
Etymology- history of name	name may derive from the ancient Fenni peoples who are first described as living in northeastern Europe in the first centuries A.D.
Government Type	parliamentary republic
Capital Name	Helsinki
Capital - geographic coordinate	60 10 N, 24 56 E
Capital Time Difference	UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight Savings Time	+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Independence	6 December 1917 (from Russia)
National Holiday	Independence Day, 6 December (1917)
Constitution	history: previous 1906, 1919; latest drafted 17 June 1997, approved by Parliament 11 June 1999, entered into force 1 March 2000 amendments: proposed by Parliament; passage normally requires simple majority vote in two readings in the first parliamentary session and at least two-thirds majority vote in a single reading by the newly elected Parliament; proposals declared "urgent" by five-sixths of Parliament members can be passed by at least two-thirds majority vote in the first parliamentary session only; amended several times, last in 2018

Finland Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Finland Government and Politics

Who is the president of Finland?

Executive Branch:	chief of state: President Alexander STUBB (since 1 March 2024) head of government: Prime Minister Petteri ORPO (since 20 June 2023) cabinet: Council of State or Valtioneuvosto appointed by the president, responsible to Parliament elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term); first round held on 28 January 2024 with a runoff on 11 February 2024 (next to be held by 28 January 2030); prime minister appointed by Parliament election results: 2024: Alexander STUBB elected in the second round; percent of vote in the first round - Alexander STUBB (KoK) 27.2%, Pekka HAAVISTO (Vihr) 25.8%, Jussi HALLA-AHO (PS) 19.0%, Olli REHN (Kesk) 15.3%; percent of vote in second round - STUBB 51.6%, HAAVISTO 48.4% 2018: Sauli NIINISTO reelected president; percent of vote - Sauli NIINISTO (independent) 62.7%, Pekka HAAVISTO (Vihr) 12.4%, Laura HUHTASAARI (PS) 6.9%, Paavo VAYRYNEN (independent) 6.2%, Matti VANHANEN (Kesk) 4.1%, other 7.7%
Citizenship Criteria:	citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Finland dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 6 years
Legal System:	civil law system based on the Swedish model
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch:	description: unicameral Parliament or Eduskunta (200 seats; 199 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 1 member in the province of Aland directly elected by simple majority vote; members serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 2 April 2023 (next to be held on 30 April 2027) election results: percent of vote by party/coalition - Kok 24%, PS 23%, SDP 21.5%. Center Party 11.5%, Vihr 6.5%, Vas 5.5%, SFP 4.5%, KD 2.5%, Aland 0.5%; Movement Now 0.5%; seats by party/coalition - Kok 48, PS 46, SDP 43, Center Party 23, Vihr 13, Vas 11, SFP 9, KD 5; Aland 1; Movement Now 1; composition men 108, women 92, percent of women 46%
Judicial Branch:	highest court(s): Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (consists of the court president and 18 judges); Supreme Administrative Court (consists of 21 judges, including the court president and organized into 3 chambers); note - Finland has a dual judicial system - courts with civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with jurisdiction for litigation between individuals and administrative organs of the state and communities judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court and Supreme Administrative Court judges appointed by the president of the republic; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 68 subordinate courts: 6 Courts of Appeal; 8 regional administrative courts; 27 district courts; special courts for issues relating to markets, labor, insurance, impeachment, land, tenancy, and water rights
Regions or States:	19 regions (maakunnat, singular - maakunta (Finnish); landskapen, singular - landskapet (Swedish)); Aland (Swedish), Ahvenanmaa (Finnish); Etela-Karjala (Finnish), Sodra Karelen (Swedish) [South Karelia]; Etela-Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Sodra Osterbotten (Swedish) [South Ostrobothnia]; Etela-Savo (Finnish), Sodra Savolax (Swedish) [South Savo]; Kanta-Hame (Finnish), Egentliga Tavastland (Swedish); Kainuu (Finnish), Kajanaland (Swedish); Keski-Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Mellersta Osterbotten (Swedish) [Central Ostrobothnia]; Keski-Suomi (Finnish), Mellersta Finland (Swedish) [Central Finland]; Kymenlaakso (Finnish), Kymmenedalen (Swedish); Lappi (Finnish), Lappland (Swedish); Paijat-Hame (Finnish), Paijanne-Tavastland (Swedish); Pirkanmaa (Finnish), Birkaland (Swedish) [Tampere]; Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Osterbotten (Swedish) [Ostrobothnia]; Pohjois-Karjala (Finnish), Norra Karelen (Swedish) [North Karelia]; Pohjois-Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Norra Osterbotten (Swedish) [North Ostrobothnia]; Pohjois-Savo (Finnish), Norra Savolax (Swedish) [North Savo]; Satakunta (Finnish and Swedish); Uusimaa (Finnish), Nyland (Swedish) [Newland]; Varsinais-Suomi (Finnish), Egentliga Finland (Swedish) [Southwest Finland]
Political Parties and Leaders:	Aland Coalition (a coalition of several political parties on the Aland Islands) Center Party or Kesk [Annika SAARIKKO] Christian Democrats or KD [Sari ESSAYAH] Finns Party or PS [Riikka PURRA] Green League or Vihr [Sofia VIRTA] Left Alliance or Vas [Li ANDERSSON] Movement Now or Liike Nyt [Harry HARKINO] National Coalition Party or Kok [Petteri ORPO] Social Democratic Party or SDP [Sanna MARIN] Swedish People's Party or RKP or SFP [Anna-Maja HENRIKSSON]
International Law Organization Participation:	accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
International Organization Participation:	ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNSOM, UNTSO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic Representation in the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Mikko Tapani HAUTALA (since 17 September 2020) chancery: 3301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 298-5800 FAX: [1] (202) 298-6030 email address and website: sanomat.WAS@gov.fi https://finlandabroad.fi/web/usa/mission consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic Representation from US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Douglas HICKEY (since 11 May 2022) embassy: Itainen Puistotie 14 B, 00140 Helsinki mailing address: 5310 Helsinki Place, Washington DC 20521-5310 telephone: [358] (9) 616-250 FAX: [358] (9) 174-681 email address and website: HelsinkiACS@state.gov https://fi.usembassy.gov/

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