This article gives an overview of liberalism and centrism 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 ...
. It is limited to
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 ...
and
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 ...
parties
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ means a reference to another party in that scheme. For inclusion in this scheme it is not necessary so that parties labeled themselves as a liberal party.
Liberalism was a major force in Finland since 1894. After independence the current gradually decreased. A major other force, agrarianism, choose in 1965 to develop itself into a more centrist current. The liberal character of the
Finnish Center (''Suomen Keskusta''), member of
LI and
ELDR, is based on liberal ideas like
decentralization
Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group.
Conce ...
, peasant-like freedom and
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 ...
. The Swedish minority party
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 ...
(''Svenska Folkpartiet i Finland'') is also a member of
LI,
ELDR. The original liberal current is now organized in the
Liberals (''Liberaalit''), a very small extra-parliamentary party. At the autonomous island of
Åland
Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populat ...
the
Liberals for Åland
The Liberals for Åland ( sv, Liberalerna på Åland) is a liberal political party on the Åland Islands. The party is an observer member of the Liberal International. In the 2015 legislative elections, the party received the largest number of vo ...
(''Liberalerna på Åland'') are a dominant force.
The timeline
Liberal Club / Liberal Party
*1877: Liberals formed the
Liberal Club (''Liberaalinen Klubi''), renamed in 1880 Liberal Party (''Liberaalinen Puolue'')
*1882: The Liberal Party disappeared
From Young Finnish Party to Liberals
*1894: Constitutionalist
fennoman
The Fennoman movement or Fennomania was a Finnish nationalist movement in the 19th-century Grand Duchy of Finland, built on the work of the ''fennophile'' interests of the 18th and early-19th centuries.
History
After the Crimean War, Fennoma ...
s organized into the
Young Finnish faction within the Finnish Party (''Nuorsuomalainen Puolue'')
*1905: The Young Finnish Party secedes from the Finnish Party.
*1918: The Republican factions of the two Finnish parties reorganise into the
Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to:
Active parties
* Progressive Party, Brazil
* Progressive Party (Chile)
* Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus
* Dominica Progressive Party
* Progressive Party (Iceland)
* Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...
(''Kansallinen Edistyspuolue'')
*1951: The Progressive Party falls apart into the
Finnish People's Party (''Suomen Kansanpuolue'') and the ⇒ Free-minded League (''Vapaamielisten liitto'')
*1965: The People's Party and the ⇒ Free-minded League reunite into the
Liberal People's Party (''Liberaalinen Kansanpuolue'')
*1982: The Liberal People's Party associated itself with the ⇒ Centre Party, whilst some liberal youth activists join the Greens.
*1983: The Liberal People's Party loses all of seats in the Parliament for the first time.
*1986: The Liberal People's Party disassociated itself from the ⇒ Centre Party
*1991: The Liberal People's Party returns to parliament with one MP.
*1995: The Liberal People's Party loses its only MP.
*2000: The Liberal People's Party renames itself
Liberals (''Liberaalit'')
*2007: Removed from the party registry after failing to get a seat in two consecutive parliamentary elections
Swedish People's Party
*1906: Liberal
svekomans formed the present-day
Swedish People's Party in Finland (''Svenska Folkpartiet i Finland'')
*1919: Republicans formed the
Liberal Swedish Party
The Liberal Swedish Party ( sv, Svenska frisinnade partiet, fi, Ruotsalainen vapaamielinen puolue, , Swedish Free-Minded Party, ''RVP'') was a political party in Finland, working amongst the Swedish-speaking minority. The party founded in 1919 ...
(''Svensk Vänster'')
*1951: Liberal Swedish Party merged with SFP
People's Party
*1917: Progressive liberals formed the
People's Party (''Kansanpuolue'')
*1918: The People's Party merged into the ⇒ National Progressive Party
Free-minded League
*1951: The ⇒ National Progressive Party fell apart and the
Free-minded League (''Vapaamielisten Liitto'') is formed
*1965: The League merged with the ⇒ Finnish People's Party into the ⇒ Liberal People's Party
Centre Party / Finnish Centre
Centrists
*1965: The agrarian ''
Agrarian League'' (Maalaisliitto) reorganised itself into the
Centre Party (''Keskustapuolue'').
*1988: The Centre Party is renamed
Finnish Centre (''Suomen Keskusta'')
Åland
Liberals for Åland
*1967: Liberals organised itself into the
Centrist Liberals (''Mittenliberalerna'')
*1971: The Centrist Liberals are renamed
Electoral Union Liberal Assembly (''Valforbundet Liberal Samling'')
*1978: VLS and ⇒ LoS–Liberals merged into the
Liberals for Åland
The Liberals for Åland ( sv, Liberalerna på Åland) is a liberal political party on the Åland Islands. The party is an observer member of the Liberal International. In the 2015 legislative elections, the party received the largest number of vo ...
(''Liberalerna på Åland'')
Centre Party
*1967: The
Rural and Archipelago Electoral Union (''Landsbygdens och Skargardens Valforbund'') was founded
*1975: The
LoS–Liberals (''LoS–Liberalerna'') seceded from the Rural and Archipelago Electoral Union
*1976: The Rural and Archipelago Electoral Union is renamed
Åland Centre
The Åland Centre ( sv, Åländska Centern) is an agrarian-centrist political party on the Åland Islands. The party was founded by Karl-Anders Bergman in 1976. At the 2003 election, the party won 24.1% of the popular vote and 7 out of 30 seats ...
(''Åländska Centern'')
*1978: VLS and ⇒ LoS–Liberals merged into the ⇒ Liberals for Åland
Liberal and centrist leaders
*
Kansallinen Edistyspuolue
The National Progressive Party ( fi, Kansallinen Edistyspuolue; sv, Framstegspartiet) was a liberal political party in Finland from 1918 to 1951. The party was founded 8 December 1918, after the Finnish Civil War, by the republican majority ...
:
Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg
*
Maalaisliitto
The Centre Party ( fi, Suomen Keskusta , ''Kesk''; sv, Centern i Finland), officially the Centre Party of Finland, is an agrarian political party in Finland.
Ideologically, the Centre Party is positioned in the centre on the political spect ...
/
Keskustapuolue:
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 ...
*
Keskusta
The Centre Party ( fi, Suomen Keskusta , ''Kesk''; sv, Centern i Finland), officially the Centre Party of Finland, is an agrarian political party in Finland.
Ideologically, the Centre Party is positioned in the centre on the political spect ...
:
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 t ...
-
Anneli Jäätteenmäki -
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 ...
-
Mari Kiviniemi -
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 ...
*
Svenska Folkpartiet:
Ole Norrback
Johan Ole Norrback (born 18 March 1941) is a Finland-Swedish politician and diplomat.
Norrback was born in Övermark. He graduated as a primary school teacher in 1965 and was the ombudsman for the Sfp, Swedish People's Party in Ostrobothnia be ...
-
Jan-Erik Enestam -
Stefan Wallin -
Carl Haglund
Carl Christoffer ”Calle” Haglund (born 29 March 1979 in Espoo) is the CEO of Veritas, a Finnish Pension insurance company, and a former Finnish politician, former chairman of the Swedish People's Party and the former Minister of Defence. He w ...
Liberal thinkers
In the
Contributions to liberal theory
Contribution or Contribute may refer to:
* ''Contribution'' (album), by Mica Paris (1990)
** "Contribution" (song), title song from the album
*Contribution (law), an agreement between defendants in a suit to apportion liability
*Contributions, a ...
the following Finnish thinker is included:
*
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 ...
(Finland, 1862-1930)
*
Anders Chydenius
Anders Chydenius (; 26 February 1729 – 1 February 1803) was a Swedish-Finnish Lutheran priest and a member of the Swedish Riksdag, and is known as the leading classical liberal of Nordic history.
Born in Sotkamo, Finland (then part of Swed ...
(Finland, 1729-1803)
See also
*
History of Finland
*
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 ...
*
List of political parties in Finland
This article is a list of political parties in Finland, which includes Finland's national-level political parties and excludes local and provincial parties (such as the parties of Åland). A party is defined as a political association whose exi ...
References
{{Europe topic, Liberalism 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 ...
Politics of Finland
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 ...