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Finland President
Supreme executive power is held by the president,
assisted by
the Council of State. The president also has legislative
power
exercised in conjunction with the Eduskunta. As of 1988,
the
president is to be elected for a six-year term either
directly by
the Finnish people, or if an absolute majority is not
reached, by
a college of 301 electors selected in the same election.
Previously the president was elected indirectly by the
college of
electors.
As of 1988, there was no limit on the number of terms a
president might serve, but in the late 1980s legislation
was
being discussed that would permit no one to serve more
than two
consecutive terms. The president's only formal
qualification is
that he or she be a native-born citizen. Once elected, the
president must renounce all other offices, and, with the
aim of
being a nonpartisan head of state, must cease being a
member of
any political party. His election, separate from that for
the
Eduskunta, gives him a distinct mandate that theoretically
elevates him above routine politics. Another advantage of
his
long term in office is that it brings to Finnish political
life a
continuity that it has often lacked.
The president is not politically responsible to anyone.
He
can be removed from office only if the Eduskunta decides
by a
three-quarters majority that he is guilty of treason. He
would
then be tried by the Supreme Court
(see Legal System
, this
ch.).
The risks that such freedom from political responsibility
entails
are lessened because most of his executive decisions can
be
carried out only by means of the Council of State, and his
legislative powers are realized through the Eduskunta.
The president's power to dissolve parliament and to
call for
new elections gives him, in theory, considerable influence
over
parliament, but ultimately he must work with an Eduskunta
elected
by the people. If he cannot convince a majority of the
voters or
the members of the Eduskunta to support his policies, he
cannot
act. An indication of the importance of this central
element in
Finnish parliamentary practice is that the Eduskunta has
been
dissolved only once--in 1924--against its will. The other
half
dozen dissolutions were caused by the inability of the
government
to agree on a common course of action.
It is the president who decides what legislative
proposals
are sent to the Eduskunta, although in practice government
bills
are drafted by the Council of State and are sent to
parliament
after presidential approval. Failure to sign them within
three
months of their passage amounts to a suspensive veto on
the part
of the president, a veto which can be overridden by a
simple
majority of the Eduskunta after new parliamentary
elections. Both
the presidential veto and the Eduskunta override have been
rare
occurrences.
Another important presidential power involves the
formation
of new governments. The president has the formal power to
nominate ministers, but his choices are bound by what the
parties
seated in the Eduskunta will accept. His choices must
correspond
to the chamber's political composition. Within these
limits,
though, the president's force of character and political
will
influence the formation of a government. The president
also has
the right to dismiss ministers, either individual
ministers, or,
if he wishes, the entire cabinet. The president may issue
decrees
about details of public administration, as long as these
measures
are not contrary to laws passed by the Eduskunta. The
right to
change laws is a parliamentary prerogative, although an
emergency
law may grant the president this power in times of crisis,
as was
done in World War II.
The president nominates all senior civil servants, high
judges, provincial governors, diplomats, professors at the
University of Helsinki, high churchmen, and the chancellor
of
justice. In making these appointments, however, the
president
rarely departs from the names suggested to him by
appropriate
authorities. As commander in chief of the armed forces, a
position he may delegate during wartime, as was done in
World War
II, the president also nominates military officers.
The president has the power to grant pardons and
general
amnesties, but the latter require the approval of the
Eduskunta.
Individual immunity may also be granted by the president,
in
accordance with certain provisions of the law. Moreover,
the
granting and the revocation of citizenship require the
signature
of the head of state.
The Constitution Act gives the president the
responsibility
for directing foreign affairs, and his authority in this
area has
grown markedly since World War II. The occasion for the
decisive
shift of presidential activity from principally domestic
concerns
to foreign relations was the threat a changing world order
posed
for Finland's survival; the crucial roles, played by
President
Paasikivi in formulating a new foreign policy and by
President
Kekkonen in consolidating it, restructured the office they
held.
Their success increased the prestige and the strength of
the
presidency beyond the formal powers already prescribed by
the
Constitution and enhanced the president's role as head of
state.
By the late 1980s, however, a long period of stability
both
at home and abroad made the security and the direction
provided
by a strong and authoritative president seem less
essential for
the country's well-being, and there was serious discussion
about
limiting his power of intervention in the political
process.
Legislation was being prepared that would circumscribe his
right
to dissolve the Eduskunta and his role in the formation of
governments; in the latter case, he would be required to
take
greater cognizance of the wishes of leading politicians.
Other
reforms likely to be realized in the next decade included
curtailing the president's right to dismiss ministers,
arranging
for the direct election of the president, and limiting the
president to two consecutive terms in office. Mauno
Koivisto,
first elected president in 1982 and reelected in 1988,
supported
reducing the traditional powers of the presidency
(see The Presidential Election of 1982 and Koivisto's Presidency
, this
ch.). Observers held that these reforms would augment the
governing roles of the prime minister, the cabinet, and
the
legislature and that they would mean that Finnish
political
practices came to resemble more closely those of other
West
European parliamentary democracies.
Data as of December 1988
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