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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 spectrum. It has been described as liberal,
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, and conservative-liberal. Its leader is Annika Saarikko, who was elected in September 2020 to follow Katri Kulmuni, the former finance minister of Finland. As of December 2019, the party has been a coalition partner in the Marin Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Sanna Marin 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 For ...
(SDP). Founded in 1906 as the Agrarian League ( fi, link=no, Maalaisliitto; sv, link=no, Agrarförbundet), the party represented rural communities and supported
decentralisation 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 ...
of political power from Helsinki. In the 1920s, the party emerged as the main rival to the SDP and Kyösti Kallio, the party's first prime minister, held the office four times between 1922 and 1937. After World War II, the party settled as one of the four major political parties in Finland, alongside the SPD, the National Coalition Party and the Finnish People's Democratic League until the 1980s. Urho Kekkonen 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 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 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
. In
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
, 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, three of the Presidents and a former European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs have been from the party. The Centre Party is the mother organisation of the Finnish Centre Students, 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 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 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 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 ...
, "the issue of poor people", progressivismMylly, 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 social forces made an attempt to establish the Kingdom of Finland. The Agrarian League opposed monarchism 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 The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...
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 had escaped to Russia after the Finnish Civil War 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 Parliamentary elections were held in Finland between 1 and 3 March 1919.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p606 The Social Democratic Party emerged as the largest in Parliament with 80 of the 200 seat ...
and the party became the biggest non- socialist 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 minority governments with National Progressive Party and got its first Prime Ministers ( Kyösti Kallio in 1922 and Juho Sunila 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 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 Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg (, ; 28 January 1865 – 22 September 1952) was a Finnish jurist and academic, which was one of the most important pioneers of republicanism in the country. He was the first president of Finland (1919–1925) and a libera ...
, 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 Parliamentary elections were held in Finland between 1 and 3 July 1933. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p606 The Social Democratic Party remained the largest party in Parliament with 78 of the 200 s ...
, the main campaign issues were the differing attitudes towards democracy and the rule of law between the Patriotic Electoral Alliance (the National Coalition Party and the Patriotic People's Movement) and the Legality Front (the Social Democrats, the Agrarian League, the Swedish People's Party 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, the Social Democrats remained outside the government and the Agrarian League was part of the centre-right governments until 1937. In the
1937 Finnish presidential election Two-stage presidential elections were held in Finland in 1937. On 15 and 16 January the public elected presidential electors to an electoral college. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p606 They in tu ...
, the Agrarian League candidate Kyösti Kallio 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 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, 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, 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 members and those of the Warsaw Pact.


Pressure of populism

Veikko Vennamo, 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 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 Finns Party (''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 General elections were held in Sweden on 15 September 1985.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1858 The Swedish Social Democratic Party remained the largest party in the Riksdag, winning 159 of the 34 ...
.


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 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 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 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 for ten years between 2004 and 2014 and was the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs 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 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...
. However, the party won the
2015 Finnish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 19 April 2015, with advance voting taking place from 8 to 14 April. The 200 members of the Parliament of Finland were elected with the proportional D'Hondt method. There were 4,463,333 people entitl ...
and formed a coalition with the Finns Party and the National Coalition Party. In March 2016, the Centre Party announced that its candidate for the
2018 Finnish presidential election Presidential elections were held in Finland on 28 January 2018. The incumbent Sauli Niinistö received 62.7% of the vote and was elected for a second term, avoiding a Two-round system, second round. The term is from 1 March 2018 to 1 February 20 ...
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 Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 14 April 2019. For the first time, no party received more than 20% of the vote. The Centre Party, which had been the largest party following the 2015 elections, dropped to fourth place, losing 18 seat ...
, 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 to replace Sipilä as the party's chair. On 5 September 2020, during a party congress, Annika Saarikko was elected as the leader of the Centre Party to replace Katri Kulmuni. 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 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 ...
, "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 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 and cultural liberalism. In addition, the 2010 party congress voted to oppose same-sex marriage. 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 Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform ...
faction based on its more rural interests. The party expressly rejects a federal Europe. The Centre Party was originally opposed to Finland's membership in the euro currency, but the party later stated that it would not seek to withdraw from the Economic and Monetary Union once Finland had entered. In Finland, there is no large party that supports liberalism ''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, 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, 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, chairwoman of the Centre Party File:Petri Honkonen.jpg,
Petri Honkonen Petri Erkki Olavi Honkonen (born 29 July 1987) is a Finnish politician, representing the Centre Party in the Parliament of Finland since 2015. He was born in Pylkönmäki, and was elected to the Parliament from the Central Finland constituency in ...
, deputy chairman File:Antti Kurvinen.JPG,
Antti Kurvinen Antti Ilmari Vilhelm Kurvinen (born July 14, 1986) is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Centre Party at the Vaasa constituency. Honors * Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of F ...
, chairman of the parliamentary group File:Hanna-Leena Mattila.jpg,
Hanna-Leena Mattila Hanna-Leena Mattila (born 1 September 1968) is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Centre Party at the Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inh ...
, deputy chairwoman of the parliamentary group


Chairman

* Annika Saarikko (born 1983)


Deputy chairmen

*
Petri Honkonen Petri Erkki Olavi Honkonen (born 29 July 1987) is a Finnish politician, representing the Centre Party in the Parliament of Finland since 2015. He was born in Pylkönmäki, and was elected to the Parliament from the Central Finland constituency in ...
(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 (born 1981)


Party secretary

* Riikka Pirkkalainen (born 1979)


Chairman of the parliamentary group

*
Antti Kurvinen Antti Ilmari Vilhelm Kurvinen (born July 14, 1986) is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Centre Party at the Vaasa constituency. Honors * Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of F ...
(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 Hanna-Leena Mattila (born 1 September 1968) is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Centre Party at the Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inh ...
(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, Member of the European Parliament File:Simo Rundgren.jpg,
Simo Rundgren Simo Arttur Rundgren (born 28 June 1953 in Kolari, Finland) is a Finnish politician. He was elected to the Finnish Parliament from Lapland (electoral district) in 2003 and again in 2011. He has a master's degree in Theology and he has worked as a ...
, Member of the Finnish Parliament File:Janne Seurujärvi.jpg,
Janne Seurujärvi Janne Antero Seurujärvi (born 15 May 1975 in Inari, Finland) is a Finnish Sami politician. He was the first Sami ever to be elected to the Finnish Parliament. Seurujärvi represents the Finnish Centre Party (''Keskusta''). Seurujärvi was a m ...
, first Sami in the Finnish Parliament File:Laura Kolbe.jpg, Laura Kolbe, Member of Helsinki City Council File:Timo Kalli.jpg,
Timo Kalli Timo Juhani Kalli (born 22 February 1947 in Kiukainen, now Eura, Satakunta) is a Finnish former politician from the Centre Party. He is a farmer by profession. Kalli was a member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representat ...
, 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 Lasse Tapani Hautala (born 22 January 1963 in Kauhajoki, Finland) is a Finnish politician. His parents were farmers. Hautala has four sons. He was elected to the Finnish Parliament from Vaasa (electoral district) Vaasa is a Finnish constituency ...
, 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 1997 ...
, Member of the Finnish Parliament File:Seppokaariainenoffice.jpg, Seppo Kääriäinen, Member of the Finnish Parliament, ex-Minister (many ministerial positions) and ex-Speaker of the Finnish Parliament File:Mauri Pekkarinen.jpg,
Mauri Pekkarinen Reijo Mauri Matias Pekkarinen (born 6 October 1947, in Kinnula, Finland) is a Finnish politician, currently serving as a Member of European Parliament for Finland. He is the Centre Party of Finland (''Suomen Keskusta'') deputy and secretary, ha ...
, 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 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 Center Party sits in the Renew Europe group with 2 MEPs. In the European Committee of the Regions, 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, president (1925–1931) File:Ky%C3%B6sti_Kallio.png, Kyösti Kallio, four-time prime minister (1922–1937) and president (1937–1940) File:Urho-Kekkonen-1977-c.jpg, Urho Kekkonen, 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, 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, prime minister (2003–2010) File:Mari Kiviniemi 2010-11-02 (2).jpg,
Mari Kiviniemi Mari Johanna Kiviniemi (born 27 September 1968) is a Finnish politician, who served as the second female Prime Minister of Finland from 2010 to 2011. Since 25 August 2014, she is Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD. Life and career Kiviniemi ...
, prime minister (2010–2011) File:Tallinn Digital Summit. Handshake Juha Sipilä (2017).jpg, Juha Sipilä, prime minister (2015–2019)


List of party presidents


Election results


Parliament of Finland

ImageSize = width:1100 height:240 PlotArea = width:1000 height:160 left:50 bottom:60 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:30 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:0 Colors = id:SB value:rgb(0.01,0.58,0.29) legend:Sea_Battles PlotData = bar:% color:SB width:22 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S bar:1907 from:start till:5.75 text:5.8 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

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Liberalism and centrism in Finland This article gives an overview of liberalism and centrism in Finland. It is limited to liberal and centrist parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ means a reference to another par ...
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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

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References


External links

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Centre Party: Swedish-speaking section

Website in English

Youth organisations official website
{{authority control Centre Party (Finland) 1906 establishments in Finland