The People's Party of Finland () was a liberal political party in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

History

The party was founded on 3 February 1951 after the National Progressive Party was disbanded. In the July 1951 elections, it won ten of the 200 seats in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, an increase from the five won by the National Progressive Party in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p620 The party went on to win 13 seats in the 1954 elections, before being reduced to eight seats in the 1958 elections. The

1962 elections The following elections occurred in 1962. Africa * 1962 Algerian independence referendum, Algerian independence referendum * 1962 Chadian parliamentary election * 1962 Gambian legislative election, Gambian legislative election * 1962 Northern ...

saw the party win 13 seats. In 1965, it merged with the Liberal League to form the Liberal People's Party.

Leaders

;Presidents * Eino Saari 1951–1958 *

Veli Merikoski Veli Kaarlo Merikoski (2 January 1905 in Pyhtää – 28 January 1982 in Helsinki) was a professor at the University of Helsinki and once the Minister for Foreign Affairs representing the People's Party. Merikoski worked as an associate profes ...

1959–1960 * Harras Kyttä 1961–1963 *

Esa Kaitila Esa Heikki Kaitila (22 April 1909, Vyborg, Viipuri – 18 June 1975, Helsinki) was a Finland, Finnish professor and politician. He served as Minister of Social Affairs and Deputy Minister of Finance from 17 November 1953 to 5 May 1954, as Minister ...

1964–1965 ;General Secretaries *

Osmo Kupiainen Osmo is a Finnish male given name. It appears in Kalevala, where it means "a young man". The name has been in use since the 1880s. The name day for Osmo in Finland is 11 May. People with the name Osmo *Osmo Kontula Osmo Johannes Kontula (born ...

1951– *

Pekka Malinen Pekka Kullervo Malinen (11 June 1921 Viipuri – 21 September 2004) was Ambassador and Minister and Diplomat. He served as the party secretary of the Finnish People's Party in the 1950s. Male's parents were the farmer Esko Malinen and his wife Hi ...

1952–1960 *

Helge Halsti Helge or Helgi is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch mostly male name. The name is derived from Proto-Norse ''Hailaga'' with its original meaning being ''dedicated to the gods''. For its Slavic version, see Oleg. Its feminine equivalent is Olga ...

1960–1965

Election results

References

{{Finnish political parties Defunct political parties in Finland Political parties established in 1951 Political parties disestablished in 1965 Liberal parties in Finland 1951 establishments in Finland 1965 disestablishments in Finland