President of Finland - History

History

After Finland's independence and the Civil War in Finland the matter of whether Finland should be a republic or a constitutional monarchy was much debated (see Frederick Charles of Hesse), and the outcome was a compromise: a rather monarchy-like, strong presidency with great powers over Finland's foreign affairs, the appointment of the Council of State and the officers of the civil service. The Constitution was changed in 2000, to redistribute some of this power to the Parliament and the Council of State. The new constitution specifies how the principles of Parliamentarism are to be followed. Most significantly, the President can no longer nominate the Prime Minister or individual ministers independently. For example, this power was previously used to form governments where the party in plurality was excluded. Regarding the right to dissolve parliament, consultation with the Prime Minister and heads of parliamentary groups was made mandatory before the parliament could be dissolved and new elections ordered. Furthermore, some appointing powers, such as appointment of Provincial Governors and department heads at ministries, were transferred to the Cabinet of Finland.