The Swedish Assembly of Finland ( sv, Svenska Finlands Folkting, fi, Suomenruotsalaiset kansankäräjät, although often referred to as ''Folktinget'' even in Finnish) is an official consultative parliament representing the
Swedish-speaking minority 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 Bot ...
.
Elections
Elections are held every four years, and candidates are nominated by the
political parties
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 ...
which are either bilingual or Swedish-speaking. The assembly has 75 seats, where 70 are filled on the basis of
municipal
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 ...
election results, and five are appointed by the
Parliament of Åland ( sv, Lagtinget).
Purpose
The assembly is a forum for political discussion on issues concerning Swedish speakers, and it also functions as an interest group for Swedish-speaking population. It also engages in research on demographic issues and publishes information to the public about the situation of the Swedish-speaking Finns.
Leadership
Astrid Thors was chairperson of the Swedish Assembly of Finland 2005 – 2007. She was succeeded by
Ulla-Maj Wideroos in 2007, by
Anna-Maja Henriksson
Anna-Maja Kristina Henriksson (née Forss; born 7 January 1964) is a Swedish-speaking Finnish politician. She has served as Finland's Minister of Justice, in Jyrki Katainen's cabinet and Alexander Stubb's cabinet from 2011 to 2015, Antti Rinne' ...
in 2009, by
Christina Gestrin in 2011, by
Thomas Blomqvist in 2015 and by
Sandra Bergqvist in 2019.
See also
*
Finland's language strife
*
Svecoman
The Svecoman ( sv, Svekoman, , ) movement was a Suecophile or pro- Swedish nationalist movement that arose in the Grand Duchy of Finland at the end of the 19th century chiefly as a reaction to the demands for increased use of Finnish vigorously ...
*
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 ...
*
Yle Teema & Fem
Yle Teema & Fem is a Finnish free-to-air television channel owned by Finnish state-broadcaster Yle. It was launched on 24 April 2017, after Yle Teema and Yle Fem merged to this channel.
Teema & Fem is Yle's channel for culture, education, and sci ...
*
Thing (assembly)
A thing, german: ding, ang, þing, enm, thing. (that is, "assembly" or folkmoot) was a governing assembly in early Germanic society, made up of the free people of the community presided over by a lawspeaker. Things took place at regular i ...
External links
Swedish Assembly of Finland(in both Swedish and Finnish)
Swedish in Finland a brochure in English and French by (and in part about) the Assembly
{{Authority control
Swedish-speaking population of Finland
Politics of Finland