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.

Incapacity and succession

The President of Finland has no vice president. If the President is temporarily prevented from performing his or her duties, the Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister becomes Acting President until the President?s incapacity ceases. If the President dies or if the Government declares that the President is permanently unable to carry out his or her duties, a new President is elected as soon as possible.

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