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 existence is recorded in the
Ministry of Justice's party register.
Finland has a
multi-party system
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in co ...
.
Coalition governments which comprise a majority of seats 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 of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. Th ...
are the norm. Those parties which are not in government are called the opposition. Due to the lack of an electoral threshold, many parties are usually represented in Parliament. As a result, it is all but impossible for one party to win a majority. Additionally, the socialist and non-socialist blocs usually cannot win enough seats between them to form a governing coalition on their own. Most Finnish governments, particularly since
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, have thus been
grand coalition
A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government. The term is most commonly used in countries where there ar ...
s comprising parties stretching across the political spectrum.
Parties work in parliamentary groups (''eduskuntaryhmät''), usually voting with
party discipline
Party discipline is a system of political norms, rules and subsequent respective consequences for deviance that are designed to ensure the relative cohesion of members of the respective party group. In political parties specifically (often ref ...
, which is however not absolute.
Parties are composed of local chapters based in municipalities. In
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
, which are fundamental administrative units of the country, parties hold seats in the municipal councils, but often have to compete for them with local non-party groups.
Finnish law states that a political association which fulfills certain conditions is eligible to become a political party free of charge.
[ Among these conditions are:
* that the primary purpose of the association is to affect governmental affairs,
* that it has received at least 5,000 votes in any parliamentary, municipal, or European Parliament election,
* that the association's rules secure the following of democratic principles in its decision making and activities,
* and that it has a general program based on these rules which expresses the association's principles and goals regarding its actions in governmental affairs.
A registered party may nominate candidates in any national and local elections, and a party that is represented in parliament is entitled to a government subsidy relative to its number of seats. To qualify as a registered party, an association must have bylaws guaranteeing democratic internal organization and must be able to present 5,000 signatures from supporters who are eligible to vote. A party that fails to win a single seat in two consecutive parliamentary elections is stricken from the register but may apply again. (In contrast, a ]voluntary association
A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteers, to form a body (or organization) to a ...
has a requirement of 20,000 supporters and is not eligible for party subsidy.)
Parliamentary parties
Extra-parliamentary parties
Registered
Those parties that have received neither a seat in the Parliament of Finland nor 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 adop ...
, but which are registered political parties, are listed below.
Unregistered
Historical parties
Parliamentary historical parties
Extra-parliamentary historical parties
* Swedish party
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used ...
(''Ruotsalainen puolue'') 1870–1906
* Liberal party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a l ...
(''Liberaalinen puolue'') 1880–1885
* Finnish Active Resistance Party
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
(''Suomen aktiivinen vastustuspuolue'') 1904–1908
* National Workers' Party
The National Workers' Party ( pl, Narodowa Partia Robotnicza, NPR) was a political party in Poland.
History
The NPR was established in Warsaw on 23 May 1920 by a merger of the National Workers' Union and the National Party of Workers.Jerzy Jan ...
(''Kansallinen Työväenpuolue'') 1917–?
* Socialist Party of Work
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 eco ...
(''Sosialistinen Työpuolue'') 1917–1919
* Peasant People's Party
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
(''Talonpoikaiskansan puolue'') 1924–1933
* Farmers' Party (''Maanviljelijäin Puolue'') 1927–1929
* United Front
A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political a ...
(''Yhteisrintama'') 193?–1940
* New Finnish Party (''Uusi Suomalainen Puolue'') 1932–1945
* Finnish Socialist Party (''Suomalaissosialistinen Puolue'') 1932–1937
* Patriotic People's Party (''Isänmaallinen Kansanpuolue'') 1932–1933
* Finnish People's Organisation (''Suomen Kansan Järjestö'') 1933–1936
* Finnish-Socialist Workers' Party (''Suomalaissosialistinen Työväen Puolue'') 1934–1944
* Finnish Labor Front (''Suomen Työrintama'') 1936–1939
* Party of Finnish National Work
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 ...
(''Suomalais-Kansallisen Työn Puolue'') 1939–?
* Finnish National Socialist Labor Organisation (''Suomen Kansallissosialistinen Työväenpuolue'') 1940–1943
* Neo-Socialist Party (''Uus-sosialistinen puolue'') 1940–1945
* Organisation of National Socialists (''Kansallissosialistien Järjestö'') 1940–1944
* National Socialists of Finland
The National Socialists of Finland ( Finnish: , SKS) was a Finnish National Socialist party operating in 1941–1944, led by . The party's newspaper was the daily '' Kansallissosialisti'' (National Socialist) that was funded by Petter Forsström. ...
(''Suomen Kansallissosialistit'') 1941–1944
* Radical People's Party (''Radikaalinen Kansanpuolue'') 1944–1951
* Independent Middle Class (''Itsenäinen keskiluokka'') 1949–1951
* Finnish People's Party
Finnish People's Party ( fi, Suomalainen Kansanpuolue) was a minor political party in Finland. The party participated in the 1951 parliamentary elections and got 243 votes (0,01%).
Defunct political parties in Finland
{{Finland-party-stu ...
(''Suomalainen kansanpuolue'') 1950s
* Independence Party (''Itsenäisyyspuolue'') 1960s
* Party Organisation of Finnish Entrepreneurs
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 ...
(''Suomen Yksityisyrittäjäin Puoluejärjestö'') 1972–1979
* Socialist Workers' Party (''Sosialistinen Työväenpuolue'') 1973–1990
* Pensioners' Party of Finland (''Suomen Eläkeläisten Puolue'') 1985–1999
* Joint Responsibility Party
A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGra ...
(''Yhteisvastuu puolue'') 1987–2007
* Senior Citizens' Party of Finland
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
(''Suomen Senioripuolue''), 1990–2014
* Women's Party (''Naisten puolue'') 1990–1995
* Party of Humanity
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 ...
(''Ihmisyydenpuolue'') 1991–1995
* Finnish People's Blue-whites (''Suomen Kansan Sinivalkoiset'', SKS) 1993–2010
* 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 ...
(''Isänmaallinen kansanliike''), 1993–2010
* Natural Law Party
The Natural Law Party (NLP) is a transnational party founded in 1992 on "the principles of Transcendental Meditation", the laws of nature, and their application to all levels of government. At its peak, it was active in up to 74 countries; it co ...
(''Luonnonlain puolue'') 1994–2001
* Workers' Party of Finland
Workers' Party of Finland ( fi, Suomen Työväenpuolue, sv, Finlands Arbetarparti) is a left-wing political party in Finland. The STP was founded in 2006 as a successor to the Alternative League (1999–2006).
In the 2007 parliamentary election ...
(''Suomen Työväenpuolue'') 1999–2018
* Forces for Change in Finland
The Forces for Change in Finland ( fi, Muutosvoimat Suomi; sv, Förändringskrafterna i Finland) was a Finnish election cartel formed for the 2003 parliamentary election. It was founded in 2002 by six eurosceptic organisations, ranging from far ...
(''Muutosvoimat Suomi'') 2002–2007
* For the Poor (''Köyhien Asialla'') 2002–2015
* Blue and White Front
The Blue and White Front ( fi, Sinivalkoinen Rintama) (formerly Freedom Party – Finland's Future) ( fi, Vapauspuolue – Suomen tulevaisuus) is an ultranationalist political party in Finland which was founded in 2009.
History
The VP was founded ...
(''Sinivalkoinen Rintama'') 2009–2015
See also
* 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 of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. Th ...
* Government of Finland
sv, Finlands statsråd
, border =
, image = File:Finnish Government logo.png
, image_size = 250
, caption =
, date =
, state = Republic of Finland
, polity =
, cou ...
* 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 ...
* Elections in 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 ...
* List of political parties in Åland
Åland has a multi-party system with numerous political parties, in which a party often has no chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments.
Parties with elected representation at the nati ...
* List of ruling political parties by country
References
External links
NSD: European Election Database - Political parties of Finland
{{List of political parties in Europe
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 Bo ...
Political parties
Political parties