Christian Democrats (Finland)
Christian Democrats | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Finnish name | Kristillisdemokraatit |
| Swedish name | Kristdemokraterna |
| Leader | Sari Essayah |
| Founded | 6 May 1958 |
| Headquarters | Karjalankatu 2 C 7 krs. FI-00520 HELSINKI |
| Newspaper | KD-lehti |
| Student wing | [1] |
| Youth wing | Christian Democratic Youth of Finland[2] |
| Women's wing | [3] |
| Membership (2019) | 10,750[4] |
| Ideology | Christian democracy[5][6] Social conservatism[6][7] |
| Political position | Centre-right[7] |
| European affiliation | European People's Party |
| International affiliation | Centrist Democrat International |
| Nordic affiliation | Centre Group |
| Colours | Blue Orange |
| Parliament | 5 / 200 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 13 |
| Municipalities | 314 / 8,999 |
| Website | |
| www.kd.fi | |
| |
The Christian Democrats (Finnish: Suomen Kristillisdemokraatit, KD; Swedish: Kristdemokraterna i Finland) are a Christian-democratic political party in Finland.[5][6] The Christian Democrats have five seats in the Finnish Parliament. The party was represented in the Finnish government by Minister of Interior Päivi Räsänen from 22 June 2011 until 29 May 2015.
The party was founded in 1958, chiefly by the Christian faction of the National Coalition Party, as the Finnish Christian League (Suomen Kristillinen Liitto, SKL; Finlands Kristliga Förbund.) The party adopted its current name in 2001.
Ideology[]
The party describes itself as following the tenets of Christian democracy. It emphasizes "respect of human dignity, the importance of family and close communities, defending the weak, encouraging resourcefulness and individual and collective responsibility, not just for themselves but also for their neighbours and the rest of creation". Membership is open to everyone who agrees with these values and aims.[5] The party also claims to be committed to environmental protection.[8]
The party has lost many of its members to bigger centre-right parties after 1990s, mainly to the National Coalition and Centre Party. KD MP and MEP Eija-Riitta Korhola defected to the National Coalition in 2003, and the former party secretary Annika Kokko moved to the National Coalition in 2007.
English-speaking members of the party founded their own chapter in Helsinki in 2004. Its monthly meetings attract immigrants to participate in societal matters and the issues that are particularly important to them. In 2005, a Russian-speaking chapter was also founded in Helsinki.[9]
The party is a member of the European People's Party (EPP).
KD-lehti (English: CD News) is the party's weekly newspaper.
Politicians[]
List of party chairs[]
- Olavi Päivänsalo (1958-1964)
- Ahti Tele (1964-1967)
- Eino Sares (1967-1970)
- Olavi Majlander (1970-1973)
- Raino Westerholm (1973-1982)
- Esko Almgren (1982-1989)
- Toimi Kankaanniemi (1989-1995)
- Bjarne Kallis (1995-2004)
- Päivi Räsänen (2004-2015)
- Sari Essayah (2015–)
Current members of parliament[]
- Sari Essayah (Savo-Karjala constituency)
- Antero Laukkanen (Uusimaa constituency)
- Päivi Räsänen (Häme constituency)
- Sari Tanus (Pirkanmaa constituency)
- Peter Östman (Vaasa constituency)
European Parliament[]
Sari Essayah was the most recent MEP of the party; she was elected to the European Parliament in the 2009 election but failed to win re-election in 2014.
Election results[]
| Part of a series on |
| Christian democracy |
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 |
 Christianity portal |
Parliamentary elections[]
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | 3,358 | 0.17 | 0 / 200
|
Extra-parliamentary | |
| 1966 | 10,646 | 0.45 | 0 / 200
|
|
Extra-parliamentary |
| 1970 | 28,228 | 1.40 | 1 / 200
|
 1
|
Opposition |
| 1972 | 65,228 | 2.53 | 4 / 200
|
3
|
Opposition |
| 1975 | 90,599 | 3.29 | 9 / 200
|
5
|
Opposition |
| 1979 | 138,244 | 4.77 | 9 / 200
|
|
Opposition |
| 1983 | 90,410 | 3.03 | 3 / 200
|
 6
|
Opposition |
| 1987 | 74,209 | 2.58 | 5 / 200
|
2
|
Opposition |
| 1991 | 83,151 | 3.05 | 8 / 200
|
3
|
Coalition |
| 1995 | 82,311 | 2.96 | 7 / 200
|
1
|
Opposition |
| 1999 | 111,835 | 4.17 | 10 / 200
|
3
|
Opposition |
| 2003 | 148,987 | 5.34 | 7 / 200
|
3
|
Opposition |
| 2007 | 134,643 | 4.86 | 7 / 200
|
|
Opposition |
| 2011 | 118,453 | 4.03 | 6 / 200
|
1
|
Coalition |
| 2015 | 105,134 | 3.54 | 5 / 200
|
1
|
Opposition |
| 2019 | 120,144 | 3.90 | 5 / 200
|
|
Opposition |
Local council elections[]
| Election | Councillors | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 134 | 49,877 | 2.0 | |
| 322 | 85,792 | 3.2 | |
| 333 | 100,800 | 3.7 | |
| 257 | 80,455 | 3.0 | |
| 273 | 71,614 | 2.7 | |
| 1992 | 353 | 84,481 | 3.2 |
| 1996 | 353 | 75,494 | 3.2 |
| 2000 | 443 | 95,009 | 4.3 |
| 2004 | 392 | 94,666 | 4.0 |
| 2008 | 351 | 106,639 | 4.2 |
| 2012 | 300 | 93,257 | 3.7 |
| 2017 | 316 | 105,551 | 4.1 |
European parliamentary elections[]
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 63,134 | 2.8 | 0 / 16
|
|
| 1999 | 29,637 | 2.4 | 1 / 16
|
1
|
| 2004 | 70,845 | 4.3 | 0 / 14
|
1
|
| 2009 | 69,467 | 4.2 | 1 / 13
|
1
|
| 2014 | 90,586 | 5.2 | 0 / 13
|
1
|
| 2019 | 89,204 | 4.9 | 0 / 13
|
|
Presidential elections[]
| Election | Candidate | 1st round | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ||
| 1994 | Toimi Kankaanniemi | 31,453 | 1.0 (#9) |
| 2006 | Bjarne Kallis | 61,483 | 2.0 (#6) |
| 2012 | Sari Essayah | 75,744 | 2.5 (#8) |
| 2018 | Supported Sauli Niinistö | 1,875,342 | 62.7 (#1) |
References[]
- ^ Uusitalo, Suvi (23 October 2013). "Pääministeri: "Opiskelijaliike on kautta historiansa ollut yhteiskunnallisesti merkittävä uudistaja"". Verkkouutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 February 2019.
- ^ "Suomen Kristillisdemokraattiset (KD) Nuoret ry". kansalaisyhteiskunta.fi (in Finnish). Kansalaisfoorumi. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
- ^ "Kristillisdemokraattiset Naiset". kansalaisyhteiskunta.fi (in Finnish). Kansalaisfoorumi. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
- ^ Niemelä, Mikko (13 March 2019). "Perussuomalaisilla hurja tahti: "Jäseniä tulee ovista ja ikkunoista"". Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Our goals—Christian Democracy". Christian Democrats. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Finland". Parties and Elections in Europe.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Finland's largest political parties". European Parliament Information. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- ^ Environment and Energy Archived 2009-03-07 at the Wayback Machine. Christian Democrats
- ^ Immigrants Archived 2011-06-10 at the Wayback Machine. Christian Democrats
- ^ "Candidates elected". Ministry of Justice. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
Further reading[]
- Madeley, John T.S. (2004). Steven Van Hecke; Emmanuel Gerard (eds.). Life at the Northern Margin: Christian Democracy in Scandinavia. Christian Democratic Parties in Europe Since the End of the Cold War. Leuven University Press. pp. 217–241. ISBN 90-5867-377-4.
External links[]
- Official website (in Finnish)
- Christian democratic parties in Europe
- Political parties established in 1958
- Protestant political parties
- Registered political parties in Finland
- Social conservative parties
- 1958 establishments in Finland