Suomen hallintojärjestelmä - yhteiskuntaorientaatio.fi
The Constitution decrees the separation of powers
The Constitution is the basis for all legislation and public authority. The Constitution describes how the government is organised, which powers in Finland belong to which authorities and how laws are enacted in Finland.
In Finland, power is divided into legislative power (lainsäädäntövalta), executive power (toimeenpanovalta) and judicial power (tuomiovalta). Legislative power means the power to make laws, and this power lies with the Parliament. Executive power means the power to put the laws into operation. This power lies with the president and the government. The government makes sure that ministries and the authorities below them make decisions according to the law. Judicial power means the power to evaluate whether someone has acted according to the law in certain cases. This power is used by the courts.
Matters relating to the whole state are decided by the Parliament, cabinet and president.
The Parliament uses the highest power of decision
The Finnish Parliament has 200 Members of Parliament who are chosen by elections. The Finnish Parliament is unicameral.
The tasks of the Parliament include
- Enacting Finnish legislation
- Deciding about the governmental budget
- Accepting international agreements pertaining to Finland
- Overseeing the activities of the cabinet and ministers.
The Parliament enacts Finnish laws. Typically the cabinet proposes a new law to the Parliament. Individual Members of Parliament can also make motions, or proposals for legislation can come to the Parliament through citizens’ initiatives (kansalaisaloite).
The Parliament discusses the initiative or the cabinet’s proposal, and these are addressed in committees (valiokunta). Finally, the Members of Parliament vote about whether they support the law. If the Parliament approves the law, the president enforces the law with his signature. Authorities announce this new law, and the media covers the new law, its purpose and content. This provides citizens current information about laws.
The Parliament also accepts the cabinet’s proposal for the state budget. The budget is a plan for how the government’s taxes and other revenue are used. The cabinet negotiates the budget every year and provides a budget proposal to the Parliament. The Parliament oversees the implementation of the budget.
The Parliament must stay up to date about what is decided in the European Union. The Parliament tells the cabinet what Finland thinks about matters being processed in the EU. Finnish legislation and EU regulations cannot be in conflict. Finland must consider EU regulations, because Finland is a member state of the EU.
The government uses the highest executive power
The cabinet consists of the Prime Minister and other ministers
The Prime Minister and other ministers are the members of the Finnish Government (valtioneuvosto). In common speech, people often use the term hallitus (cabinet) when they mean the Finnish Government. The number of ministers varies, but in recent decades there have been around 15–20 ministers in Finland. Ministers include the Minister of the Interior, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Education, and the Minister of Justice.
The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the party which received the most votes in the election. They discuss with other parties and choose which parties will form the cabinet. In Finland, it is common for the cabinet to include many different parties. The parties together compile the Government Programme (hallitusohjelma). This describes the aims and goals of the cabinet’s politics as well as their plans of action during the cabinet’s term.
Once the Government Programme is completed, the Parliament officially chooses the Prime Minister with a vote. The parties in the cabinet decide who from each party will be ministers. When the Prime Minister and other ministers have been chosen, the President appoints them to their tasks. The Parliament accepts the Government Programme and the composition of the government by vote.
The cabinet and ministries prepare legislative proposals and enact laws
Ministers lead the work of ministries. Ministries prepare and execute matters on which the cabinet decides. Ministries include the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, and the Ministry of the Interior. There are many government agencies and institutes which work under the direction of the ministries. For example, the Finnish Immigration Service is subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. Government agencies and institutes as well as the ministries form the central government.
The cabinet prepares matters for the Parliament to cover. For example, if the governing parties have decided that a new national park should be founded in Finland, the Ministry of the Environment prepares the matter. It researches where the new national park should be founded and listens to the views, information and experiences of other authorities and non-governmental organisations on the matter. Under the direction of the cabinet, the ministry compiles a proposal where they justify why the chosen location would be best for a new national park and what sorts of impacts this proposal would have. Then the matter is transferred to the Parliament for the decision.
When the Parliament decides on something, the government executes these decisions. For example, when the Parliament passes a law about founding a new national park, the authorities in charge of national parks begin to prepare the pertinent§ practical matters, such as organising guideposts for visitors to the national park. The Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry oversee that the authorities organise all the services in the new national park described by the law.
The cabinet requires the confidence of the Parliament
The cabinet is accountable to the Parliament, meaning that the cabinet and its ministers must enjoy the confidence of the Parliament. In other words, the Parliament needs to believe that the cabinet and all its ministers manage the job well and reliably. If the Parliament does not trust this, the entire cabinet may collapse. If the cabinet collapses, a new parliamentary election may need to be organized ahead of schedule. However, this is very rare. In recent decades, cabinets in Finland have been long-lived.
Parliamentary parties which do not belong to the cabinet form the opposition. The purpose of the opposition is to challenge the cabinet and propose options for the politics driven by the cabinet. If the opposition sees that the Parliament cannot trust the actions of the cabinet, they can demand a vote on confidence.
In Finland, cabinets are usually majority cabinets. This means that most Members of Parliament belong to governing parties. This means that the cabinet usually always wins the confidence of the Parliament and their proposals are accepted.
The President of the Republic is the head of state in Finland
Finland is a constitutional republic. The head of state in Finland is the elected President of the Republic.
The highest power in Finland is used by the Prime Minister and the Parliament. They have more power than the president. The authority of the president has been reduced in Finland since the 1980s. The Finnish president is still the most visible leader of the country.
In Finland, the president’s tasks include
- Leading Finland’s foreign affairs in cooperation with the government
- Approving laws passed by the Parliament
- Appointing the highest public servants
- Serving as the Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Force.
Regional and local administration is the responsibility of many agencies
The state also has regional and local administration
In addition to central government, the state also has regional administration. Regional administration agencies and centres manage environmental matters, security within Finland and the functionality of transportation.
Regional state administration includes, for example, the police departments.
Regional administration also includes the wellbeing services counties, which are independent agents. Municipalities are the most central agents managing local administration.
Wellbeing services counties are responsible for health and social services and emergency services
Wellbeing services counties manage their own area’s health and social services and emergency services. There are 21 wellbeing services counties in Finland. Helsinki is not a part of any wellbeing services county, and, instead, organises its own health and social services and emergency services.
Decisions in the wellbeing services county are made in county councils. The members are chosen through an election. The wellbeing services counties are funded by the state.
Municipalities are responsible for many everyday services
There are around 300 municipalities in Finland. Municipalities are largely free to decide about their own matters and finances. Municipalities are entitled to collect taxes from their residents. In addition to the municipal tax, the municipality also receives funds from the state to implement services.
Every person living permanently in Finland is a resident of a municipality. The municipality offers many basic services to their residents. Municipalities are responsible for schools, early childhood education and care, libraries as well as sports and exercise services. The municipality is also responsible for planning streets, housing and parks and takes care of water supply, electricity and sanitation.
In municipalities, matters are decided democratically in the municipal council. The members of the municipal council are chosen in municipal elections. The council chooses members for the municipal executive board (kunnanhallitus), which prepares the proposals for the council and executes them.
The municipal council also selects committees. There are committees for education and culture, and the central municipal election board which is responsible for organising elections in the municipality. The committees prepare matters for the municipal council and the municipal council makes decisions. The members of these committees are either municipal council members or residents of the municipality chosen by the parties.
Finland is a member state of the European Union
The European Union is a political and economic union of states. In 2024, it consisted of 27 states. Its purpose is to promote peace and wellbeing of its citizens, as well as improve trade and economy in Europe. The member states of the EU are independent states. However, they must comply with the union’s decisions and regulations.
The fundamental values of the European Union are respecting human rights and dignity, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law.
Finland joined the EU in 1995. A portion of Finland’s political decision-making power was thus transferred to the EU. Membership in the EU makes it easier to cooperate with other countries, for instance, in trade. Within the EU, people, goods and services are allowed to move freely. Finnish politicians take part in all important decisions for developing the EU. They also bring forth matters which are important to Finnish people.
In the EU, decisions are made by the European Parliament (Euroopan parlamentti) and the Council of the European Union (ministerineuvosto). Members of the European Parliament are chosen through elections in each member state. The Parliament thus represents the citizens of EU states. The Council of the European Union contains ministers from EU member states. This represents national governments. The Parliament and the Council enact most laws with a codecision procedure in which the Parliament has equal standing to the council. However, for example, foreign and security policy is the responsibility of the Council of the European Union.
The European Commission (Euroopan unionin komissio) represents the union. The Commission writes legislative proposals and proposals for the EU’s budget. The Commission also executes decisions made by the Parliament and Council of the European Union. Officials appointed by the member states work in the Commission. The European Council (Eurooppa-neuvosto) is made up of leaders of EU countries and this decides the broad policies of the union.
Finland complies with other international agreements
In addition to the European Union, Finland is a member of NATO and the United Nations. Finland is also a member of many other types of international organisations. Through these, Finland can have international impact and promote its foreign policy goals. For example, in the United Nations, Finland strives to promote peace around the world through peacekeeper activities.
NATO promotes the security of its member states
Finland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO in 2023. NATO is a political and military alliance which aims to promote the security and freedom of its member states. There were 32 members in 2024. Most of the member states are from Europe, but the United States and Canada are also members.
Almost all countries in the world belong to the United Nations
Finland has been a member of the UN since 1955. The UN was founded after the Second World War in 1945. Its purpose was to promote cooperation between countries so that a new world war would never start. Currently almost all countries in the world are members of the UN. There were 193 member states in 2024.
Finland is committed to numerous international agreements
Finland has signed numerous international agreements which Finland must adhere to. These agreements can be between two countries, meaning agreements between Finland and some other country. These agreements can also be between multiple countries, meaning that a group of countries has agreed on them together.
International agreements include human rights agreements. Some human rights agreements pertain to the rights of all people, some focus specifically on the rights of, for example, children or people with disabilities. International agreements also include climate agreements where countries have decided on how to try to limit global warming.