President of Finland

The President of Finland is the head of state in Finland. The office was created in 1919. The president is elected for the term of six years. Since 1994, no president may be in office for more than two consecutive terms.

Between 1919 and 1987, the president was elected indirectly by an electoral college made up of electors chosen by voters in the presidential election. In the 1987 presidential election, a direct and an indirect election were conducted in parallel: if no candidate would gain majority, the president was elected by an electoral college formed in the same elections. Since then, presidential elections have been two-staged[?]: if no candidate wins majority in the first stage, the top two candidates rerun in the second stage.

There have been several exceptional presidential elections. The first president (Ståhlberg) was chosen by the parliament due to the transition rule of the constitution. In 1940 and 1943, the 1937 electoral college chose the president, as it was felt that a popular election could not be arranged due to war. In 1946 and 1973 the parliament chose the president under special laws.

List of Presidents of Finland

• Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg (1919-1925)
• Lauri Kristian Relander (1925-1931)
• Pehr Evind Svinhufvud (1931-1937)
• Kyösti Kallio (1937-1940)
• Risto Ryti (1940-1944)
• Carl Gustaf Mannerheim (1944-1946)
• Juho Kusti Paasikivi (1946-1956)
• Urho Kekkonen (1956-1982)
• Mauno Koivisto (1982-1994)
• Martti Ahtisaari (1994 -2000)
• Tarja Halonen (2000-)

External links

• Official site (http://www.presidentti.fi/english/)
• The Constitution of Finland (http://www.om.fi/constitution/index.htm)

See also:

Politics of Finland, List of Prime Ministers of Finland, Lists of incumbents