This article gives an overview of liberalism and centrism in Finland. It is limited to liberal and centrist parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ means a reference to another party in that scheme. For inclusion in this scheme it is not necessary so that parties labeled themselves as a liberal party.
Liberalism was a major force in Finland since 1894. After independence the current gradually decreased. A major other force, agrarianism, choose in 1965 to develop itself into a more centrist current. The liberal character of the Finnish Center (Suomen Keskusta), member of LI and ELDR, is based on liberal ideas like decentralization, peasant-like freedom and progressivism. The Swedish minority party Swedish People's Party (Svenska Folkpartiet i Finland) is also a member of LI, ELDR. The original liberal current is now organized in the Liberals (Liberaalit), a very small extra-parliamentary party. At the autonomous island of Åland the Liberals for Åland (Liberalerna på Åland) are a dominant force.
The timeline
Liberal Club / Liberal Party 1877: Liberals formed the Liberal Club (Liberaalinen Klubi), renamed in 1880 Liberal Party (Liberaalinen Puolue) 1882: The Liberal Party disappeared
From Young Finnish Party to Liberals 1894: Constitutionalist fennomans organized into the Young Finnish faction within the Finnish Party (Nuorsuomalainen Puolue) 1905: The Young Finnish Party secedes from the Finnish Party. 1918: The Republican factions of the two Finnish parties reorganise into the Progressive Party (Kansallinen Edistyspuolue) 1951: The Progressive Party falls apart into the Finnish People's Party (Suomen Kansanpuolue) and the ⇒ Free-minded League (Vapaamielisten liitto) 1965: The People's Party and the ⇒ Free-minded League reunite into the Liberal People's Party (Liberaalinen Kansanpuolue) 1982: The Liberal People's Party associated itself with the ⇒ Centre Party, whilst some liberal youth activists join the Greens. 1983: The Liberal People's Party loses all of seats in the Parliament for the first time. 1986: The Liberal People's Party disassociated itself from the ⇒ Centre Party 1991: The Liberal People's Party returns to parliament with one MP. 1995: The Liberal People's Party loses its only MP. 2000: The Liberal People's Party renames itself Liberals (Liberaalit) 2007: Removed from the party registry after failing to get a seat in two consecutive parliamentary elections
Swedish People's Party 1906: Liberal svekomans formed the present-day Swedish People's Party in Finland (Svenska Folkpartiet i Finland) 1919: Republicans formed the Liberal Swedish Party (Svensk Vänster) 1951: Liberal Swedish Party merged with SFP
People's Party 1917: Progressive liberals formed the People's Party (Kansanpuolue) 1918: The People's Party merged into the ⇒ National Progressive Party
Free-minded League 1951: The ⇒ National Progressive Party fell apart and the Free-minded League (Vapaamielisten Liitto) is formed 1965: The League merged with the ⇒ Finnish People's Party into the ⇒ Liberal People's Party
Centre Party / Finnish Centre Centrists 1965: The agrarian Agrarian League (Maalaisliitto) reorganised itself into the Centre Party (Keskustapuolue). 1988: The Centre Party is renamed Finnish Centre (Suomen Keskusta)
Liberal Party – Freedom to Choose 2015: Liberal Party - Freedom to Choose is formed. 2023: Liberal Party publishes #LeikattavaaLöytyy shadow budget to balance the national budget.
Åland Liberals for Åland 1967: Liberals organised itself into the Centrist Liberals (Mittenliberalerna) 1971: The Centrist Liberals are renamed Electoral Union Liberal Assembly (Valforbundet Liberal Samling) 1978: VLS and ⇒ LoS–Liberals merged into the Liberals for Åland (Liberalerna på Åland)
Centre Party 1967: The Rural and Archipelago Electoral Union (Landsbygdens och Skargardens Valforbund) was founded 1975: The LoS–Liberals (LoS–Liberalerna) seceded from the Rural and Archipelago Electoral Union 1976: The Rural and Archipelago Electoral Union is renamed Åland Centre (Åländska Centern) 1978: VLS and ⇒ LoS–Liberals merged into the ⇒ Liberals for Åland
Liberal and centrist leaders Kansallinen Edistyspuolue: Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg Maalaisliitto/Keskustapuolue: Urho Kekkonen Keskusta: Esko Aho - Anneli Jäätteenmäki - Matti Vanhanen - Mari Kiviniemi - Juha Sipilä Svenska Folkpartiet: Ole Norrback - Jan-Erik Enestam - Stefan Wallin - Carl Haglund
Liberal thinkers In the Contributions to liberal theory the following Finnish thinker is included:
Santeri Alkio (Finland, 1862–1930) Anders Chydenius (Finland, 1729–1803)
See also History of Finland Politics of Finland List of political parties in Finland
References