Government of Finland

Finland
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politics and government of
Finland

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. All the ministers shall be Finnish citizens, known to be honest and competent.[1]

Ministries

The ministries function as administrative and political experts and prepare Government decisions within their mandates. They also represent their relevant administrative sectors in domestic and international cooperation.[2]

New laws are drafted in ministries. There is a tradition of substantial ministerial independence in law drafting. The drafts are then reviewed by government and parliament before enactment. The final legislative power is vested in Parliament, in conjunction with the President of the Republic, according to the Finnish Constitution.[3]

There are 12 ministries[4] in the government. As there are more members (ministers) in the Council of State than ministries, some are headed by more than one minister.

Council of State

Main article: Cabinet of Finland

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Formation of the Government, Sections 60 and 61" (PDF). Finlex. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  2. ↑ "Ministries". Finnish State Treasury. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  3. ↑ "Law Drafting". Finlex. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  4. ↑ "Ministries". Finnish Government. Retrieved 2011-06-22.
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