Finland and the United States currently have good relations. The United States was one of the first countries to recognize Finland after it declared independence in 1917, and officially established diplomatic relations in 1920. Due to World War II and Soviet pressure, relations were suspended between 1942 and 1945 before being raised to embassy level in 1954. Finland has been of strategic importance to the United States due to its position bordering the Soviet Union and later Russia, and after the end of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

in 1991 Finland's shift to the West has led to warmer relations. There is significant trade activity, including military procurement, between the two countries. The United States supported Finlanď's NATO membership during Finland's accession into NATO, which was finalized on 4 April 2023.

History

President Ronald Reagan with President Mauno Koivisto of Finland in the Rose Garden

Diplomatic relations between the governments of Finland and the United States were established in 1920 at a

legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, minister. Ambassadors diplomatic rank, out ...

level. During the Second World War, although the Finnish government co-operated with the Axis Powers, relations were maintained. The U.S. government resisted Soviet pressures to declare war on Finland, but on June 30, 1944, it agreed to sever diplomatic relations with the Finnish government. After Finland had withdrawn from the war and acted against German troops in early 1945, the U.S. government reopened its legation in Helsinki on March 1, 1945. On August 20, 1945, negotiations were started between the two governments on re-establishing diplomatic relations, which was done on August 31. Relations between the two countries were raised to embassy level on September 10, 1954. Relations between the United States and Finland are warm. Some 270,000 U.S. citizens visit Finland annually, and about 6,000 U.S. citizens are residents there. The U.S. has an educational exchange program in Finland that is comparatively large for a Western European country of Finland's size. It is financed in part from a trust fund established in 1976 from Finland's final repayment of a U.S. loan made in the aftermath of World War I. Finland is bordered on the east by Russia and, as one of the former Soviet Union's neighbors, has been of particular interest and importance to the U.S. both during the

and in its aftermath. Before the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, longstanding U.S. policy was to support Finnish neutrality and to maintain and reinforce Finland's historic, cultural, and economic ties with the West. The U.S. has welcomed Finland's increased participation since 1991 in Western economic and political structures. In 2003,

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) ...

of the Centre Party won the elections after she had accused her rival, Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen, of allying neutral Finland with the United States in the Iraq War during a meeting with U.S. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and thus associated Finland with what many Finns considered an illegal war of aggression. Lipponen denied the claims and declared, "We support the UN and the UN Secretary-General". Jäätteenmäki resigned as prime minister after 63 days in office amid accusations that she had lied about the leak of the documents about the meeting between Bush and Lipponen. That series of events was considered scandalous and it is named

Iraq leak The Iraq leak (also Iraq-gate, or the Iraq scandal) is a series of events that began on 6 March 2003 from a statement given by Anneli Jäätteenmäki, leader of the Finnish Centre Party, in a televised election debate prior to the 2003 parliamen ...

, or Iraqgate. Economic and trade relations between Finland and the United States are active and were bolstered by the F-18 Hornet purchase. U.S.–Finland trade totals almost $5 billion annually. The U.S. receives about 7% of Finland's exports – mainly pulp and paper, ships, machinery, electronics, instruments, and refined petroleum productsand provides about 7% of its importsprincipally computers, semiconductors, aircraft, machinery. U.S. President Joe Biden approved the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden in August 2022. Principal U.S. On December 18, 2023, the US (represented by Antony Blinken) and Finland (represented by Antti Häkkänen and

Elina Valtonen Elina Maria Valtonen (former Lepomäki) (born 23 October 1981 in Helsinki) is a Finnish politician. A member of the National Coalition Party, she has represented the constituency of Uusimaa (constituency), Uusimaa in the Parliament of Finland si ...

) signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) in Washington, D.C. The agreement regulates the presence of the US armed forces and their dependents on the territory of the Finland, as well as the presence and activities of US suppliers on the territory of the Finland. *

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

–

Doug Hickey Douglas Thomas Hickey is an American businessman and diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to Finland since 2022. Education Hickey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics in 1977 from Siena College. Career From 1989 ...

* Deputy Chief of Mission – Christopher M Krafft * Public Affairs Counselor – Susan Bridenstine * Political-Economic Section Chief – Dew Tiantawach * Management Affairs – Todd Bate-Poxon * Commercial Section – Nicholas Kuchova * Defense Attache – Colonel Scott Shugato * Consular Officer – Susan Carl * Regional Security Officer – Rick Gregory * Agricultural Officer – Steve Huete (resident in The Hague) File:Yhdysvaltain Helsingin-suurlähetystö.jpg, Embassy of the United States in Helsinki File:Washington DC August 2018 15 (Embassy of Finland).jpg, Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C. President Joe Biden visited Helsinki on July 12, 2023 and met with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and leaders of other Nordic nations, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The purpose was to celebrate Finland joining the NATO.

Visits of United States Presidents to Finland

During 1975–2023 six presidents of the United States have visited Finland. Of them,

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

visited Finland twice. Basic facts of these visits are given in the table below. In some cases, the table contains only the arrival date. In addition to this, Barack Obama visited Finland during 26–27 September 2019. He gave a talk at the Nordic Business Forum.

Gallery

File:Wakefield-Suomiseura.jpg, A town of Finnish immigrants in Northern Michigan File:Finnish Church S. Thomaston ME.jpg, Finnish Congregational Church and Parsonage in

South Thomaston South Thomaston is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,511 at the 2020 census. A fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but ma ...

, Maine, United States File:Ruutu's bronze & Gleason's silver (4407222929).jpg, Finland and

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

are very at the same level in ice hockey and the matches between the two have always been entertaining File:Finland, Minnesota sign with smoke from the Greenwood Fire burning in Northern Minnesota (51404152306).jpg, Finland, Minnesota is a village founded by immigrants of Finnish origin File:Finnish Air Force Hawker Hurricane warbird and US Navy T-6 Texan warbird in flight over Finland.jpg, Finnish Air Force Hawker Hurricane warbird with US Navy T-6 Texan warbird in Finland

Embassies

The

Embassy of the United States The United States has the second most diplomatic missions of any country in the world after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as observer state Vatican City and non-member countries Kosovo a ...

is located in Helsinki. The Embassy of Finland is located in Washington, D.C..

Public opinion

According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 48% of Finnish people approve of U.S. leadership, with 34% disapproving and 18% uncertain.

Cultural exchange between the United States and Finland

The League of Finnish-American Societies ( fi, Suomi-Amerikka Yhdistysten Liitto) is a non-profit organization promoting cultural exchange between countries which operates in Finland. It has around 30 chapters in Finland, e.g. those in Helsinki, Turku,

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: ...

and

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

References

External links

History of Finland - U.S. relations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finland-United States relations Bilateral relations of the United States United States