President of Finland

The President of Finland (Suomen Tasavallan Presidentti; Republiken Finlands President) is the Head of State of Finland. The President of the Republic is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no president may be elected for more than two consecutive terms. Under the Constitution of Finland, the President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen.

History

After Finland's independence and the Civil War in Finland the matter of whether Finland should be a republic or a constitutional monarchy was much debated (see Väinö I of Finland), and the outcome was a compromise: a rather monarchy-like, strong presidency with great powers over Finland's foreign affairs, the appointment of the Council of State and the officers of the civil service. The Constitution was changed in 2000, to redistribute some of this power to the Parliament and the Council of State. The new constitution specifies how the principles of Parliamentarism are to be followed (although Finland's presidents have done so since 1937 nonetheless).

Related Topics:
Civil War in Finland - Republic - Constitutional monarchy - Väinö I of Finland - Finland's foreign affairs - Council of State - Civil service - 2000 - Parliamentarism - 1937

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