Activity 3: Multimedia presentation about democratic institutions in each country participating in the project.

1. A Brief
Introduction to
the Finnish
democracy

2. Political system
Finland is a parliamentary democracy with a
multiparty political system and a president as
the head of state.
Finland declared itself independent of the
Russian Empire on 6th of December 1917.
Since independence, Finland has lived with her
Western democracy intact, through the Second
World War and the Cold War, and has become a
member of the European Union in 1995.

3. The President of
Finland

4. The President is the head of the state
The head of state is the President of the
Republic who is elected for a period of six
years. The new constitution, adopted in
2000 and further adjusted 2012, moved the
political system in a more parliamentary
direction
The President of Finland:
Sauli Niinistö

5. The job description of the president
● The president conducts Finland's foreign policy together with the
government, is in charge of relations with other states, and participates in
international organisations and negotiations.
● The president is the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence forces

6. ● Since 1994 the president has been chosen by direct
popular vote.
● If no candidate wins in overall majority in the first
round voting, there is a run-off between the two
leading candidates

7. The Finnish government

8. What is the government?
● The Finnish Government is the body which convenes for
the general governing of the country. It also is the
decision-making body for governmental and
administrative matters.
● It consists of the Prime Minister and the other ministers
● The government is officially appointed by the president.
● The government must enjoy the confidence of
parliament.

9. The Finnish government today
● Currently, the Finnish Government comprises 12
ministries, each of which have their own
responsibilities.
● There are for example:
○ The ministry of employment and economy
○ The ministry of environment
○ The ministry of education and culture

11. Role of the Prime Minister
● The current prime minister is Mr. Juha Sipilä, leader of the Centre Party of
Finland
● The Prime minister is elected by parliament.
● The prime minister directs the activities of the government and oversees
the preparation and consideration of matters that come within the
mandate of the government.
● The prime minister chairs the plenary sessions of the government.

12. The Parliament of Finland

13. General information about the Parliament
● 200 MPs chosen by the Finnish people
● changes every four years
● enacts legislation
● approves the state budget
● ratifies international treaties
● oversees the Government

14. Three key arenas of Parliament
● the plenary session
○ making final decisions
● the committees
○ matter preparing
● parliamentary groups
○ shaping policy

16. Municipalities in
Finland

17. Basic numbers and information
● 317 municipalities in total
○ The number has decreased by 147 in
38 years
● Annual expenditures around 46
billion euros
● The average municipality tax is
around 19,9%

18. What do they do?
● Municipalities provide basic services to
citizens
○ Education, health-care, social services
● Receive their funding from the government
and tax revenue collected from citizens
● Employ over 439 000 persons

19. How do they work?
● Municipal elections are held every four
years and new representatives are
selected
● The municipal board is in charge of the
municipality’s decision making
● The polling percentage in municipal
elections has been quite low

20. Sources
1. http://www.localfinland.fi/en/authorities/Pages/default.aspx
2. https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suomen_kunnat
3. https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunnallisvero_(Suomi)
4. http://vm.fi/kuntien-lukumaara
Images:
1. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Suomi.kunnat.2010.svg/345px-
Suomi.kunnat.2010.svg.png
2. http://users.jyu.fi/~maoltuom/fintowns/lappi/kemi/kemi.jpg
3. http://www.stat.fi/til/ktt/2013/ktt_2013_2014-05-30_tie_001_fi.html
4. http://www.esaimaa.fi/f/3/3b/big_kuntavaalit.jpg