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Finland Geography




Finland (Finnish Suomi), republic in northern Europe, bounded on the north by Norway, on the east by Russia, on the south by Russia and the Gulf of Finland, on the southwest by the Baltic Sea, and on the west by the Gulf of Bothnia and Sweden. Nearly one-third of the country lies north of the Arctic Circle. The area of Finland, including 33,551 sq km (12,954 sq mi) of inland water, totals 338,145 sq km (130,559 sq mi). Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland.

Land and Resources

Finland is a country of some 60,000 lakes, the largest of which are Saimaa, Inari, and Päijänne. Projecting southwest into the Baltic Sea is the Ahvenanmaa archipelago (Åland Islands), which consists of some 6500 islands. Among the principal rivers are the Tornio, Muonio, Kemi, and Oulu. Only the Oulu is navigable by large craft. The country consists mostly of tableland, with average heights of about 120 to 180 m (about 400 to 600 ft) above sea level. The terrain is generally level; hilly areas are more prominent in the north, and mountains are found in the extreme northwest. Mount Haltia (1324 m/4344 ft) in the northwest near the Norwegian border is the highest point. The northernmost part of Finland, which lies above the Arctic Circle, is known as Lapland.

Plants and Animals

Nearly three-quarters of Finland is forested. Except in the extreme south, where aspen, alder, maple, and elm trees are found, the forests are chiefly coniferous, dominated by spruce and pine trees. Finland has nearly 1200 species of plants and ferns and some 1000 varieties of lichens. Wildlife includes bear, wolf, lynx, and arctic fox, all found mainly in the less populated northern regions. Reindeer, domesticated by the Sami (Lapps), are becoming extinct in the wild. Wild goose, swan, ptarmigan, snow bunting, and golden plover nest throughout northern Finland. Freshwater fish include perch, salmon, trout, and pike. The leading saltwater fish are cod, herring, and haddock. Seals are found along the coast.

Soils

Gray mountain soils predominate in inland regions. The northern third of Finland is covered by peat bogs. The most fertile soils are on the southern coastal plains, which are composed of marine clay.

Climate

Because of the moderating influence of the surrounding water bodies, the climate of Finland is considerably less severe than might be expected. The average July temperature along the southern coast is 15.6° C (60° F); in February the average is about -8.9° C (about 16° F). Precipitation (including snow and rain) averages about 460 mm (about 18 in) in the north and 710 mm (28 in) in the south. Light snow covers the ground for four or five months a year in the south and about seven months in the north.

Natural Resources

Productive forestland is the most valuable natural resource of Finland. Spruce, pine, and silver birch are the principal trees. The only natural fuels in the country are wood and peat. Finland also has some rich deposits of metallic ores from which copper, zinc, iron, and nickel are extracted. Lead, vanadium, silver, and gold are also mined commercially. Granite and limestone are the most abundant nonmetallic minerals.

Waterpower

In the early 1990s about 19.5 percent of Finland's annual electric-power production was supplied by hydroelectric plants. About 53.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity was produced annually.

Population

Finns constitute more than 93 percent of the population and persons of Swedish descent about 6 percent. The far north is inhabited by about 2500 Sami; other minority groups make up less than 1 percent. Though the size of the Swedish minority is declining, Swedes in Finland have their own political party, some of their own schools, and other separate institutions.

Approximately 60 percent of the population is urban. Finnish and Swedish are the official languages. More than 93 percent of the population speaks Finnish, a Finno-Ugric language (see FINNISH LANGUAGE). About 6 percent of the people, concentrated largely in the Ahvenanmaa archipelago, speak Swedish. The Sami speak Sami (Lappish), a dialect of Finnish. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is the principal national church, and its members make up about 90 percent of the population; freedom of worship is, however, guaranteed to all faiths. The Orthodox church, still a national church, has sharply decreased in numbers since World War II (1939-1945).

Population Characteristics

The population of Finland (1991 estimate) was 5,029,002. A density of about 15 persons per sq km (about 39 per sq mi) makes Finland one of the most sparsely inhabited countries in Europe. More than two-thirds of the population reside in the southern third of the country.

Political Divisions

Finland is divided into 12 provinces, each administered by a governor appointed by the president. The provinces are Uusimaa, Turku Ja Pori, Ahvenanmaa, Häme, Kymi, Mikkeli, Pohjois-Karjala, Kuopio, Keski-Suomi, Vaasa, Oulu, and Lappi. Ahvenanmaa has considerable autonomy.

Principal Cities

Helsinki had a population (1991 estimate) of 497,542. It is the intellectual, manufacturing, and trade center of Finland. The next two largest cities, Tampere (173,797) and Turku (159,403), are also industrial centers of the country.

Culture

After the conquest of the Finnish tribes by Sweden beginning in the 12th century (see History, below), the indigenous culture was to a great extent dominated by Swedish influences, which endure to the present. Among the peasants, traditional epic poems continued to be sung to the accompaniment of the zitherlike kantele, and wood carvings and rugs were still decorated with the traditional polychromy and spiral, swastika (an ancient symbol), and similar simple, geometric designs. Among the educated, however, Swedish culture predominated. Swedish was spoken and, with rare exceptions, was the language of literature. Because the styles of Swedish art and architecture were largely derivative, many Finnish buildings and works of art reflected Italian, Flemish, German, and other European influences. In the 19th century, however, educated Finns began to revive the folk traditions of their country. At the same time, a national literature in the Finnish language emerged, and Finnish styles appeared increasingly in art and architecture. The sauna, a steam bath produced by pouring water over heated rocks, is a Finnish invention.

Libraries and Museums

The Finns are a book-loving people, and libraries and museums are an integral part of their culture. The Helsinki City Library (1860) has nearly 2.1 million volumes. The Helsinki University Library, with about 2.6 million volumes, serves as a national library. Altogether Finland has more than 1500 libraries throughout the country. Since World War II, the number of museums has grown to more than 300. The National Museum of Finland (1893), at Helsinki, contains Finnish, Finno-Ugrian, and comparative ethnographical collections, as well as an archaeological department. Other museums include the Mannerheim, the Municipal, and the Athenaeum at Helsinki and the Art Museum at Turku.

Literature

See FINNISH LITERATURE.

Music

Finland possesses a wealth of folk music and a large body of church music, the former amassed since ancient times and the latter developed since the acceptance of Christianity by the Finns in the 12th century. During the Reformation, Gregorian chant and other existing vocal church music, previously composed to Latin texts, was adapted to the Finnish language.

The cultivation of secular music began in the 17th century. An amateur orchestra was formed in the former Finnish capital, Turku, and in 1640 music was made part of the curriculum of the university at Turku.

The development of Finnish art music began about the middle of the 19th century, mainly as a result of the works and teaching of two German-born musicians, the composer Fredrik Pacius and the conductor and collector of Finnish folk songs Richard Friedrich Faltin. Martin Wegelius, the first important native-born composer, also significantly influenced the development of Finnish art music as director of the Helsinki Conservatory. His contemporary, the Finnish composer Robert Kajanus, introduced Finnish music to Western European audiences as conductor of the Helsinki Municipal Orchestra.

Until the late 19th century the dominant influence on Finnish composers was that of German music. Pacius, Faltin, Wegelius, and Kajanus all cultivated Finnish folk music in their work, but it was Jean Sibelius, the student of Kajanus, who created a truly national musical style and won international recognition for Finnish music.

In December 1993 the new, 1385-seat Finnish National Opera opened in Helsinki; it will house the Finnish National Opera and the Finnish National Ballet. Finland has produced many operas of distinction in recent years by composers such as Aulis Sallinen, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Erik Bergman, and Joonas Kookonen. After Finland became independent in 1917, modern Finnish composers grew increasingly interested in a variety of modern trends. See also FOLK MUSIC.

Economy

World War II left Finland with towering economic problems, including high inflation, unemployment, and an unfavorable balance of trade. Since then the industrial sector has expanded—by the late 1960s more persons were employed in manufacturing than in both agriculture and forestry—and the trade balance has improved. Except for public utilities, industry and business are privately owned. The government, however, exercises considerable control over the economy by means of numerous regulations. The annual national budget in the late 1980s averaged $28.2 billion in revenues and $27.5 billion in expenses.

Agriculture

Farming in Finland is limited chiefly to the fertile coastal regions, and only about 8 percent of the total land area of Finland is under cultivation. The large majority of the farms are less than 20 hectares (less than 49 acres) in size. Not more than 20 percent of the farmers employ paid labor regularly. In 1992 the approximate annual yield (in metric tons) of the principal crops was as follows: barley, 1.3 million; sugar beets, 1.1 million; oats, 998,000; potatoes, 673,000; and wheat, 212,000. Livestock included about 6 million poultry, 1.3 million cattle, 1.3 million pigs, 414,000 reindeer, and 108,000 sheep.

Forestry and Fishing

About 60 percent of the forest in Finland is privately owned. The central government controls about one-fourth, and corporations and municipalities own most of the remainder. About 35 million cu m (about 1.2 billion cu ft) of roundwood were cut annually in the late 1980s. The annual fish catch totaled 97,400 metric tons; about one-fifth of the total was taken from inland waters. Concerns about environmental issues have resulted from controversial plans to accelerate the country's timber harvest rate, and pollution problems in Baltic coastal waters.

Mining

Finland is a significant source of copper, producing about 16,200 metric tons (metal content) a year in the early 1990s. Annual zinc production is about 57,300 metric tons (metal content). Production of silver yields about 26,600 metric tons a year. Chromite, lead, nickel, and gold are also mined.

Manufacturing

The pulp, paper, and woodworking industries account for a significant share of the Finnish manufacturing output. In the late 1980s about 1.3 million metric tons of newsprint were produced annually. Production of sawn wood totaled about 7.1 million cu m (about 250 million cu ft) a year. Other manufactures include heavy machinery, basic metals, ships, engineering products, printing and publishing, food products and beverages, textiles and clothing, chemicals, glass, and ceramics.

Currency and Banking

The basic unit of currency is the markka (5 markkaa equal U.S.$1; 1994). The Bank of Finland, established in 1811, is the state bank and has sole right to issue notes. In the late 1980s, Finland had 10 commercial banks, with 940 branch offices, and some 230 savings banks with more than 1300 branch offices. Since 1976 stringent control of the money market has been maintained by the government.

Foreign Trade

The paper, pulp, newsprint, and wood industries account for nearly 40 percent of yearly Finnish exports. Imports include petroleum, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, iron and steel products, food, and textiles. Considerable commerce is conducted with Sweden, Great Britain, Germany, and other countries of the European Union (formerly the European Community), with which Finland in 1972 negotiated a trade agreement. Other leading trade partners have included the United States, Japan, France, Denmark, and Norway. Trade with the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) has declined considerably in recent years. In 1992 the country's annual imports were about $21.2 billion and exports about $24 billion. Finland became an associate member of the European Free Trade Association in 1961, and a full member in 1986. In May 1994, the European Parliament endorsed Finland for European Union membership. A referendum for approval by Finnish voters was scheduled for November 1994.

Transportation

A system of canals, connecting Finland's lakes with one another and with the Gulf of Finland, provides cheap and efficient transport for the forest industry; about 6600 km (about 4100 mi) of inland waterways are navigable. Railroad lines have a combined length of about 5925 km (about 3680 mi), owned and operated by the state. Finland has about 76,630 km (about 47,620 mi) of roads, 54 percent of them paved. Finnair provides domestic and international flights; Karair and Finnaviation serve a number of Finnish cities.

Communications

The government controls domestic telegraph services and operates the Finnish Broadcasting Company, which broadcasts most of the radio and television programs of Finland. A privately owned television station offers about 20 hours a week of commercial programs. Approximately one-third of the telephone service is state-owned. About 3 million telephones, 4.9 million radio receivers, and 1.9 million television receivers were in use during the early 1990s. More than 100 daily newspapers and numerous periodicals are published.

Labor

The Finnish labor force numbers about 2.5 million people. Employees are represented by labor unions, which are grouped in two large federations: the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions and the Confederation of Salaried Employees.

Government

Finland is a republic, with a democratic and parliamentary form of government. The country is governed under a constitution that was adopted on July 17, 1919.

Executive

Finland is headed by a president, who is elected to a six-year term by direct popular vote. If no candidate wins an absolute majority, however, the selection is made by a 301-member electoral college, chosen by popular vote under a system of proportional representation. The Council of State (cabinet) is appointed by the president, subject to the approval of parliament, and is headed by the prime minister. The minimum voting age is 18.

Legislature

The Finnish parliament, known as the Eduskunta, is unicameral and is composed of 200 members elected by direct and popular vote for a term of up to four years on the basis of proportional representation.

Political Parties

Among the most active political parties are the Finnish Social Democratic party (1899), advocating state ownership of certain essential industries; the Center party (1906), which derives its support from the small farmers and advocates free enterprise; the Finnish People's Democratic League (1944), which includes the Communist party; the National Coalition party (1918), an advocate of private enterprise; and the Swedish People's party (1906), representing the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland.

Local Government

Executive power in the Finnish provinces is exercised by a prefect or governor, who is appointed by the country's president. In Ahvenanmaa, which has been granted considerable autonomy, a provincial council is elected by the residents; the provincial council in turn chooses an executive council that shares governing power with the governor.

Judiciary

The local court system of Finland is divided into municipal courts in towns and district courts in rural areas. Appellate courts are located in Turku, Vaasa, Kuopio, Kuovola, Rovaniemi, and Helsinki. The supreme court, which sits at Helsinki, is the final court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases.

Health and Welfare

The Finnish social-welfare system provides unemployment, sickness, disability, and old-age insurance; family and child allowances; and war-invalid compensation. Medical coverage has often been dispensed through a person's place of employment, but the National Health Act of 1972 provided for the establishment of health centers in all municipalities, and also provided for the elimination of doctor's fees.

Defense

Military service for up to 11 months is compulsory for all males 17 years of age or over. Finland has an army, a navy, and an air force, but the armed forces are restricted by the Paris peace treaty of 1947 to maximum personnel of 41,900; in 1992 about 32,800 people were in the armed services. Reserves total about 700,000.

History

The earliest traces of human habitation in Finland date from about 8000 BC, when the most recent of the Ice Ages was retreating. These primitive hunters and gatherers probably arrived from the east. Pottery making characterized another type of Stone Age culture (starting 3000? BC) known as the Comb-Ceramic; its practitioners were of a different origin. The succeeding Battle-Ax culture (1800-1600 BC) may have been brought to Finland by an Indo-European people from a more southerly Baltic region; these people were able navigators and also introduced agriculture. A merger of the Battle-Ax people and the previous dwellers resulted in the so-called Kiukainen culture (1600-1200 BC).

The Bronze Age began in Finland about 1300 BC. During the first part of the pre-Christian era and the following centuries, people speaking one of the Finno-Ugric languages migrated in from the east and from Estonia in the south. This period marks the introduction of the Iron Age in Finland.

The Viking Age

During the age of the Vikings the Finns became exposed to both eastern and western influences. Vikings from Sweden used the Åland Islands (colonized by Swedes in the 6th century AD) as a base for their journeys of pillage and trade into Russia as far south as the Black Sea. Although they did not actually participate in these Viking expeditions, the Finns benefited by the growing contact and the establishment of trading colonies in their country by merchants from Sweden and Gotland. At the end of the 11th century three Finnish tribes had spread as far north as the 62nd parallel: the Finns proper in the southwest, the Tavastians in the interior lake district, and the Karelians to the east. Sami were also living in the wilderness to the north. No unified government or state existed.

The Swedish Conquest

The conversion of the Finnish tribes to Christianity was initiated both from the Orthodox East and Roman Catholic Sweden. It proceeded for more than two centuries, from 1050 to about 1300. The Sami became Christians at an even later date.

According to tradition, Nicholas Breakspear, an English cardinal who became Pope Adrian IV, encouraged the Swedish king Eric to cross the Baltic with a strong force in 1155. His goal was not only to convert the heathen but also to gain economic and political ends. King Eric defeated the Finnish tribes but was not able to make his conquest permanent. An English clergyman, Henry, who had been bishop of Uppsala in Sweden, remained in Finland. He was slain within the year and subsequently became the patron saint of the city Turku (Swedish Åbo) and of all the Finns.

A papal bull of 1172 (or 1171) proposed that the Swedes hold Finland in subjection by building fortresses with permanent garrisons; in time, the Swedes subdued the Finns and the Tavastians, achieved control of Finland's foreign trade, and established the Christian religion. The church was placed on a firm foundation when an episcopal see was established at Turku in 1209 (a monastery of the Dominicans was founded there in 1249). In 1216 the pope confirmed Swedish title to those parts of Finland that were already conquered and also to mission territories in the east and north. A solid basis for Swedish rule was laid by the Earl Birger, who dispatched a “crusade” in 1249 and built a fortress in Tavastia in central Finland as a protection against Russian incursions. When the ruler of Novgorod in Russia invaded Tavastia again in 1292, the Swedes sent a force into Karelia as far as the Neva River. A treaty of 1323 divided Karelia between Sweden and Novgorod.

In 1362 the Finnish people were given the same rights within the monarchy as the people of Sweden. When Queen Margaret I established the Kalmar Union in 1397, Finland was drawn into the dynastic politics of the Scandinavian countries. All during the 15th and 16th centuries most of Finland was administered as fiefs by Swedish noblemen, who levied heavy taxes on the people. Numerous Swedes—farmers, fishers, and merchants—settled in Finland at this time.

A Swedish Duchy

King Gustav I Vasa attempted to institute economic and administrative reforms. At the Diet of Västerås in 1527 the Swedes essentially broke with Rome, although they did not formally accept the doctrines of Martin Luther until several years later. During this time much land and property in Finland was taken over by the Crown. During a war (1555-1557) against Ivan of Russia, Finland was made a Swedish duchy and given as a fief to the future John III. In the 25 years between 1570 and 1595 Finland was involved in constant warfare between Sweden and Russia.

Under Charles IX the entire administration of Finland was concentrated in Stockholm, and a basis was laid for further material progress. Under Charles's successor, Gustav II Adolph, protracted wars were fought against Denmark, Poland, and Russia. War with Russia ended with the Peace of Stolbova (1617), which pushed Finnish boundaries farther east into Ingria.

Great numbers of Finnish soldiers fought for the Swedes in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), which also resulted in heavy taxation on the populace. Another war with Russia (1656-1661) exacted great suffering but ended with a territorial status quo. The “reduction” (reversion to the Crown of lands that had been given to nobles as compensation for services rendered) of Charles XI benefited Finnish farmers to some extent, but crop failures in 1695 through 1697 caused the death of one-fourth of the population. This was followed by the tragic years of the Great Northern War (1700-1721), during which the Russians occupied Finland; at the Peace of Nystadt (1721) it lost large areas in the east. During another war with Russia (1741-1743) more territory was ceded; yet one more conflict in 1788 to 1790 left the situation unchanged. The idea of Finnish independence from Sweden, however, began to take hold.

Russian Rule, 1809 to 1917

A year after his agreement with Napoleon at Tilsit (see TILSIT, TREATY OF) in 1807, Czar Alexander I attacked and occupied Finland. In March 1809 he proclaimed it a grand duchy of the Russian Empire but granted his new subjects all their old rights and privileges. In the Peace of Hamina (Swedish Fredrikshamn) in September, Sweden formally ceded all Finland and the Åland Islands to Russia; at the same time, however, the Karelian areas ceded to Russia before 1809 were returned to Finland.

The country was henceforth ruled by a Russian governor-general, with a so-called senate, which sat in the new capital of Helsinki, acting as a cabinet. In spite of despotic rule by some governors-general, much material and cultural progress was made during the middle decades of the century. After 1820 a nationalist awakening took place among the population, centered mainly on a resurgence of the Finnish language. In 1863 the Lantdag (parliament), which had not met since 1809, was reconstituted, and in the same year the Finnish language was granted equal status with Swedish.

Toward the end of the century a shift in Russian policy was manifest. In 1894 the use of the Russian language was introduced in some government business, and five years later all legislation was placed in Russian hands. During the following years the citizens of Finland lost many of their constitutional rights. The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 slowed the process of Russification somewhat. In 1906 a new parliamentary system was adopted, a one-chamber Eduskunta (parliament) created, and the right to vote given to all men and women over the age of 25. Another wave of Russification swept Finland in 1908, culminating in the Equal Rights Law of 1912, which gave Russians the same rights in Finland as the country's own population.

Finland was not directly involved in World War I (1914-1918), although Russian troops were garrisoned in the country. During the turmoil of the Russian Revolution in 1917, a newly elected Finnish parliament took advantage of the situation and on November 15 assumed “all powers formerly held by the Czar-Grand Duke.” Three weeks later, on December 6, it voted in favor of an independent republic. The nascent Soviet government had no choice but to recognize Finnish sovereignty.

Independence, Civil War, and the Interwar Period

Many problems faced the new republic, among them famine, widespread unemployment, and a stagnant economy. Moreover, the population was now sharply polarized between the radical socialists and the nonsocialists, and two armies, the Red Guards and the White Guards, were being formed in the country.

The mounting friction soon erupted in violence. On January 28, 1918, the Red Guards, reacting to a government order to expel all Russian troops, spread a “Red revolution” across Finland, plundering and killing civilians. The government fled to Vaasa, and resistance to the Reds was organized by General Carl G. Mannerheim. He headed the White Guards, who, assisted by German troops, captured Helsinki and, in turn, instituted a wave of terror against the Red revolutionaries. After the country had been pacified, the parliament in July 1919 adopted a new republican constitution. Kaarlo J. Ståhlberg, a liberal, was elected first president of Finland.

The 1920s and 1930s were characterized by the rule of various coalition cabinets made up of nonsocialist parties. The Communist party was declared illegal, but Social Democrats made some progress. A nonaggression treaty was concluded with the Soviet Union in 1932, and after 1935 the Scandinavian orientation of Finnish foreign policy was confirmed.

The Winter and Continuation Wars

At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Finland declared its neutrality. The USSR, however, anxious to secure the approaches to Leningrad, demanded that Finland cede certain territory in return for parts of Soviet Karelia. When the Finns refused, Soviet armies invaded Finland on November 30, 1939, initiating the Winter War. The Finns, under Mannerheim, fought back and won some astounding victories, but superior Soviet power was decisive, and the Finns were forced to sue for peace. See RUSSO-FINNISH WAR.

When Germany attacked the USSR in June 1941, the Finns again proclaimed their neutrality, although 75,000 German troops were operating from northern Finland. German use of Finnish territory led the Russians to bomb Finnish cities. Finland then declared war against the USSR, emphasizing that the Finns were not allies of Germany but merely co-belligerents. Nevertheless, Great Britain declared war on Finland in December 1941, and the United States broke relations. After a prolonged standstill, Marshal Mannerheim was installed as president in August 1944, with a mandate to secure peace. An armistice was signed on September 19, 1944. Finland ceded the Petsamo area in the north and had to lease its Porkkala Peninsula in the Gulf of Finland to the USSR. Reparations were set at $300 million.

Postwar Period

The final peace treaty with the USSR was signed in 1947. Reparations, in the form of commodities, were fully paid by 1952, and three years later the Porkkala Peninsula was returned to Finland. The new relationship with the USSR necessitated the legalization of the Communist party and a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (1948; voided in January 1992).

Foreign Policy

The main thrust of Finnish foreign policy until the collapse of Soviet hegemony in Eastern Europe in the early 1990s was strict international neutrality and friendly relations with the USSR, yet without any reduction in Finland's independent status. This policy, the so-called Paasikivi-Kekkonen Line, was named for the postwar president Juho K. Paasikivi, who initiated it, and his successor, Urho K. Kekkonen, who broadened it.

Perhaps more than any other person, Kekkonen put his stamp on Finnish postwar politics. As prime minister from 1950 to 1956 (with two brief intervals) and president from 1956 to 1981, he assuaged Soviet fears of an unfriendly Finland and displayed a finely tuned sensitivity to Soviet wishes that Finns not engage in activities deemed detrimental to USSR interests. This relationship was derogatorily labeled “Finlandization.” by many Western observers. Finland's position, however, was not as subservient to the USSR as often envisioned; indeed, the country remained firmly oriented toward Scandinavia and the West. After the dissolution of the USSR, Finland began restructuring its economic orientation and developing relationships with the former Soviet republics.

Internal Politics

None of Finland's political parties enjoys majority support, and coalition cabinets are therefore the rule. This has greatly contributed to governmental instability, as coalition, minority, and caretaker administrations have come and gone in rapid succession (an average of once a year since 1917). Most postwar cabinets have been headed by Social Democrats or Center party leaders. Periodic attempts by the USSR to influence Finland's electoral process generally had a negative effect, as in 1979, when Conservatives gained at Communist expense. In January 1982 Mauno Koivisto, a Social Democrat, was elected to succeed Kekkonen. The Social Democrats scored gains in 1983 parliamentary voting, but the elections of March 1987 brought to power a coalition government made up of Conservatives and Social Democrats. It was the first time Conservatives found themselves in government in more than 20 years, and their leader, Harry Holkeri, became prime minister. President Koivisto easily won reelection in February 1988 to a second six-year term.

During the 1980s Finland achieved an annual growth rate of four percent, among the highest in Western Europe. In the early 1990s economic growth slowed—partly due to a serious erosion of trade with the crisis-ridden former USSR. Holkeri's coalition suffered losses at the polls in the March 1991 elections, when the Center party edged out the Social Democrats as the single largest party in the Eduskunta. The Social Democrats chose to go into opposition, and Center party leader Esko Aho formed a majority nonsocialist coalition government. In March 1992 Finland formally applied for membership in the European Community (now called the European Union). In February 1994 Martti Ahtisaari of the Social Democratic party was elected president.

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