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 ...

. 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. The ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, have thus been grand coalitions 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 refe ...

, 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 go ...

, 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 ac ...

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 adopts ...

, but which are registered political parties, are listed below.

Unregistered

Historical parties

Parliamentary historical parties

Extra-parliamentary historical parties

Piraattipuolueen ja Itsenäisyyspuolueen vaalikontit

* Swedish party (''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 li ...

(''Liberaalinen puolue'') 1880–1885 * Finnish Active Resistance Party (''Suomen aktiivinen vastustuspuolue'') 1904–1908 * National Workers' Party (''Kansallinen Työväenpuolue'') 1917–? * Socialist Party of Work (''Sosialistinen Työpuolue'') 1917–1919 * Peasant People's Party (''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 ...

(''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 The Finnish People's Organisation (Finnish: , SKJ) (Swedish: , FFO) was a bilingual Nazi party founded by Jaeger Captain Arvi Kalsta. Supporters of the movement were also called Kalstaites after the leader. The inaugural meeting of the organization ...

(''Suomen Kansan Järjestö'') 1933–1936 *

Finnish-Socialist Workers' Party The Finnish-Socialist Workers' Party (Finnish: , SSTP) was a Finnish Nazi party that operated from 1934 to 1944 and was led by engineer Ensio Uoti.Ekberg 1991, s. 95–99. The party program In its program, the party stated that its core goal wa ...

(''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 The Organisation of National Socialists (Finnish: , KSJ) was a Finnish Nazi party operating in 1940–1944. It was founded and led by Arvi Kalsta, and the party was a continuation of Kalsta's earlier party Finnish People's Organisation. The party ...

(''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 (''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 (''Yhteisvastuu puolue'') 1987–2007 * Senior Citizens' Party of Finland (''Suomen Senioripuolue''), 1990–2014 * Women's Party (''Naisten puolue'') 1990–1995 * Party of Humanity (''Ihmisyydenpuolue'') 1991–1995 * Finnish People's Blue-whites (''Suomen Kansan Sinivalkoiset'', SKS) 1993–2010 * Patriotic People's Movement (''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 con ...

(''Luonnonlain puolue'') 1994–2001 * Workers' Party of Finland (''Suomen Työväenpuolue'') 1999–2018 * Forces for Change in Finland (''Muutosvoimat Suomi'') 2002–2007 * For the Poor (''Köyhien Asialla'') 2002–2015 * Blue and White Front (''Sinivalkoinen Rintama'') 2009–2015

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 B ...

Political parties Political parties