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The Sámi Parliament of Finland (, , , ) is the
representative body A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of ...
for people of
Sámi Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...
heritage 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, ...
. The parliament consists of 21 elected members and 4 elected deputy members. As of 2020, the president is Tuomas Aslak Juuso.


History

The passage of a "Sámi Act" by the Finnish Parliament and the creation of a central "Sámi Administration" to secure Sámi economic and political development and cultural self-expression were the recommendation of both the 1949-1951 and 1971-1973 Sámi Committees on State Affairs. After a trial election in 1972 with 2,649 eligible Sámi voters and a turnout rate of 72.6%, the Finnish Sámi Delegation ( in
Northern Sámi Northern Sámi or North Sámi ( ; ; ; ; ; disapproved exonym Lappish or Lapp) is the most widely spoken of all Sámi languages. The area where Northern Sámi is spoken covers the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland. Geographic distr ...
, in Finnish) was created by decree on 9 November 1973. The 20 delegates elected in the trial election sat in the Sámi Delegation of 1973–1976. Its successor, the Sámi Parliament () was legislated in 1995 and signed by President
Martti Ahtisaari Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (, 23 June 1937 – 16 October 2023) was a Finnish politician, the tenth president of Finland, from 1994 to 2000, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and a United Nations diplomat and mediation, mediator noted for his inte ...
on 17 July 1995. This law was amended and a decree passed on 22 December 1995. On 2 March 1996, the officially became/was replaced by .


Location

The Finnish Sámi Parliament is located in Sajos in Inari.


Responsibilities

Some of the responsibilities of the Finnish Sámi Parliament include matters related to the languages and culture of the
Sámi Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...
, and also their status as an
indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
. The Finnish Sámi Parliament decides on the distribution of the funds it receives that are earmarked for use by the Sámi. It can also sponsor bills and release statements on matters that fall under its jurisdiction. The Finnish Sámi Parliament is a separate branch of the Ministry of Justice and is an independent legal body subject to public law with its own governing body, accountants as well as auditors. The parliament has working groups for: education and education material, Sámi livelihood and rights, culture, social issues and health, election, and Sámi language. The Sami Parliament has an annual budget of about €2 million.


Voting system

The Finnish Sámi Parliament has 21 representatives and four deputy representatives who are elected every four years by postal vote. The four municipalities in the Sámi Domicile Area (
Enontekiö Enontekiö (; ; ; ; ) is a municipality in the Finnish part of Lapland with approximately inhabitants. It is situated in the outermost northwest of the country and occupies a large and very sparsely populated area of about between the Swedis ...
,
Utsjoki Utsjoki (; ; ; ; ) is a municipality in Finland, the northernmost in the country. It is in Lapland and borders Norway as well as the municipality of Inari. The municipality was founded in 1876. It has a population of () and covers an area of ...
, Inari and
Sodankylä Sodankylä (; ; ; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the region of Lapland, and lies at the northern end of Highway 5 ( E63) and along Highway 4 ( E75). The Kitinen River flows near the center of Sodankylä. Its neighbouring mun ...
) elect three members and one deputy member each, and the remaining nine members are elected from those candidates who received the highest share of the votes (regardless of which municipality they live in, or whether they live outside the Sámi Domicile Area). Under the Section 3 of the Act on the Sámi Parliament a person is eligible to vote if they consider themselves as a Sámi, and: * They, or one of their parents or grandparents was native Sámi speaker, or * They are descended from a person in the mountain, forest, or fisher Lapp Sámi register (), or * At least one of their parents are, was, or could have been, eligible for voting at the Sámi Parliament of 1995 or the Sámi Council of 1973.


Elections

In 2016, the Sámi Parliament sought to hold a new election following the results of the 2015 election, which ran between 7 September and 4 October. The
Supreme Administrative Court of Finland The Supreme Administrative Court of Finland (, ) is the highest court in the Finnish administrative court system, parallel to the Supreme Court of Finland. Its jurisdiction covers the legality of the decisions of government officials, and its ...
ruled that the move to organise a new election was illegal, and the October results stood. Turnout was 51.63%. 2,853 votes were cast in the September 2019 election, which represents turnout of 48.58% of the 5,873 on the Sámi electoral roll. Nine members were re-elected, eight members were elected for the first time and four candidates who had previously been members were elected.


See also

* List of presidents of the Sámi Parliament of Finland * Sámi parliaments **
Sámi Parliament of Norway The Sámi Parliament of Norway (, , Lule Sami and , , , ) is the representative body for people of Sámi heritage in Norway. It acts as an institution of cultural autonomy for the Sami people of Norway. The parliament opened on 9 October ...
**
Sámi Parliament of Sweden The Sámi Parliament of Sweden (, , , ) is the representative body for people of Sámi heritage in Sweden based in Kiruna. It acts as an institution of cultural autonomy for the indigenous Sámi people. History The Sami Parliament ActSametingsla ...
**
Sámi Parliament of Russia Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise n ...
*
Elections in Finland There are five types of elections in Finland: elections for the President of Finland, president, the Parliament of Finland, parliament, county councils of the Wellbeing services counties of Finland, wellbeing services counties, Municipalities of ...


References


External links

*
Sámi Parliament of Finland
{{Authority control Politics of Finland Sámi in Finland
Parliaments In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. T ...
1973 establishments in Finland