The Centre Party ( fi, Suomen Keskusta , ''Kesk''; sv, Centern i Finland), officially the Centre Party of Finland, is an
agrarian political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
.
Ideologically, the Centre Party is positioned in the
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
* Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...
on the political spectrum.
It has been described as liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
, social liberal
Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...
, liberal-conservative
Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...
, and conservative-liberal. Its leader is Annika Saarikko
Annika Virpi Irene Saarikko (born 10 November 1983) is a Finnish politician and minister. On 5 September 2020, she was elected as the leader of the Finnish Centre Party.
Early life and education
Saarikko was born in Oripää, Finland. She has ...
, who was elected in September 2020 to follow Katri Kulmuni
Katri Briitta Ilona Kulmuni (born 4 September 1987) is a Finnish politician who served as the 35th deputy prime minister of Finland and the leader of the Centre Party between 2019 and 2020. A member of the Centre Party, she has been a Member ...
, the former finance minister of Finland. As of December 2019, the party has been a coalition partner in the Marin Cabinet
The Marin Cabinet is the incumbent 76th government of Finland. It was formed following the collapse of the Rinne Cabinet and officially took office on 10 December 2019. The cabinet headed by Sanna Marin consists of a coalition formed by the Socia ...
, led by Prime Minister Sanna Marin
Sanna Mirella Marin (; born 16 November 1985) is a Finnish politician who has been serving as the Prime Minister of Finland since 2019. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP), she has been a Member of Parliament since 2015.
...
of the Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
(SDP).
Founded in 1906 as the Agrarian League ( fi, link=no, Maalaisliitto; sv, link=no, Agrarförbundet), the party represented rural communities and supported decentralisation of political power from Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
. In the 1920s, the party emerged as the main rival to the SDP and Kyösti Kallio
Kyösti Kallio (; 10 April 1873 – 19 December 1940) was a Finnish politician of the Agrarian League who served as the fourth president of Finland from 1937–1940; his presidency included leading the country through the Winter War. He was t ...
, the party's first prime minister, held the office four times between 1922 and 1937. After World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the party settled as one of the four major political parties in Finland, alongside the SPD, the National Coalition Party
sv, Samlingspartiet
, leader1_title = Chairman
, leader1_name = Petteri Orpo
, leader2_title = Deputy chairs
, leader2_name = Antti HäkkänenElina ValtonenAnna-Kaisa Ikonen
, merger = Finnish Party, Young Finn ...
and the Finnish People's Democratic League
Finnish People's Democratic League ( fi, Suomen Kansan Demokraattinen Liitto, SKDL; sv, Demokratiska Förbundet för Finlands Folk, DFFF) was a Finnish political organisation with the aim of uniting those left of the Finnish Social Democratic P ...
until the 1980s. Urho Kekkonen
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as Prime Minister ...
served as President of Finland
The president of the Republic of Finland ( fi, Suomen tasavallan presidentti; sv, 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 p ...
from 1956 to 1982, by far the longest period of any president. The name Centre Party was adopted in 1965 and Centre of Finland in 1988. The Centre Party was the largest party in Parliament from 2003 to 2011, during which time Matti Vanhanen
Matti Taneli Vanhanen (; born 4 November 1955) is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2003 to 2010. He was also Chairman of the Centre Party and President of the European Council in 2006. In his earlier career, he ...
was Prime Minister for seven years. By 2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
, the party was reduced in parliamentary representation from the largest party to the fourth largest, but it reclaimed its status as the largest party in 2015. In 2019, it suffered a considerable defeat, losing 18 of 49 seats.
As a Nordic agrarian party The Nordic agrarian parties, also referred to as Nordic Centre parties, Scandinavian agrarian parties or Agrarian Liberal parties are agrarian political parties that belong to a political tradition particular to the Nordic countries. Positioning t ...
, the Centre Party's political influence is greatest in small and rural municipalities, where it often holds a majority of the seats in the municipal councils. Decentralisation is the policy that is most characteristic of the Centre Party which has been the ruling party in Finland a number of times since Finnish independence
Finland declared its independence on 6 December 1917. The formal Declaration of Independence was only part of the long process leading to the independence of Finland.
History Proclamation of Empress Elizabeth (1742)
The subject of an independ ...
. Twelve of the Prime Ministers of Finland
The prime minister of Finland ( fi, Suomen pääministeri; ) is the leader of the Finnish Government. The prime minister and their cabinet exercise executive authority in the state. The prime minister is formally ranked third in the protocol ...
, three of the Presidents
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
and a former European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs
The European Commissioner for Economy is a member of the European Commission. The current Economy Commissioner is Paolo Gentiloni.
From 2014 to 2019 the post was named ''Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs''. Un ...
have been from the party. The Centre Party is the mother organisation of the Finnish Centre Students
Finnish Centre Students fi, Keskustaopiskelijat is one of the oldest political student organizations in Finland and the student wing of the Centre Party.
Famous ex-members include Chairman of Shell Jorma Ollila and one of the most well known F ...
, the Finnish Centre Youth
Finnish Centre Youth fi, Keskustanuoret is the biggest political youth organisation in Finland with 17 000 members. It is the youth wing of the Centre Party (Finland), Centre Party. It is formed by 19 regional organisations and approximately 400 ...
and the .
History
Founding
The party was founded in 1906 as a movement of citizens in the Finnish countryside. Before Finnish independence, political power in Finland was centralised in the capital and to the estates of the realm
The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed an ...
. The centralisation gave space for a new political movement. In 1906, two agrarian movements were founded. They merged in 1908 to become one political party known as the Agrarian League or ''Maalaisliitto''. An older, related movement was the temperance movement
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...
which had overlapping membership and gave future to Agrarian League activists experience in working in an organisation.
Santeri Alkio's ideology
Soon the ideas of humanity, education, the spirit of the land, peasant-like freedom, decentralisation, "the issue of poor people", progressivism
Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, tec ...
[Mylly, Juhani. Maalaisliitto-Keskustan historia II. ] and later the "green wave" became the main political phrases used to describe the ideology of the party. Santeri Alkio
Santeri Alkio (born Aleksander Filander; 17 June 1862 – 24 July 1930) was a Finnish politician, author and journalist. He is also considered to be the ideological father of Finnish Centre Party.
History
Alkio was born in Laihia; his parent ...
was the most important ideological father of the party.
Defending the republic
At the dawn of Finnish independence, conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
social forces made an attempt to establish the Kingdom of Finland. The Agrarian League opposed monarchism
Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...
fiercely, even though monarchists claimed that a new king from the German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
and Hohenzollern would have safeguarded Finnish foreign relations. At this time, anti-anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
peasants threatened the existence of the party.[Vares 2006, p. 113.][Vares 2006, p. 108]
Because around forty Social Democratic members of the Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
had escaped to Russia after the Finnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...
and about fifty others had been arrested, the Agrarian League members of the Parliament became the only republicans in Parliament in 1918. Nevertheless, the news about the problems of the German Empire from German liberals encouraged the fight of Agrarian League in the Parliament.[Vares 2006, p. 122-126]
The Agrarian League managed to maintain the republican voices in the Parliament until the fall of the German Empire which ruined the dreams of the monarchists.[Vares 1998, p. 288-289] The relentless opposition to the monarchy was rewarded in the 1919 Finnish parliamentary election and the party became the biggest non-socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
party in Finland with 19.7% of the votes.
Post-war period
After the 1919 Finnish parliamentary election, the centrist and progressive forces, including the Agrarian League, were constant members in Finnish governments. Their moderate attitude in restless post-war Finland secured a steady growth in following elections. The party formed many centrist
Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to Left-w ...
minority governments with National Progressive Party and got its first Prime Ministers (Kyösti Kallio
Kyösti Kallio (; 10 April 1873 – 19 December 1940) was a Finnish politician of the Agrarian League who served as the fourth president of Finland from 1937–1940; his presidency included leading the country through the Winter War. He was t ...
in 1922 and Juho Sunila
Johan (Juho) Emil Sunila (16 August 1875 – 2 October 1936) was a Finland, Finnish politician from the Agrarian League (Finland), Agrarian League, the managing director of the agrarian finance board, and Prime Minister of Finland in two cabinets. ...
in 1927).
Conciliation between the left and the right
For the Agrarian League, the centrist governments were just a transitional period towards an era which would integrate the red and white sides of the Civil War into one nation. Nevertheless, not everyone was happy with the conciliatory politics of centrist governments. The extreme right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
Lapua Movement grew bigger and bigger in the Agrarian League strongholds in the countryside. Many party members joined the new radical movement. The Lapua Movement organised assaults and kidnappings in Finland between 1929 and 1932. In 1930, after the kidnapping of progressive president Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, the Agrarian League broke off all its ties to the movement and got a new political enemy in the countryside, the Patriotic People's Movement
Patriotic People's Movement ( fi, Isänmaallinen kansanliike, IKL, sv, Fosterländska folkrörelsen) was a Finnish nationalist and anti-communist political party. IKL was the successor of the previously banned Lapua Movement. It existed from 1 ...
(IKL) which was founded after the Lapua Movement was outlawed.
In the 1933 Finnish parliamentary election, the main campaign issues were the differing attitudes towards democracy and the rule of law between the Patriotic Electoral Alliance (the National Coalition Party
sv, Samlingspartiet
, leader1_title = Chairman
, leader1_name = Petteri Orpo
, leader2_title = Deputy chairs
, leader2_name = Antti HäkkänenElina ValtonenAnna-Kaisa Ikonen
, merger = Finnish Party, Young Finn ...
and the Patriotic People's Movement) and the Legality Front (the Social Democrats
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
, the Agrarian League, the Swedish People's Party
The Swedish People's Party of Finland ( sv, Svenska folkpartiet i Finland (SFP); fi, Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue (RKP)) is a political party in Finland aiming to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finlan ...
and the Progressives
Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techno ...
). The Patriotic Electoral Alliance favoured continuing the search for suspected communists, the Communist Party and its affiliated organisations in the spirit of the Lapua Movement. The Legality Front did not want to spend any significant time on searching suspected communists but rather wanted to concentrate on keeping the far-right in check. The Legality Front won the elections, but the Agrarian League lost a part of its support.
Cooperation with the Social Democrats
Because of fierce opposition of the president Pehr Evind Svinhufvud
Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad (; 15 December 1861 – 29 February 1944) was the third president of Finland from 1931 to 1937. Serving as a lawyer, judge, and politician in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, he played a major role in the ...
, the Social Democrats remained outside the government and the Agrarian League was part of the centre-right
Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...
governments until 1937. In the 1937 Finnish presidential election, the Agrarian League candidate Kyösti Kallio
Kyösti Kallio (; 10 April 1873 – 19 December 1940) was a Finnish politician of the Agrarian League who served as the fourth president of Finland from 1937–1940; his presidency included leading the country through the Winter War. He was t ...
was elected president with the votes of centrist (Agrarian and Progressive) and social-democratic coalition which wanted to ensure that President Svinhufvud would not be re-elected. The new president allowed the first centre-left
Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...
government to be formed in Finland and a new era had begun.
World War II
With the outbreak of the Winter War, a government of national unity was formed. President Kallio died shortly after the war.
Kekkonen, the centrist statesman
In 1956, Urho Kekkonen
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as Prime Minister ...
, the candidate of the Agrarian League, was elected President of Finland
The president of the Republic of Finland ( fi, Suomen tasavallan presidentti; sv, 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 p ...
after serving as Prime Minister several times and remained President until 1982. Kekkonen continued the active neutrality policy of his predecessor Juho Kusti Paasikivi
Juho Kusti Paasikivi (; 27 November 1870 – 14 December 1956) was the seventh president of Finland (1946–1956). Representing the Finnish Party until its dissolution in 1918 and then the National Coalition Party, he also served as Prime Minister ...
, a doctrine which came to be known as the Paasikivi–Kekkonen line. Under it, Finland retained its independence while being able to trade with NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
members and those of the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...
.
Pressure of populism
Veikko Vennamo
Veikko Emil Aleksander Vennamo (originally ''Fennander'') (11 June 1913 – 12 June 1997) was a Finnish politician. In 1959, he founded the Finnish Rural Party (''Suomen Maaseudun Puolue''), which was succeeded by the True Finns in 1995. He had o ...
, a vocal Agrarian politician, ran into serious disagreement particularly with the then-Party Secretary of the Agrarian Party Arvo Korsimo, who was excluded from the parliamentary group. As a result, Vennamo immediately started building his own organisation in 1959 and founded a new party, the Finnish Rural Party
The Finnish Rural Party ( fi, Suomen maaseudun puolue, SMP; sv, Finlands landsbygdsparti, FLP) was an agrarian and populist political party in Finland. Starting as a breakaway faction of the Agrarian League in 1959 as the Small Peasants' Party ...
(''Suomen maaseudun puolue'', SMP). Vennamo was a populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...
and became a critic of Kekkonen and political corruption
Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain.
Forms of corruption vary, but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, in ...
within the old parties, particularly the Agrarian League. Although this party had some success, it was essentially tied to Veikko Vennamo's person. His son Pekka Vennamo was able to raise the party to new success and into government in 1983, but after this the Rural Party's support declined steadily and eventually the party went bankrupt in 1995. Immediately after this, the right-wing populist
Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establ ...
Finns Party
The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinländarna, Sannf.), is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party.
The ...
(''Perussuomalaiset'') was founded by former members of SMP.
Transformation to the Centre Party
In 1965, the party changed its name to the Centre Party (''Keskustapuolue'') and in 1988 took its current Centre Party of Finland name (''Suomen Keskusta''). Despite urbanisation of Finland and a temporary nadir in support, the party managed to continue to attract voters.
The Liberal People's Party (LKP) became a member party of the Centre Party in 1982. The two separated again after the success of the Liberal People's Party in the 1985 Swedish general election.
Division over EU membership
The Centre Party was a key player in making the decision to apply for Finnish EU membership in 1992. As the leading governing party, its support for the application was crucial. The party itself, both leadership and supporters, was far from united on the issue. In the Parliament, 22 out of 55 Centre MPs voted against the application. In June 1994, the party congress decided to support EU membership (by 1607 votes to 834), but only after the Prime Minister and Party Chairman Esko Aho
Esko Tapani Aho (born 20 May 1954) is a Finnish politician who was prime minister of Finland from 1991 to 1995.
Early life and career
Aho was born in Veteli, Finland. Prior to attending university, he began a career in politics. From 1974 to ...
threatened to resign if the party were to oppose the membership.
The centrist tradition of defending equal political and economic rights for peripheral areas was reflected in the internal resistance that opposed chairman Aho's ambitions to lead Finland to the EU. The Centre Party was in opposition from 1995 to 2003 and opposed adopting the euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
as Finland's currency. However, the party accepted the euro after regaining power in 2003.
2012 and beyond
The party congress in June 2012 elected the newcomer Juha Sipilä
Juha Petri Sipilä (; born 25 April 1961) is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2015 to 2019. A relative newcomer to politics, he has a successful background in business. He was the leader of the Centre Party fr ...
to replace Mari Kiviniemi as the party's chair. Sipilä defeated young deputy chairman Tuomo Puumala and a well known veteran politician Paavo Väyrynen in the voting.
The previous chairman Mari Kiviniemi succeeded Matti Vanhanen as Prime Minister in 2010, serving in the office for one year. At the time, she was the third Centre Party Prime Minister of Finland in succession. Anneli Jäätteenmäki
Anneli Tuulikki Jäätteenmäki (born 11 February 1955) is a Finnish politician who was the first female Prime Minister of Finland from 17 April 2003 to 24 June 2003. From 2004 until 2019, she served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) ...
preceded Vanhanen and she was the first woman as a Prime Minister of Finland. She did not seek another term as party chair.
Olli Rehn, a member of the party, served in the European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
for ten years between 2004 and 2014 and was the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs
The European Commissioner for Economy is a member of the European Commission. The current Economy Commissioner is Paolo Gentiloni.
From 2014 to 2019 the post was named ''Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs''. Un ...
from 2010 to 2014.
The Centre Party was the biggest loser of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 17 April 2011 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term. Advance voting, which included voting by Finnish expatriates, was held between 6 and 12 April with a turnout of 31.2%.
The ...
, losing 16 seats and going from largest party to fourth place. The party's support was lower than in any parliamentary election since 1917. However, the party won the 2015 Finnish parliamentary election and formed a coalition with the Finns Party
The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinländarna, Sannf.), is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party.
The ...
and the National Coalition Party
sv, Samlingspartiet
, leader1_title = Chairman
, leader1_name = Petteri Orpo
, leader2_title = Deputy chairs
, leader2_name = Antti HäkkänenElina ValtonenAnna-Kaisa Ikonen
, merger = Finnish Party, Young Finn ...
.
In March 2016, the Centre Party announced that its candidate for the 2018 Finnish presidential election would be the former Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, the first declared presidential candidate in the race.
The Centre Party was again the biggest loser in the 2019 Finnish parliamentary election, losing 18 seats and going from largest party to fourth place. The party's support was even lower than in 2011. Due to the devastating defeat, Sipilä consequently announced that he would continue as the chairman only until the Centre Party's next convention in September 2019. The party congress in September 2019 elected the Minister of Economic Affairs Katri Kulmuni
Katri Briitta Ilona Kulmuni (born 4 September 1987) is a Finnish politician who served as the 35th deputy prime minister of Finland and the leader of the Centre Party between 2019 and 2020. A member of the Centre Party, she has been a Member ...
to replace Sipilä as the party's chair.
On 5 September 2020, during a party congress, Annika Saarikko
Annika Virpi Irene Saarikko (born 10 November 1983) is a Finnish politician and minister. On 5 September 2020, she was elected as the leader of the Finnish Centre Party.
Early life and education
Saarikko was born in Oripää, Finland. She has ...
was elected as the leader of the Centre Party to replace Katri Kulmuni
Katri Briitta Ilona Kulmuni (born 4 September 1987) is a Finnish politician who served as the 35th deputy prime minister of Finland and the leader of the Centre Party between 2019 and 2020. A member of the Centre Party, she has been a Member ...
.
During late 2022, The Centre Party was polling at its lowest record in support in polls with less then 10% support.
Ideology
The ideology of the party is unusual in the European context. Unlike many other large parties in Europe, its ideology is not primarily based on economic systems. Rather, the ideas of humanity, education, the spirit of the land, peasant-like freedom, decentralisation, "the issue of poor people", environmentalism and progressivism play a key role in Centre Party politician speeches and writings. From the very beginning of its presence, the party has supported the idea of decentralisation.
Despite belonging to the Liberal International, the Centre Party does not play quite the same role in Finnish politics as do liberal parties in other countries because the party evolved from agrarian roots.
The party has a more conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
wing, and prominent conservatives within the party such as Paavo Väyrynen
Paavo Matti Väyrynen (born 2 September 1946) is a Finnish politician and former member of the Finnish Parliament who has represented the Seven Star Movement, the Citizen's Party and Centre Party. He is currently member of Centre Party. Väyryn ...
have criticised overt economic
An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
and cultural liberalism
Cultural liberalism is a social philosophy which expresses the social dimension of liberalism and advocates the freedom of individuals to choose whether to conform to cultural norms. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, it is often expressed a ...
. In addition, the 2010 party congress voted to oppose same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
. When the Finnish Parliament voted on same-sex marriage in 2014, 30 of the 36 Centre MPs voted against it.
The party is also divided on the issue of deepening European integration
European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...
and contains a notable Eurosceptic faction based on its more rural interests. The party expressly rejects a federal Europe
The United States of Europe (USE), the European State, the European Federation and Federal Europe, is the hypothetical scenario of the European integration leading to formation of a sovereign superstate (similar to the United States of Americ ...
. The Centre Party was originally opposed to Finland's membership in the euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
currency, but the party later stated that it would not seek to withdraw from the Economic and Monetary Union
An economic and monetary union (EMU) is a type of trade bloc that features a combination of a common market, customs union, and monetary union. Established via a trade pact, an EMU constitutes the sixth of seven stages in the process of economic ...
once Finland had entered.
In Finland, there is no large party that supports liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
''per se''. Instead, liberalism is found in most major parties including the Centre Party which supports decentralisation, free will, free and fair trade and small enterprise. The Centre Party characteristically supports decentralisation, particularly decreasing the central power, increasing the power of municipalities and populating the country evenly. During the party's premierships between 2003 and 2011, these policies were also manifested as transferrals of certain government agencies from the capital to smaller cities in the regions.
Throughout the period of Finland's independence, the Centre Party has been the party most often represented in the government. The country's longest-serving President, Urho Kekkonen
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as Prime Minister ...
, was a member of the party as were two other Presidents.
Today, only a small portion of the votes given to the party come from farmers and the Centre Party draws support from a wide range of professions. However, even today rural Finland and small towns form the strongest base of support for the party, although it has strived for a breakthrough in the major southern cities as well. In the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 17 April 2011 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term. Advance voting, which included voting by Finnish expatriates, was held between 6 and 12 April with a turnout of 31.2%.
The ...
, the party received only 4.5 per cent of votes cast in the capital Helsinki, compared to the 33.4 per cent in the largely rural electoral district of Oulu
Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...
.
Organisation
Party structure
In the organisation of the Centre Party, local associations dominate the election of party leaders, the selection of local candidates and drafting of policy. The headquarters in Apollonkatu, Helsinki leads financing and organisation of elections.
The party has 2.500 local associations which have 160.000 individual members. The local associations elect their representatives to the party congress which elects the party leadership and decide on policy. The local associations form also 21 regional organisations which have also their representatives in the party congress.
The party congress is the highest decision-making body of the party. It elects the chairman, three deputy chairmen, the secretary-general and the party council.
The party council with 135 members is the main decision-making body between the party congresses. The party council elects the party government (excluding the leaders elected by the party congress) and the working committee. The party council, the party government and the Working Committee must have at least 40% representation of both sexes.
The Finnish Centre Students
Finnish Centre Students fi, Keskustaopiskelijat is one of the oldest political student organizations in Finland and the student wing of the Centre Party.
Famous ex-members include Chairman of Shell Jorma Ollila and one of the most well known F ...
, the and the Finnish Centre Youth
Finnish Centre Youth fi, Keskustanuoret is the biggest political youth organisation in Finland with 17 000 members. It is the youth wing of the Centre Party (Finland), Centre Party. It is formed by 19 regional organisations and approximately 400 ...
have their own local and regional organisations which also name their representatives to the party congress.
People
File:Annika Saarikko 2020 (cropped).jpg, Annika Saarikko
Annika Virpi Irene Saarikko (born 10 November 1983) is a Finnish politician and minister. On 5 September 2020, she was elected as the leader of the Finnish Centre Party.
Early life and education
Saarikko was born in Oripää, Finland. She has ...
, chairwoman of the Centre Party
File:Petri Honkonen.jpg, Petri Honkonen, deputy chairman
File:Antti Kurvinen.JPG, Antti Kurvinen, chairman of the parliamentary group
File:Hanna-Leena Mattila.jpg, Hanna-Leena Mattila, deputy chairwoman of the parliamentary group
Chairman
* Annika Saarikko
Annika Virpi Irene Saarikko (born 10 November 1983) is a Finnish politician and minister. On 5 September 2020, she was elected as the leader of the Finnish Centre Party.
Early life and education
Saarikko was born in Oripää, Finland. She has ...
(born 1983)
Deputy chairmen
* Petri Honkonen (born 1987), Member of the Parliament[
* ]Markus Lohi
Markus Samuli Lohi is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland
The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution ...
(born 1972), Member of the Parliament
* Riikka Manner
Riikka Pakarinen (née Pakarinen, formerly Manner; born August 24, 1981 in Varkaus, Finland) is a Finnish politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2009 until 2014. She represents the Centre Party.
She was elected to the ...
(born 1981)[
]
Party secretary
* Riikka Pirkkalainen (born 1979)[
]
Chairman of the parliamentary group
* Antti Kurvinen (born 1986)
Deputy chairmen of the parliamentary group
* Eeva Kalli
Eeva Kalli (born 10 January 1981 in Kiukainen) is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Centre Party at the Satakunta
Satakunta (in both Finnish and Swedish, ) is a region ( / ) of Finland, part of th ...
(born 1981)[
* Hanna-Leena Mattila (born 1968)][
]
Other famous Centre Party politicians today
File:Olli_Rehn_by_Moritz_Kosinsky_2.jpg, Olli Rehn
Olli Ilmari Rehn (; born 31 March 1962) is a Finnish economist and public official who has been serving as governor of the Bank of Finland since 2018. A member of the Centre Party, he previously served as the European Commissioner for Enlargem ...
, European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs
File:Hannu_Takkula_Remembrance_Forum.jpg, Hannu Takkula
Hannu Aapa Takkula (born 20 November 1963) is a Finnish politician and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Finland. He is a member of the Centre Party, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.
Early life
Takkul ...
, Member of the European Parliament
File:Simo Rundgren.jpg, Simo Rundgren, Member of the Finnish Parliament
File:Janne Seurujärvi.jpg, Janne Seurujärvi, first Sami
Acronyms
* SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft
* Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company
* South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...
in the Finnish Parliament
File:Laura Kolbe.jpg, Laura Kolbe
Laura Kolbe (born 9 September 1957) is a Finnish professor of European history at the University of Helsinki. She is also a Helsinki City Council member, representing the Centre Party and the Inspector of Eteläsuomalainen osakunta, student nati ...
, Member of Helsinki City Council
File:Timo Kalli.jpg, Timo Kalli, Member of Finnish Parliament and ex-Speaker of the Finnish Parliament
File:Sirkka-Liisa Anttila.jpg, Sirkka-Liisa Anttila
Sirkka-Liisa Anttila (born 20 December 1943, Marttila) is a Finnish politician and was the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in Matti Vanhanen's second cabinet and Mari Kiviniemi's cabinet. She represents the Centre Party.
Political career
* ...
, Member of the Finnish Parliament and ex-Minister of Agriculture and Forestry
File:Eskokiviranta1.JPG, Esko Kiviranta
Esko Emil Kiviranta (born 2 September 1950) is a Finnish politician representing the Finnish Centre Party (''Keskusta''). He has been a member of the Finnish Parliament since 19 March 2003.
Kiviranta was born in Sauvo
Sauvo (; sv, Sagu) i ...
, Member of Finnish Parliament
File:Jäätteenmäki Anneli 2014-02-06 1.jpg, Anneli Jäätteenmäki
Anneli Tuulikki Jäätteenmäki (born 11 February 1955) is a Finnish politician who was the first female Prime Minister of Finland from 17 April 2003 to 24 June 2003. From 2004 until 2019, she served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) ...
, Member of the European Parliament and ex-Prime Minister
File:Mikkoalatalo7.JPG, Mikko Alatalo
Mikko Tapio Alatalo (born 1 May 1951) is a Finnish musician and politician.
Career
Alatalo was born in Kuivaniemi, now a part of Ii, Finland. He is mostly known for his long and successful musical career. His style is primarily seen as chi ...
, Member of Finnish Parliament
File:Lasse Hautala Seinäjoki (cropped).jpg, Lasse Hautala, Member of Finnish Parliament
File:Antti Kaikkonen in 2019.jpg, Antti Kaikkonen
Antti Samuli Kaikkonen (born 14 February 1974 in Turku, Finland) is a Finnish politician of the Centre party. He has been a member of the Finnish Parliament from Uusimaa since 2003. Kaikkonen was the president of Finnish Centre Youth from 199 ...
, Member of the Finnish Parliament
File:Seppokaariainenoffice.jpg, Seppo Kääriäinen
Seppo Arimo Kääriäinen (born 29 March 1948 in Iisalmen maalaiskunta) is a Finnish politician of the Centre Party and Doctor in Social Sciences. He served as the Minister of Defence of Finland between from 24 June 2003 to 19 April 2007. He ...
, Member of the Finnish Parliament, ex-Minister (many ministerial positions) and ex-Speaker of the Finnish Parliament
File:Mauri Pekkarinen.jpg, Mauri Pekkarinen, Member of Finnish Parliament and ex-Minister (many ministerial positions)
File:Paavo Väyrynen.jpg, Paavo Väyrynen
Paavo Matti Väyrynen (born 2 September 1946) is a Finnish politician and former member of the Finnish Parliament who has represented the Seven Star Movement, the Citizen's Party and Centre Party. He is currently member of Centre Party. Väyryn ...
, Three-time presidential candidate, honorary chairman and ex-Minister (many ministerial positions)
International Representation
The party is a member of the Liberal International
Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism around ...
and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
and subscribes to the liberal manifestos of these organisations. The Centre Party has been a full member of the Liberal International since 1988, having first joined as an observer member in 1983.
In the European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, the Center Party sits in the Renew Europe group with 2 MEPs.
In the European Committee of the Regions
The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the European Union's (EU) assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities (i.e. regions, counties, provinces, municipalities and cities) with a direct voice w ...
, the Center Party sits in the Renew Europe CoR group with one full and two alternate members for the 2020-2025 mandate. Mirja Vehkapera is Deputy Coordinator in the COTER Commission.
Prominent party leaders
File:Santeri Alkio2.jpg, Santeri Alkio
Santeri Alkio (born Aleksander Filander; 17 June 1862 – 24 July 1930) was a Finnish politician, author and journalist. He is also considered to be the ideological father of Finnish Centre Party.
History
Alkio was born in Laihia; his parent ...
, political ideologist
File:Relander LC.jpg, Lauri Kristian Relander
Lauri Kristian Relander (, ; 31 May 1883 – 9 February 1942) was the second president of Finland (1925–1931). A prominent member of the Agrarian League, he served as a member of Parliament, and as Speaker, before his election as President. ...
, president (1925–1931)
File:Ky%C3%B6sti_Kallio.png, Kyösti Kallio
Kyösti Kallio (; 10 April 1873 – 19 December 1940) was a Finnish politician of the Agrarian League who served as the fourth president of Finland from 1937–1940; his presidency included leading the country through the Winter War. He was t ...
, four-time prime minister (1922–1937) and president (1937–1940)
File:Urho-Kekkonen-1977-c.jpg, Urho Kekkonen
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as Prime Minister ...
, two-time prime minister twice (1950–1956) and president (1956–1981)
File:JohannesVirolainen1975.jpg, Johannes Virolainen
Johannes Virolainen (; 31 January 1914 – 11 December 2000) was a Finnish politician and who served as 30th Prime Minister of Finland.
Virolainen was born near Viipuri. After the Continuation War Virolainen moved to Lohja, but he remained one ...
, prime minister (1964–1966)
File:Esko Aho 2010-05-28.jpg, Esko Aho
Esko Tapani Aho (born 20 May 1954) is a Finnish politician who was prime minister of Finland from 1991 to 1995.
Early life and career
Aho was born in Veteli, Finland. Prior to attending university, he began a career in politics. From 1974 to ...
, prime minister (1991–1995) and executive vice president of Nokia)
File:Jäätteenmäki Anneli 2014-02-06 1.jpg, Anneli Jäätteenmäki
Anneli Tuulikki Jäätteenmäki (born 11 February 1955) is a Finnish politician who was the first female Prime Minister of Finland from 17 April 2003 to 24 June 2003. From 2004 until 2019, she served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) ...
, first female prime minister (2003)
File:Matti Vanhanen 2017 06.jpg, Matti Vanhanen
Matti Taneli Vanhanen (; born 4 November 1955) is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2003 to 2010. He was also Chairman of the Centre Party and President of the European Council in 2006. In his earlier career, he ...
, prime minister (2003–2010)
File:Mari Kiviniemi 2010-11-02 (2).jpg, Mari Kiviniemi, prime minister (2010–2011)
File:Tallinn Digital Summit. Handshake Juha Sipilä (2017).jpg, Juha Sipilä
Juha Petri Sipilä (; born 25 April 1961) is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2015 to 2019. A relative newcomer to politics, he has a successful background in business. He was the leader of the Centre Party fr ...
, prime minister (2015–2019)
List of party presidents
Election results
Parliament of Finland
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bar:1908 from:start till:6.39 text:6.4
bar:1909 from:start till:6.73 text:6.7
bar:1910 from:start till:7.60 text:7.6
bar:1911 from:start till:7.84 text:7.8
bar:1913 from:start till:7.87 text:7.9
bar:1916 from:start till:9.00 text:9.0
bar:1917 from:start till:12.38 text:12.4
bar:1919 from:start till:19.70 text:19.7
bar:1922 from:start till:20.27 text:20.3
bar:1924 from:start till:20.25 text:20.3
bar:1927 from:start till:22.56 text:22.6
bar:1929 from:start till:26.15 text:26.1
bar:1930 from:start till:27.28 text:27.3
bar:1933 from:start till:22.54 text:22.5
bar:1936 from:start till:22.41 text:22.4
bar:1939 from:start till:22.86 text:22.9
bar:1945 from:start till:21.35 text:21.4
bar:1948 from:start till:24.24 text:24.2
bar:1951 from:start till:23.26 text:23.3
bar:1954 from:start till:24.10 text:24.1
bar:1958 from:start till:23.06 text:23.1
bar:1962 from:start till:22.95 text:23.0
bar:1966 from:start till:21.23 text:21.2
bar:1970 from:start till:17.12 text:17.1
bar:1972 from:start till:16.41 text:16.4
bar:1975 from:start till:17.63 text:17.6
bar:1979 from:start till:17.29 text:17.3
bar:1983 from:start till:17.63 text:17.6
bar:1987 from:start till:17.62 text:17.6
bar:1991 from:start till:24.83 text:24.8
bar:1995 from:start till:19.85 text:19.9
bar:1999 from:start till:22.40 text:22.4
bar:2003 from:start till:24.69 text:24.7
bar:2007 from:start till:23.11 text:23.1
bar:2011 from:start till:15.82 text:15.8
bar:2015 from:start till:21.10 text:21.1
bar:2019 from:start till:13.80 text:13.8
Municipal
European Parliament
Presidential elections
Indirect elections
Direct elections
See also
* Liberalism and centrism in Finland
* Nordic agrarian parties The Nordic agrarian parties, also referred to as Nordic Centre parties, Scandinavian agrarian parties or Agrarian Liberal parties are agrarian political parties that belong to a political tradition particular to the Nordic countries. Positioning th ...
Notes
Sources
*
*
References
External links
*
Centre Party: Swedish-speaking section
Website in English
Youth organisations official website
{{authority control
Centre Party (Finland)
1906 establishments in Finland