Finland

Finland, 1917 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed

Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Finland declared its independence, and a civil war ensued the following year, with the anticommunist Whites emerging victorious. During World War II, Finland fought against the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War, and later against Nazi Germany in the Lapland War. After the Cold War, Finland became a member of the European Union in 1995 and the Eurozone in 1999. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Finland joined NATO in 2023.

Seat of power: Helsinki

Rulers

Pehr Evind Svinhufvud

Prime Minister of Finland, 1917–1918

From December 1917 until May 1918, Svinhufvud operated as the first head of government of independent Finland as Chairman of the Senate. He led the White government during the Finnish Civil War of January to May 1918, while Mannerheim led the White Finnish armies.

Portrait of Pehr Evind Svinhufvud: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Lauri Ingman

Prime Minister of Finland, 1918–1919

Lauri Ingman was a Finnish theologian, bishop and politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland twice, in 1918–1919 and 1924–1925.

Portrait of Lauri Ingman: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg

President of Finland, 1919–1925

He was the first president of Finland (1919–1925) and a liberal nationalist. Ståhlberg was an important figure in the drafting of Finland's republican constitution.

Portrait of Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Lauri Kristian Relander

President of Finland, 1925–1931

Relander was a prominent member of the Agrarian League and served as a member of Parliament, and as Speaker, before his election as president. During his presidency, Relander emphasized the preservation of social peace and otherwise required the left wing to accept the rules of the democracy, the right wing to accept the rules of the republic, and the nationalists to agree on the Finnish language policy.

Portrait of Lauri Kristian Relander: AnonymousUnknown author, CC BY 4.0, file

Pehr Evind Svinhufvud

President of Finland, 1931–1937

Svinhufvud served as the president of Finland from 1931 to 1937. During his presidency, Svinhufvud successfully called for an end to the Mäntsälä rebellion of 1932.

Portrait of Pehr Evind Svinhufvud: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Kyösti Kallio

President of Finland, 1937–1940

His presidency included leading the country through the Winter War; while he relinquished the post of commander-in-chief to Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, he played a role as a spiritual leader. After the war, he became both the first president of Finland to resign and the only one to die in office, dying of a heart attack while returning home after submitting his resignation.

Portrait of Kyösti Kallio: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Risto Ryti

President of Finland, 1940–1944

Ryti served as prime minister during the Winter War and the Interim Peace, and as president during the Continuation War. His resignation soon afterwards allowed his successor, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, to bypass the agreement and make peace with the Soviet Union once the offensive had been stopped.

Portrait of Risto Ryti: Aarne Tenhovaara (1890–1945), Public domain, file

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim

President of Finland, 1944–1946

He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War (1918), as regent of Finland (1918–1919), as commander-in-chief of the Finnish Defence Forces during World War II (1939–1945), and as the president of Finland (1944–1946).

Portrait of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim: sa-kuva, Public domain, file

Juho Kusti Paasikivi

President of Finland, 1946–1956

Paasikivi has been remembered as a realistic peace negotiator and a main architect of Finland's foreign policy after the Second World War.

Portrait of Juho Kusti Paasikivi: F.E Fremling, CC BY 4.0, file

Urho Kekkonen

President of Finland, 1956–1982

As president, Kekkonen continued the "active neutrality" policy of his predecessor President Juho Kusti Paasikivi that came to be known as the Paasikivi–Kekkonen doctrine, under which Finland was to retain its independence while maintaining good relations and extensive trade with members of both NATO and the Warsaw Pact. He served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982.

Portrait of Urho Kekkonen: AnonymousUnknown author / Kuvasiskot studio, CC BY 4.0, file

Mauno Koivisto

President of Finland, 1982–1994

He served as the president of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as the country's prime minister twice, from 1968 to 1970 and again from 1979 to 1982.

Portrait of Mauno Koivisto: European Communities, 1991 / EC - Audiovisual Service, CC BY 4.0, file

Martti Ahtisaari

President of Finland, 1994–2000

He was the president of Finland from 1994 to 2000. Noted for his international peace work, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008.

Portrait of Martti Ahtisaari: Markku Niskanen, CC BY 4.0, file

Tarja Halonen

President of Finland, 2000–2012

She served as the president of Finland, and was the first and to date only woman to hold the position in Finland, from 2000 to 2012. Halonen was an extremely popular president, with her approval ratings reaching a peak of 88 percent in December 2003.

Portrait of Tarja Halonen: Tarja_Halonen_1c389_8827.jpg: Janwikifoto derivative work: Bff (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Sauli Niinistö

President of Finland, 2012–2024

Niinistö served as the president of Finland from 2012 to 2024. He won reelection in the first round on 28 January 2018 with 62.7% of the vote and his second term began on 1 February 2018.

Portrait of Sauli Niinistö: FinnishGovernment, CC BY 2.0, file

Alexander Stubb

President of Finland, 2024 to today

Alexander Stubb is a Finnish politician serving as the president of Finland since 2024. A member of the National Coalition Party, he previously served as prime minister of Finland from 2014 to 2015.

Portrait of Alexander Stubb: The White House, Public domain, file

Culture

Finland became the first country in Europe to grant universal suffrage in 1906, and the first in the world to give all adult citizens the right to run for public office.
Finland remained a largely rural and agrarian country until the 1950s, when it pursued rapid industrialisation and a Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in an advanced economy and high per capita income.
The Finns' love for saunas is generally associated with Finnish cultural tradition. The word sauna is of Proto-Finnish origin (found in Finnic and Sámi languages) dating back 7,000 years.
Tove Jansson, best known as the creator of The Moomins, is among the most translated Finnish writers.

Picture

The Finlandia Hall is a congress and event venue in the centre of Helsinki, designed by the architect Alvar Aalto and completed in 1971.

Image: User:Matthias Süßen, CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.