Eurozone

The eurozone ( pronunciation (help·info)), officially the euro area, is an economic and monetary union (EMU) of 17 European Union (EU) member states that have adopted the euro (€) as their common currency and sole legal tender. The eurozone currently consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. Of the 10 EU member states outside the eurozone, seven states are obliged to join, once they fulfil the strict entrance requirements. Three EU member states have exceptions (that is, states not obligated to join the Zone), including Sweden, which has a de facto opt out; Denmark, which has an opt out that may be abolished in the future; and the United Kingdom, which also has an opt out provision.

Monetary policy of the zone is the responsibility of the European Central Bank, though there is no common representation, governance or fiscal policy for the currency union. Some co-operation does however take place through the euro group, which makes political decisions regarding the eurozone and the euro.

The eurozone can also be taken informally to include third countries that have adopted the euro, for example Montenegro (see details on these countries below). Three European microstates—Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City—have concluded agreements with the European Union permitting them to use the euro as their official currency and mint coins, but they are neither formally part of the eurozone nor represented on the board of the European Central Bank.

Knowledge economy

The knowledge economy is a term that refers either to an economy of knowledge focused on the production and management of knowledge in the frame of economic constraints, or to a knowledge-based economy. In the second meaning, more frequently used, it refers to the use of knowledge technologies (such as knowledge engineering and knowledge management) to produce economic benefits as well as job creation. The phrase was popularized by Peter Drucker as the title of Chapter 12 in his book The Age of Discontinuity, And, with a footnote in the text, Drucker attributes the phase to economist Fritz Machlup.

The essential difference is that in a knowledge economy, knowledge is a product, while in a knowledge-based economy, knowledge is a tool. This difference is not yet well distinguished in the subject matter literature. They both are strongly interdisciplinary, involving economists, computer scientists, engineers, mathematicians, chemists and physicists, as well as cognitivists, psychologists and sociologists.

Various observers describe today's global economy as one in transition to a "knowledge economy," as an extension of an "information society." The transition requires that the rules and practices that determined success in the industrial economy need rewriting in an interconnected, globalized economy where knowledge resources such as know-how and expertise are as critical as other economic resources. According to analysts of the "knowledge economy," these rules need to be rewritten at the levels of firms and industries in terms of knowledge management and at the level of public policy as knowledge policy or knowledge-related policy.

Economy of Finland

Finland has a highly industrialised, mixed economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as France, Germany, Sweden or the United Kingdom. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is 2.9 percent. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). Finland has timber and several mineral and freshwater resources. Forestry, paper factories, and the agricultural sector (on which taxpayers spend around 2 billion euro annually) are politically sensitive to rural residents. The Greater Helsinki area generates around a third of GDP.[citation needed] In a 2004 OECD comparison, high-technology manufacturing in Finland ranked second largest after Ireland. Knowledge-intensive services have also ranked the smallest and slow-growth sectors – especially agriculture and low-technology manufacturing – second largest after Ireland. Investment was below expected. Overall short-term outlook was good and GDP growth has been above many EU peers. Finland has the 4th largest knowledge economy in Europe, behind Sweden, Denmark and the UK.

Finland is highly integrated in the global economy, and international trade is a third of GDP. The European Union makes 60 percent of the total trade. The largest trade flows are with Germany, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, Netherlands and China. Trade policy is managed by the European Union, where Finland has traditionally been among the free trade supporters, except for agriculture. Finland is the only Nordic country to have joined the Eurozone; Denmark and Sweden have retained their traditional currencies, whereas Iceland and Norway are not members of the EU at all.

Joensuu

Joensuu (lit. "mouth of the river") is a city and municipality in North Karelia in eastern Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of North Karelia region. It was founded in 1848. The population of Joensuu is 73,373 (January 31, 2011).

Joensuu is a lively student city with over 15,000 students enrolled at the University of Eastern Finland and a further 4,000 at the North Karelia Technical School.

The largest employers are the municipal City of Joensuu, North Karelian Hospital District Federation of Municipalities, Abloy and Punamusta.

The European Forest Institute, the University and many other institutes and export enterprises such as Abloy and John Deere Forestry give Joensuu an international flavour.

Throughout the centuries Karelian traders have plied the Pielisjoki River. The river has always been the lively heart of the city. Canals – completed by 1870 – increased the river traffic. Thousands of steamboats, barges and logging boats sailed along the river during the golden age of river traffic. The Pielisjoki River has also been an important log raft route, providing wood for the sawmills and for the entire lumber industry.

During the last few decades, the formerly modest agrarian town has developed into a vital center of the province. Success in regional annexations, the establishment of the province of Karelia and investments in education have been the most decisive actions in this development.

Pori

Pori (Swedish: Björneborg) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some 15 kilometres (9 mi) from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäenjoki river, which is the largest in Finland. Pori is the most important town in the Satakunta region.

The municipality has a population of 83,042 (31 January 2011) and covers an area of 1,704.07 square kilometres (657.95 sq mi) of which 870.01 km2 (335.91 sq mi) is water. The population density is 99.56 /km2 (257.9 /sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Pori is the 11th largest city in Finland, and the 7th largest urban area.

The Neo-Gothic Juselius Mausoleum, located in the Käppärä cemetery in central Pori, was built in 1903 by the wealthy industrialist F.A. Juselius for his daughter Sigrid, who died when she was only 11 years old. The mausoleum was designed by the architect Josef Stenbäck. The mausoleum originally had frescoes painted by artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela, but these decayed after a short time. The frescoes were restored by Akseli's son Jorma Gallen-Kallela using his father's sketches.

Pori is known, among other things, for the sandy beaches of Yyteri and for hosting Pori Jazz, an annual international jazz festival. Performers at the jazz fesival have included Miles Davis, The Brand New Heavies and Steely Dan

The local newspaper in Pori is the Satakunnan Kansa paper, giving an overview of the recent news. There are also sports and children's articles included.

Pori gives relatively strong support to the Social Democratic Party. In 2008, the party gained 29.8% of the votes, while the second largest party, National Coalition Party, got 26.1%. The mayor of Pori is Aino-Maija Luukkonen, who was elected to run the city in 2004 after the former mayor, Martti Sinisalmi, retired from the post.

Kouvola

Kouvola is a town and municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located 134 kilometres (83 mi) northeast of the capital, Helsinki.

The city has a population of 88,066 (31 January 2011) and covers an area of 2,883.30 square kilometres (1,113.25 sq mi) of which 325.06 km2 (125.51 sq mi) is water. The population density is 34.42 inhabitants per square kilometre (89.1 /sq mi).

Kouvola's central location within Finland's borders and as a border post between the European Union and Russian Federation makes it a quite lively town.[original research?] The town originally grew up around the junction of the north–south and east–west rail tracks. It was also a major road transport junction.

In January 2009, the six municipalities – Kouvola, Kuusankoski, Elimäki, Anjalankoski, Valkeala and Jaala – were consolidated, forming the new municipality of Kouvola. Kouvola can now claim the natural beauty of Valkeala and Jaala as well as the cultural heritage of Elimäki and Anjalankoski as its own. Kouvola has also assumed the slogan Kymijoen kaupunki (the town of Kymijoki) previously used by Anjalankoski.

Kuopio

Kuopio is a city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia, Finland. A population of 96,830 makes it the ninth biggest city in the country. The city has a total area of 2,317.24 square kilometres (894.69 sq mi), of which 719.85 km2 (277.94 sq mi) is water and half forest. The population density is only 61 /km2 (160 /sq mi), but the city's urban areas are populated very densely (urban area: 1 617.6 /km²), nationally second only to capital Helsinki (urban area: 1,690.0 /km². The population of the entire Kuopio region is 119,472.

Kuopio was founded in 1653 by Governor Peter Brahe, but the official date is recognized as November 17, 1775, when King Gustav III of Sweden ordered the establishment of the city of Kuopio. The municipality of Karttula joined the city of Kuopio in 2011, like did Vehmersalmi in 2005, Riistavesi in 1973 and Kuopion maalaiskunta in 1969.

Kuopio is known as the cultural center of Eastern Finland. A wide range of musical (from kindergarten to doctorate-level studies) and dance education is available and the cultural life is active. Notable events include ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival, Kuopio Dance Festival, Kuopio Rockcock, Kuopio Wine Festival and Finland Ice Marathon. A notable place, however, to enjoy the local flavor of Kuopio life and food is Sampo, a fish restaurant loved by locals and tourists as well.

In Finland the inhabitants of Kuopio have a special reputation: they are known as jovial and verbally joking (citation needed). Within the Savo culture, the onus is placed on the listener to interpret the story. People of Kuopio region and Eastern Finland have always had many health problems and the mortality has been higher than on an average in Finland. Because of this, Eastern Finland has been a sweetspot for Public Health studies. The North Karelia Project by the University of Kuopio in coordination with the National Public Health Institute and the World Health Organization, beginning in the 1970s was one of its first steps towards world class research.

Lahti

Lahti (Swedish: Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland.

Lahti is the capital of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is situated on a bay at the southern end of lake Vesijärvi about 100 kilometres (60 mi) north-east of the capital Helsinki. In English, the Finnish word Lahti literally means bay and Vesijärvi means water lake.

The symbol of the city depicts a train wheel surrounded by sparkling flames.

The economic region of Lahti, which includes the surrounding municipalities, was strongly affected by the collapse of Finnish-Soviet trade and by the recession in the early 1990s.

The value of production slumped, especially in the mechanical engineering industry and other manufacturing industries (e.g. the furniture industry). Production also decreased in the textile and clothing industry. In 1990, there were 90,370 jobs in the Lahti Region. The number of jobs diminished over the next couple of years, so that in 1993 there were fewer than 70,000 jobs in the Lahti Region. The number of jobs had slowly increased to 79,138 in 1999.

Jyväskylä

Jyväskylä (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈjyvæsˌkylæ]) is a municipality and the capital city of Central Finland, 147 kilometres (91 mi) north-east of Tampere and 270 kilometres (170 mi) north of Helsinki, on northern coast of lake Päijänne. It is the central and only city of Central Finland. The site of many education-related firsts in Finland, Jyväskylä is known as a city of schools, the Athens of Finland. It is also famous for its many buildings designed by Alvar Aalto. The city hosts Neste Oil Rally Finland, which is part of the World Rally Championship. It is also home of the annual Jyväskylä Arts Festival.

As of 31 January 2011, Jyväskylä had a population of 130,974.

The Jyväskylä sub-region includes Jyväskylä, Laukaa, Muurame, Petäjävesi and Toivakka.

In 2004, Markku Andersson became the city mayor. He was the mayor of Lappeenranta until that year.

Main sources of livelihood in Jyväskylä are educational and health care services, paper machinery production, information technology and energy sector. Most important private employers are paper machinery producer Metso ltd., retail trade company Keskimaa, real estate service company ISS, wind turbine gear manufacturer Moventas and IT service company Tieto.

The unemployment rate in Jyväskylä is 11.9% (12/2010), which is higher than average in Finland (9,3% in 12/2010), due to the high number of students and challenged industries.

Oulu

Oulu (pronounced [ˈoulu] ( listen), old Northern Ostrobothnian dialect meaning literally “Flood”; Swedish: Uleåborg [ˈʉːleɔˌbɔrj], literally “Ule River Fort”) is a city and municipality of 141,742 inhabitants (31 January 2011) in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. It is the most populous city in Northern Finland and the sixth most populous city in the country. It is one of the northernmost larger cities in the world.

Oulu is served by Oulu Airport, the second biggest airport in Finland by passenger volume. Oulu Airport is located in the neighbouring county of Oulunsalo, 15 kilometres (9 mi) from the city centre.

Port of Oulu is one of the busiest harbours within the Bothnian Bay. Port of Oulu includes four separate harbour areas: Vihreäsaari oil and bulk docks, Nuottasaari docks, Oritkari docks and the Toppila docks.

The shortest travel time from Oulu Railway Station to Helsinki Central Railway Station is 5 h 44 mins, operated by VR. Other destinations include, for instance, Kolari, Rovaniemi, Seinäjoki and Tampere.

The most important road in Oulu is highway 4 (E8/E75) that runs from Helsinki to Utsjoki via Lahti, Jyväskylä, Oulu, Kemi and Rovaniemi. Other highways running to and from Oulu are highway 20 to Kuusamo and highway 22 to Kajaani.

Employment

As of December 31, 2005, the active working population was employed as follows:
Industries Working population
Services 36,616
Industry 11,439
Commerce 9,394
Construction 4,659
Transport 4,469
Farming and forestry 471
Unknown 1,200
Total 68,248

Turku

Turku (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈturku] ( listen); Swedish: Åbo [ˈoːbu] ( listen) is a medieval city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland. Turku quickly became the most important city in Finland and retained that status for hundreds of years until Finland became part of the Russian Empire in 1809 and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland was transferred to Helsinki in 1812. After that Turku continued to be the most populous city in Finland until the end of the 1840s. Today Turku remains a regional capital and is an important location for business and culture.

Because of its long history it has been the site of many important historical events and has extensively influenced Finnish history. For the year 2011, Turku has been designated to be the European Capital of Culture together with Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. In 1996 it was declared the official Christmas City of Finland.

Due to its location, Turku is a notable commercial and passenger seaport city with over three million passengers travelling through Port of Turku each year to Stockholm and Mariehamn.

As of 31 January 2011, Turku’s population was 177,430, which makes it the fifth largest city in Finland by population. As of 31 August 2008 there were 303,492 inhabitants living in the Turku sub-region, which makes it the third largest urban area in Finland after the Greater Helsinki area and Tampere sub-region. The city is officially bilingual as 5.2 percent of its population identify as speaking Swedish as a mother-tongue.

The business district in the city's economy is centred around the Port of Turku and other service-oriented industries. The city is also a renowned high-tech centre – the Turku Science Park area in Kupittaa hosts over 300 companies from the fields of biotechnology and information technology, as well as several institutions of higher learning that work in closely with the business sector. This cooperative element is seen as a particularly important factor with regards to the city's expected future economic development, as outlined in the Turku Strategy that is published annually by the city council. Turku, with its good transportation network and close proximity to the Archipelago Sea, is also an important centre for tourism, frequently hosting various conventions and exhibitions.

As of 2007, the city's unemployment rate is 9.4 %. The problem of unemployment is however troublesome in the districts of Pansio, Lauste, and Varissuo, where it hovers at around 16 %.

The city collects an 18 per cent income tax (council tax) from its inhabitants, in addition to the progressively graduated taxation practised by the Finnish state. The total amount received through council tax in 2004 was projected at €400 million, a reduction of 1.0 per cent from the previous year.

Vantaa

Vantaa (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈʋɑntɑː]; Swedish: Vanda) is a city and municipality in Finland. Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo, and Kauniainen make up the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.

Vantaa, with its population of 200,410 (31 January 2011), is the fourth most populated city of Finland. The biggest airport in Finland, the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, is located there. It also hosts a science centre, Heureka.

The city is bilingual, with a majority (88.6 %) being Finnish and minority (3%) Swedish speakers. Vantaa's residents that speak a native language other than Finnish or Swedish stand at 8.4% of the population.

Finnair's head office is located in Tietotie 11 on the grounds of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Vantaa. The company moved the head office there from central Helsinki in 1994. The company held a "house-warming" ceremony on 11 January 1994. The head office of Finavia, the company that manages Finland's airports, is located on the grounds of the airport. Other airlines with head offices on the grounds of the airport include Air Finland and Blue1

Tampere

Tampere (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈtɑmpere] ( listen); Swedish: Tammerfors [tamərˈfɔrs] or [tamərˈfɔʂ]) is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of 213,344, growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in Finland, after the Greater Helsinki municipalities of Helsinki and Espoo. In 2007, the entire Pirkanmaa region had around 470,000 residents, of which 230,000 were employed, and a turnover of 25 billion euros.

Tampere is located between two lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. Since the two lakes differ in level by 18 metres (59 ft), the rapids linking them, Tammerkoski, have been an important power source throughout history, most recently for generating electricity. Tampere is dubbed the "Manchester of Finland" for its industrial past as the former center of Finnish industry, and this has given rise to its Finnish nickname "Manse" and terms such as "Manserock".

Helsinki can be reached in 1.5 hours by train and 2 hours by car. The distance to Turku is approximately the same. Tampere Airport is the third-busiest airport in Finland, with 800,000 passengers annually.

Espoo

Espoo (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈespoː]; Swedish: Esbo, [ˈɛsbo]) is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is 248,355 (31 January 2011). It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen. Today, Espoo is the only municipality in Finland to fully enclose another municipality. The city is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, in the region of Uusimaa.

Other bordering municipalities of Espoo are Nurmijärvi and Vihti in the north and Kirkkonummi in the west. The national park of Nuuksio is situated in northwest Espoo.

Espoo encompasses 528 square kilometres (204 sq mi), of which 312 km2 (120 sq mi) is land.

Espoo has several local regional centers. Espoo is thus divided into seven major areas (Finnish: suuralueet, Swedish: storområden): Vanha-Espoo (with administrative center), Suur-Espoonlahti, Pohjois-Espoo, Suur-Kauklahti, Suur-Leppävaara, Suur-Matinkylä and Suur-Tapiola.

The Helsinki University of Technology is based in Otaniemi, Espoo, along with a thriving science community that includes numerous startups and organizations such as VTT – the Technical Research Center of Finland. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, along with other high-tech companies such as KONE, Tekla and Fortum.

The city of Espoo is officially bilingual. The majority of the population, 83.6%, speaks Finnish as their mother tongue, while a minority of 8.3% speaks Swedish. 8% of Espoo's population has a first language other than Finnish or Swedish.

Tarja Halonen

Tarja Kaarina Halonen ([tɑrjɑ kɑːrinɑ hɑlonen] ( listen); born 24 December 1943) is the 11th and current President of Finland. The first female to hold the office, Halonen had previously been a member of the parliament from 1979 to 2000 when she resigned after her election to the presidency. In addition to her political career she had a long and extensive career in trade unions and different non-governmental organizations.

Halonen is a graduate of the University of Helsinki, where she studied law from 1963 to 1968. She was active in student politics and served as the Social Affairs Secretary and Organization Secretary of the National Union of Students from 1969 to 1970. In 1971 she joined the Social Democratic Party and worked as a lawyer in the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions until she was elected to parliament in 1979.

Halonen served in the parliament of Finland for six terms, from 1979 to 2000, representing the constituency of Helsinki. She also had a long career in the city council of Helsinki, serving there from 1977 to 1996. She started her campaign for the presidency at the beginning of 1999 after President Martti Ahtisaari announced that he would not stand for a second term in the office. She easily won her party's nomination, and eventually got 40% of the votes in the first round of the presidential elections, and 51.6% in the second, thus defeating the Centre Party's Esko Aho and becoming the 11th president of Finland.

During the time of her presidency she has been extremely popular among Finns: her approval ratings rose and reached a peak of 88% in December 2003. Even though her ratings were so good, she was not re-elected in the first round in the next presidential elections in 2006. She beat National Coalition Party candidate Sauli Niinistö in the second round by 51.8% against 48.2%. In 2004 she finished 5th in a TV-show called Great Finns, which was based on the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons.

Halonen is widely known for her interest in human rights issues. In 1980–81 Halonen served as the chairman of SETA, the main LGBT rights organization in Finland. During her presidency, she has participated actively in discussion of women's rights and problems of globalization. In 2006, she was mentioned by many sources as a potential candidate for the United Nations Secretary-General selection, but later she stated that she wanted to finish her term as president before thinking about other career options. Halonen is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an International network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development. In 2009, Forbes named her among the 100 Most Powerful Women in the world.

Helsinki

Helsinki ( listen (help·info); Swedish: Helsingfors, listen (help·info)) is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is 588,941 (31 January 2011), making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is located some 400 kilometres (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, 300 kilometres (190 mi) west of St. Petersburg, Russia and 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia. Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities.

Greater Helsinki includes the city of Helsinki and three other cities: Espoo and Vantaa, which immediately border Helsinki to the west and north, respectively; and Kauniainen, which is an enclave within the city of Espoo. The Helsinki metropolitan area is the world's northernmost urban area among those with a population of over one million people, and the city is the northernmost capital of a EU member state. Altogether 1.3 million people, approximately one in four Finns, live in the Greater Helsinki area.

Helsinki is Finland's major political, educational, financial, cultural and research centre. as well as one of northern Europe's major cities. Approximately 70% of foreign companies operating in Finland have settled in the Helsinki region.

The nearby city of Vantaa in the Helsinki metropolitan area is the location of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, with frequent service to various destinations in Europe and Asia. Since early 2009, Helsinki has been exploring a merger with Vantaa. On 30 March 2009, the city council of Vantaa agreed to review Helsinki's proposal of a possible merger, while emphasizing that the review is not about the possibility of terminating the existence of the city of Vantaa. On 31 January 2011, the city council of Vantaa turned down Helsinki's proposal of a possible merger, with 45 votes against the proposal compared to 22 in favour of it.

In 2009, Helsinki was chosen to be the World Design Capital for 2012 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design. Helsinki narrowly beat out Eindhoven for the title.

Finland

Finland (i /ˈfɪnlənd/; Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland (help·info)), officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.

Around 5.4 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern region. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in Helsinki and local governments in 336 municipalities. A total of about one million residents live in the Greater Helsinki area (which includes Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa), and a third of the country's GDP is produced there. Other larger cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Lahti and Kuopio.

Finland was historically a part of Sweden and from 1809 on, an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire. Finnish Declaration of Independence from Russia in 1917 was followed by a civil war, wars against the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and a period of official neutrality during the Cold War. Finland joined the United Nations in 1955, the OECD in 1969, the European Union in 1995, and the eurozone since its inception.

Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialisation, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. Thereafter, economic development was rapid, Finland built an extensive welfare state and balanced between the East and the West in global economics and politics. The country tops continuously the international comparisons of national performance. Finland ranks the best country in the world in the Newsweek survey based on health, economic dynamism, education, political environment and quality of life. Finland has also been ranked the second most stable country in the world and the first in the 2009 Legatum Prosperity rating. In 2010, the World Economic Forum deemed Finland the 7th most competitive country in the world. Finland is currently ranked as having the 3rd highest graduation rate, percentage of graduates to the population at the typical age of graduation, in the OECD Factbook 2010.

Pirate Party (Finland)

Pirate Party of Finland (Finnish: Piraattipuolue) is a registered political party in Finland. The group currently has 3,200 members. The chairman of the party is Pasi Palmulehto from Hollola. The party is a member of Pirate Parties International.

In January 2008 Matti Hiltunen registered the piraattipuolue.fi domain and set up a bbs bulletin board on the site. In May 2008, about 50 founding members of the party held the founding assembly in Tampere. In September 2008 the party started to collect the 5,000 supporter cards needed to officially register the party.

Develop democracy, safeguard civil rights and increase transparency in politics

Free information and culture from prohibitive restrictions

Review the utility of the patent system

Increase privacy and freedom of speech

Christian Democrats (Finland)

Christian Democrats (Finnish: Kristillisdemokraatit, KD; Swedish: Kristdemokraterna) is a Christian democratic political party in Finland. Formerly known as the Finnish Christian League (Suomen Kristillinen Liitto, SKL; Finlands Kristliga Förbund), the Christian Democrats have six seats in the Finnish Parliament and one in the European Parliament.

The party was founded in 1958, chiefly from the Christian faction of the National Coalition Party. The party adopted its current name in 2001.

The Christian Democrats have a tendency of forming alliances with other parties during elections and their success in elections is mainly determined by their success in these alliances. Their own voter base is stable and loyal, totaling around 5% of the electorate.

The party follows 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.

The party cherishes the environment and is committed to protection of the environment.

Swedish People's Party of Finland

Swedish People's Party of Finland (Swedish: Svenska folkpartiet i Finland (SFP); Finnish: Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue (RKP)) is a Swedish-speaking minority and mainly liberal party in Finland. The party's main election issues has since its founding been the Swedish-speaking Finns' right to their own language and to maintain the Swedish language's position in Finland. The party has been in governmental position since 1979 with one or two seats in the government and has collaborated with the right as well as the left wing in the Finnish parliament. The fact that both the right and the left wing need the support from the party has done that they have been able to affect Finnish politics in a larger scale than the party's actual size. The position of the Swedish language as one of two official languages in Finland and the Swedish-speaking minority's right to the Swedish culture are two of the results of the party's influence in Finnish politics. The party is a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.

Swedish language is one of the two official languages of Finland. The SFP has as its main raison d'être the protection and strengthening of the position of Swedish of Finland.

The Swedish People's Party of Finland has the most eclectic profile of any of the political parties in Finland, its members and supporters including (chiefly):

fishermen and farmers from the Swedish-speaking coastal areas.

small-town dwellers from the adjacent Swedish-speaking and bi-lingual towns.

green-minded and left-leaning middle-class intellectuals.

liberals in general, who currently have no representation of their own in the Finnish parliament, and who as such benefit from the predominantly liberal values of the SFP.

Green League

Green League (Finnish: Vihreä liitto, Vihr.; Swedish: Gröna Förbundet), is a centrist green liberal political party in Finland. It has ten seats in the Finnish Parliament and two in the European Parliament. The current chairperson is Anni Sinnemäki.

Founded in 1987, the party absorbed a number of green organisations, including four MPs elected in 1987. The party won ten seats in the 1991 election. Despite falling to nine seats in 1995, Pekka Haavisto joined Paavo Lipponen's grand coalition first cabinet, making the Green League the first Green party in a national cabinet. The party remained in government until 2002, when it left in opposition to nuclear power. In 2007, the party peaked at 15 seats, and joined the centre-right government. At the 2011 election, the party fell to ten seats.

The party sits in the centre of the political spectrum, criticising both socialism and the free market. The party is a member of the Global Greens and the European Green Party, while its two MEPs sit with The Greens–European Free Alliance in the European Parliament. Originally split on whether Finland should join the European Union, the Green League is now pro-European and was the first Finnish party to support a federal Europe.

Vihreät is no longer a protest party, nor an alternative movement. Some Green candidates in the elections reject classification as "left" or "right". Economic opinions of the members range between left and right. However, on average members of party place their party between the Left Alliance and Social Democrats.

Left Alliance (Finland)

Left Alliance (Finnish: Vasemmistoliitto, Swedish: Vänsterförbundet) is a socialist political party in Finland. It was founded on the basis of the Finnish People's Democratic League and the Communist Party of Finland in 1990.

In parliamentary elections, Left Alliance share of the vote has been close to ten percent. The Left Alliance had three portfolios in the two cabinets of Paavo Lipponen (1995-2003). It is a member of the Nordic Green Left Alliance. The party currently has 14 MPs in the Finnish Eduskunta. The party lost its only remaining MEP in 2009 elections.

The party organ is weekly Kansan Uutiset.

Left Alliance party program adopted by the 5th Party Congress 16 June 2007: The fundamental values of Left Alliance are equality, freedom and sustainable development. Democracy must be strengthened. Democracy must be stronger than the power of capital. Challenging the global capitalism. Getting world into solidarity and stop Finnish polarisation. Freedom and the right to work and income for all people. Environmentally conscious Finland.

Centre Party (Finland)

Centre Party (Finnish: Suomen Keskusta, Kesk; Swedish: Centern i Finland) is a centrist and agrarian political party in Finland. It is one of the four largest political parties in the country, along with the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the National Coalition Party and the True Finns (PS). Currently the Centre Party has 50 seats in the Finnish Parliament (2007). Its chairman is Mari Kiviniemi, who replaced the previous chairman Matti Vanhanen as the Prime Minister of Finland on 22 June 2010.

The Finnish Centre Party is the mother organisation of Finnish Centre Youth, Finnish Centre Women, Finnish Centre Students and some smaller political organisations in Finland.

Its political influence is greatest in small and rural municipalities, where it often holds a majority of the seats in the municipal councils. Decentralisation is the policy that is most characteristic of the Centre Party.

The party was founded in 1906 as a movement of citizens in the Finnish countryside. Before Finnish independence, political power in Finland was centralized in the capital and to the estates of the realm. The centralization gave space for a new political movement. In 1906 were founded two agrarian movements which in 1908 merged into one political party: the Agrarian League or Maalaisliitto. An older, related movement was the temperance movement, which had overlapping membership and which gave future Agrarian League activists experience in working in an organization.

From the very beginning of its presence the party has supported the idea of decentralisation. At the dawn of Finnish independence the party supported republicanism as opposed to a monarchy backed by conservative social forces.

True Finns

True Finns (Finnish: Perussuomalaiset, PS; Swedish: Sannfinländarna) is a nationalist populist political party in Finland, founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The head of the movement is Timo Soini. In the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election True Finns won 19.1% of votes, becoming the third largest party in the Finnish Parliament.

The party combines left-wing economic policies with strongly conservative social values. In the parliament seating order, it has been placed in the centre-left. The party has been compared by the London Financial Times with the Tea Party movement in the United States, and other similar nationalist movements in Europe that are critical of globalization.

After its founding in 1995, it took some time before True Finns started to win credible ground in the Finnish elections. At the time of its founding the party had one MP, Raimo Vistbacka, who was reelected in the 1999 election. In the 2003 parliamentary elections, the party gained three seats. In the 2007 parliamentary election, the party gained 2 further seats for a total of 5. In the 2008 municipal election the party won the most voters in districts where the Social Democratic Party and the Left Alliance lost most. According to the party secretary, the True Finns gained most voters from the Center Party, the Social Democrats, the National Coalition, and the Left Alliance.

Social Democratic Party of Finland

Social Democratic Party of Finland (Finnish: Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue, SDP, colloquially demarit; Swedish: Finlands Socialdemokratiska Parti) is one of the major political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. The SDP has been in the Cabinet for long periods of time, most recently from 1995–2007, and has set many fundamental policies of the Finnish state. SDP's social-democratic policies are generally more moderate than those of the parliament's other left-leaning party, the Left Alliance. SDP aims to group together people in order to achieve social-democratic goals: a society in which freedom, equality, solidarity and co-operation thrives in a peaceful and clean environment. The SDP is a member of the Socialist International and Party of European Socialists. The SDP has a close relationship with the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK).

In the early 20th century SDP steadily commanded some 40% of the vote, but after the Finnish Civil War of 1918, communists split from the party to form the Communist Party of Finland. After that, SDP has commanded 20–29% of the total votes in all elections where communists or their fronts have been allowed to operate. Even after support for the communist electoral organization SKDL dwindled in the 1980s, SDP's share of the popular vote has remained at 21–28 percent. The Social Democratic Party has about 59,000 members. Jutta Urpilainen is the party's current leader. Tarja Halonen was SDP's winning candidate for presidency of Finland in 2000 and 2006. The two preceding presidents were also SDP members. In the 2007 parliamentary election, SDP received 21.4 percent of the vote and lost 8 seats to bring its total down to 45. In 2008 municipal elections, SDP continued its decline with the largest drop since 1960.

National Coalition Party

The National Coalition Party (Finnish: Kansallinen Kokoomus r.p., Kok.; Swedish: Samlingspartiet r.p., Saml.) is a liberal conservative political party in Finland founded in 1918.

The National Coalition Party is one of the three largest parties in Finland, along with the Social Democratic Party and the True Finns. The party bases its politics on "individual freedom and responsibility, equality, Western democracy and economic system, humane principles and caring." The party is strongly pro-European and is a member of the European People's Party (EPP).

Its vote share has been around 20% in parliamentary elections in the 1990s and 2000s. It won 50 out of 200 seats in the parliamentary elections of 2007 and gained an additional seat when Merikukka Forsius defected from the Green League in February 2008. In 2008 municipal elections, the National Coalition Party surpassed the Centre Party and became the most popular party.

The party has several political currents. In international affairs, the party has viewed the European Union in much more positive terms than any other party. It is also supportive of seeking membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The party wants to build "economically and politically stronger European Union, we envisage an EU that is a more effective and a more prominent actor in world politics".

Päivi Räsänen

Päivi Maria Räsänen, née Kuvaja (born December 19, 1959, Sonkajärvi), is a Finnish politician. She has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democrats since 2004.

A physician by education, Räsänen got into politics in the early 1990s, running for parliament in 1991. She has been in the Riihimäki City Council since 1993, and in the Finnish Parliament since 1995.

Räsänen is married with five children.

Räsänen has been characterized as a conservative. On October 12, 2010, Räsänen was one of the participants on a live TV debate Homoilta, the guests of which debated over same-sex marriage and LGBT rights in general. The program was followed by an unprecedented exodus from the Evangelical Lutheran Church — in a few weeks, nearly 40,000 members left the Church through the website eroakirkosta.fi. Räsänen was on the show representing her party and herself as a Christian individual alongside with five other opponents of gay marriage, but the resignations were specifically attributed to her by Minister for Culture and Sports Stefan Wallin. Räsänen thinks homosexual acts are a sin and she herself does not consider her views "specifically extreme".

Stefan Wallin

Stefan Erik Wallin (born 1 June 1967 in Vaasa) is a Swedish-speaking Finnish politician. He is currently Finland's Minister for Culture and Sports in Mari Kiviniemi's cabinet.

Wallin was born in Vaasa and studied at the Åbo Akademi University in Turku, where he graduated with a Master's Degree in Social Sciences. He worked as a reporter for the newspaper Vasabladet from 1989 to 1993 before acting as a research assistant for the Swedish People's Party. He served as a Special Adviser successively to the Ministers of Transport, European Affairs and Foreign Trade, Interior, and Defence from 1994 to 2000.

He was Deputy Editor-in-Chief and a leader writer for the newspaper Åbo Underrättelser from 2000 to 2005. He then served as State Secretary to the Minister of the Environment from 2005 to 2007.

Wallin was appointed Minister of the Environment and Minister at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs responsible for Nordic Cooperation by President Tarja Halonen on 29 December 2006. He succeeded Jan-Erik Enestam, who was also Wallin's predecessor as chairman of the Swedish People's Party.

Anni Sinnemäki

Anni Milja Maaria Sinnemäki (born July 20, 1973) is a Finnish politician and a member of the Finnish Parliament, representing the Green League. She was first elected to the parliament in 1999. She was elected chairwoman of the Green League on May 16th, 2009. She is also known for her poetry.

Sinnemäki was born in Helsinki, Finland. She has a B.A. degree in Russian literature from the University of Helsinki. She has one child, Siiri (b. 1990). Sinnemäki, a renowned poet, is the author of series of most popular Finnish pop lyrics of the 1990's and early 2000's for the band Ultra Bra.

Sinnemäki has said the biggest disappointment of her political career is the decision on nuclear power in 2002. She has said the law on civil partnerships is the biggest victory of her political career. Sinnemäki has defended the raising of development aid to 0.7% of GDP in parliament budget negotiations. She has also defended public transportation, municipal funding and funding for the treatment of prisoners.

Paavo Arhinmäki

Paavo Erkki Arhinmäki (born December 13, 1976 in Helsinki) is a Finnish politician and a member of the Finnish Parliament, representing the Left Alliance whose leader he has been since June 2009. He was elected to the Finnish Parliament in the 2007 election. Arhinmäki has been member of the Helsinki city council since 2001. He led the Left Youth in 2001–2005. He has proposed a stop to nuclear power development in Finland in the wake of the Great Hanshin earthquake.

Mari Kiviniemi

Mari Johanna Kiviniemi (born 27 September 1968) is a Finnish politician and current Prime Minister of Finland. She was elected as the Prime Minister on 22 June 2010. Prior to her appointment as Prime Minister, Kiviniemi was Minister of Public Administration and Local Government in the Council of State of Finland from 2007 to 2010. Previously she was the Minister of Foreign Trade and Development from 2005 to 2006. Her political party is the Centre Party. In June 2010, she was elected chair of the Centre Party.

In 2003, Kiviniemi was elected to a leadership position within the Centre Party, serving as vice-chairman (one of three) until June 2008, when she was voted off at that summer's party convention. She became a special advisor to Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen in 2004, and was twice appointed by him to serve as a Cabinet minister: first in September 2005 on a temporary basis when the incumbent went on maternity leave for six months; and then on a full-time basis in April 2007.

On 22 January 2010, one month after Prime Minister Vanhanen announced he would be stepping down as leader (chair) of the Centre Party at its June 2010 convention, Kiviniemi announced her candidacy for the vacancy. Her campaign was formally launched in April.

Timo Soini

Timo Juhani Soini (born May 30, 1962) is a Finnish politician, and co-founder and current leader of the True Finns party. Since 2009, he has been a member of the European Parliament. Well-known as an EU-sceptic populist, he was elected a member of the Espoo city council in 2000 and the Parliament of Finland in 2003. In the 2009 European Parliament election he won a seat in the European Parliament with Finland's highest personal vote share (nearly 10% of all votes), becoming the first True Finn in the European Parliament.In the 2011 parliamentary election his party reached the outstanding 19%.

True Finns obtained 39 seats in the 2011 election, making them the third largest party. Soini received 43 212 personal votes, the highest amount of all of the candidates. Soini managed to raise the popularity of the party from 4.1% to 19.0% in four years. Helsingin Sanomat reviewed in an editorial that Soini "rewrote the electoral history books". According to BBC, behind Soini's success was "brain, wit and charisma". A political analyst and university professor pointed to Soini's oratory skills and ability to appeal to common people and make complicated things look easy. The election result was also referred to as "shocking" and "exceptional"

Permanent short link for Go Daddy.com Just ez2.me

Next time for Go Daddy.com: Easy to you just www.ez2.me

See All Go Daddy Products

Tell your friends about Easy To Me, Go Daddy,s Approved affiliate

Next time for Go Daddy: Easy to you just www.ez2.me Dadicated link for Go Daddy.com Just ez2.me

Jutta Urpilainen

Jutta Pauliina Urpilainen (born 4 August 1975 in Lapua) is the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP). She was elected in June 2008 as the first female chairman of the SDP.

Born in Lapua in the province of Western Finland, Urpilainen was educated at the University of Jyväskylä, where she graduated as a Master of Education in 2002. She worked as a school teacher until her election to parliament. She was also president of JEF-Finland in 2001. She has been a member of Kokkola city council since 2001.

Urpilainen has been a member of parliament for the Vaasa constituency since 2003. She is a member of the Parliamentary Education and Culture Committee, a deputy member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee. She is also a member of the Advisory Council of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

Urpilainen was elected Chairman in June 2008, succeeding former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Eero Heinäluoma. She won on the second ballot, defeating former Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja by 218 votes to 132.

Jyrki Katainen

Jyrki Tapani Katainen (born October 14, 1971) is chairman of the Finnish National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) and the Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of Finland. Katainen's National Coalition Party wants to cut corporate taxes, raise the retirement age, promote nuclear power and bailout Portugal.

While the pro-EU National Coalition Party emerged as the strongest party in the 2011 parliamentary election, with 20.4% of the vote, and analysts expect 39-year-old Katainen to become the next Prime Minister of Finland, negotiations will be tough, even after a government is formed in May, because the Euro-sceptic True Finns got 19% of the vote, compared to 4% in 2007, the Social Democratic Party - considered "the opposition" - got 19.1% of the votes and the outgoing Center Party of the incumbent Prime Minister, that got only 15.8% of the vote (down from 23% in 2007) stated that they would "go with the opposition".

In March 2011 Jyrki Katainen was able to accept two new nuclear reactors in Loviisa (Fortum) to substitute the old ones, when recommended, in addition to one under construction in Olkiluoto by Siemens/Areva since 2005 and two new ones with a parliament permission to construction in 2010.

Finnish parliamentary election, 2011

An election to the Eduskunta was held on 17 April 2011. Advance voting, including Finnish expatriates, was held between 6 and 12 April with a turnout of 31.2%. All 200 seats of the parliament were open for election. Total turnout rose to 70.5% from 67.9% in the previous election.

Small differences in the opinion polls for the traditional three big parties (the National Coalition Party, Centre Party and the Social Democrats) and the surprising rise of the True Finns electrified the atmosphere ahead of the election and intensified its international interest because of a possible consequence on an EU bailout programme for Portugal.

The election resulted in a breakthrough for the True Finns, with every other parliamentary party in mainland Finland losing popularity. The absolute vote for the True Finns increased almost five-fold from the previous election, and the seat count rose from 5 to 39, making them the third-largest party. The Centre Party lost the most seats as their popular vote decreased by one-third. The National Coalition Party became the largest party for the first time. The Social Democrats also lost seats, but ended up with more seats than the previous winner Centre Party, and thus restored their position as the second largest party.

Three of the four incumbent governing parties lost a combined 27 seats: The National Coalition Party lost six seats, the Centre Party lost 16 seats and the Green League lost five seats. Only the Swedish People's Party held on to the same number of seats. Incumbent Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi's coalition thus ended up with 99 seats, losing majority in the parliament by two seats.