Government of Finland
|This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Finland is a republic with a representative democracy governed accordingly to the principles of parliamentarism. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Finland (Finnish: Eduskunta, Swedish: Riksdagen). Executive power is exercised by the Cabinet, officially termed Council of State (Finnish: Valtioneuvosto, Swedish: Statsrådet), which is led by the Prime Minister, the Head of Government. Some matters are decided by the President of Finland, the Head of State, in plenary meetings with the Council of State, echoing the constitutional history of a privy council. The President is otherwise not present in the Council, but decides on issues such as personal appointments and pardons on the advice of the relevant minister. In the ministries, matters of secondary importance are decided by individual ministers, advised by the minister's State Secretary. The Prime Minister and the other ministers in the Council of State are responsible for their actions in office to the Parliament.
Head of Government
The Head of Government is the Prime Minister, currently Juha Sipilä, who has held the office since 29 May 2015. The Prime Minister designate is subject to election by the Parliament and, if elected, he or she —along with all the other ministers upon the nomination of the Prime Minister— are appointed by the President of Finland.
There are 12 ministries in the government. As there are more members (ministers) in the Council of State than ministries, some are headed by more than one minister.
- Prime Minister's Office
- Ministry for Foreign Affairs
- Ministry of Justice
- Ministry of the Interior
- Ministry of Defence
- Ministry of Finance
- Ministry of Education and Culture
- Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
- Ministry of Transport and Communications
- Ministry of Employment and the Economy
- Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
- Ministry of the Environment
Council of State
- Politics of Finland
- Parliament of Finland
- President of Finland
- Government of Åland
- Municipalities of Finland
- Government Agencies in Finland
- Comprehensive Income Policy Agreement
- Elections in Finland
- Senate of Finland
- "Ministries". Finnish Government. Retrieved 2011-06-22.