Finnish Government

The Finnish Government is the group of leaders who help run Finland. It is called Suomen valtioneuvosto in Finnish and Finlands statsråd in Swedish, which means "Finland's council of state." This group makes important decisions and suggests new laws to the Parliament. Right now, the leader of the government is called the Orpo Cabinet, and it has 19 ministers who manage 12 different areas of work for the country.

In Finland, the government is usually made up of many different political parties working together. This is called a majority coalition government. The biggest parties often team up with smaller ones to make sure everyone works well together. The Finnish Government also speaks for Finland when meeting with leaders from other European countries in the Council of the European Union.

Composition

The Government is the main group that helps run Finland. It is made up of ministers who work together to guide the country. The Prime Minister leads the Government and is usually the most powerful person in it.

The Government has 11 ministries, each led by at least one minister. These ministries have fixed names and numbers, as set by law. The Government decides how many ministers there are and what jobs they have, and the Parliament of Finland must agree. Ministers do not have to be members of Parliament, but many are. Each minister has a secretary of state to help them.

The Prime Minister can meet with some ministers in special groups called ministerial committees instead of the whole Government. There are four important committees that meet regularly:

• Ministerial Finance Committee
• Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy
• Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy
• Ministerial Committee on European Union Affairs

Legislation

See also: Law of Finland

The Finnish Government plays a big role in creating new laws. Most ideas for new laws start in one of the government's ministries, where a minister guides the work. After a law idea is prepared, the whole Government checks it before sending it to Parliament. There, members of Parliament can suggest changes. Because Finland often has governments made from many parties, these groups usually work together well. Since 1957, the government has always had enough members to control Parliament.

Before a new law can officially start, the President of Finland must agree. The president can ask Parliament to wait, which helps make sure laws follow international rules. If the president and government disagree, this can cause problems. Parliament can ignore the president's request, but this almost never happens. Sometimes, parties decide not to vote together as a group, but this is rare.

Besides laws, the Government and its ministries also create rules called decrees. These rules help explain or put laws into action, like deciding exact amounts for benefits mentioned in a law. Decrees cannot go against the laws passed by Parliament and are important parts of Finland's legal system.

Budget

The government of Finland creates a plan each year for how to spend money, called the state budget. This plan must be approved by Parliament, which is like a group of people who make important decisions for the country. The government can also ask for more money during the year if needed, and must get Parliament's approval for that too. In 2018, the main budget for Finland was €55.8 billion, not counting money used by local areas or companies owned by the government.

Incumbent government

Main article: Orpo Cabinet

Further information: Orpo Cabinet § Ministers

The current government of Finland is called the Orpo Cabinet. It is Finland's 77th government and started on June 20, 2023. There are 19 ministers in this government. Eight of them are from the National Coalition party, seven are from the Finns party, three are from the Swedish People's Party, and one is from the Christian Democrats.

List of governments

The following is a list of all Finnish governments since 1917.