Christian Democrats (Finland)



The Christian Democrats (CD; Suomen Kristillisdemokraatit; Kristdemokraterna i Finland, KD) is a Christian-democratic political party in Finland.

It was founded in May 1958, chiefly by the Christian faction of the National Coalition Party. It entered parliament in 1970. The party leader since 28 August 2015 has been Sari Essayah. The Christian Democrats have five seats in the Finnish Parliament. It is positioned on the centre-right on the political spectrum.

The party name was for a long time abbreviated to SKL (standing for Suomen Kristillinen Liitto, Finlands Kristliga Förbund, Finland's Christian League), until 2001, when the party changed its name to the current Christian Democrats and its Finnish and Swedish abbreviations to KD. The CD was a minor party in the centre-right coalition government led by Prime Minister Esko Aho between 1991 and 1994 and was later a part of a rainbow coalition led by Jyrki Katainen and Alexander Stubb between 2011–2015. It has been a part of the Orpo Cabinet since its formation on 20 June 2023. KD-lehti is the party's weekly newspaper. The party is a member of the European People's Party and the European People's Party Group.

History
When the Christian Democrats was founded in 1958, as the name Finnish Christian League, the communist-dominated Finnish People's Democratic League was polling about 25 per cent and became the largest parliamentary grouping. That, together with lax alcohol laws, salacious publications and assistance from the Norwegian KrF, sparked the Christian initiative.

The 1960s were an 'incubation period', but there was a growing conviction of the need for parliamentary seats in the wake of liberal legislation. At the 'earthquake election' of 1970, after four years of a popular front government, the CD only had Raino Westerholm elected. Westerholm was a party chair between 1973 and 1982. Westerholm polled a creditable 8.8 per cent at the 1978 presidential election. The modest 'Westerholm effect' was a backlash for long-serving Urho Kekkonen, who was backed by all of the larger parties.

The party was a junior coalition partner in government from 1991 to 1995, when it occupied the development aid portfolio. It was a soft Eurosceptic party and stressed the importance of the principle of subsidiarity in European affairs. After being renamed to "The Christian Democrats" in 2001, it moved to a pro-European stance. Bjarne Kallis, the party chairman between 1995 and 2004, was instrumental in the party's change of name and concern to attract a wider electorate, being able to draw votes from the Swedish People's Party and Finnish-speaking conservative and centrist voters.

At the 2003 general election, the Christian Democrats polled its highest vote of 5.3%.

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, Finland.

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. The party also claims to be committed to environmental protection. It is also orientated towards socially conservative policies.

Politicians
Parliamentary election 1972 campaign event of Finnish Christian League at 1971.

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–present)

First deputy chairs

 * Raino Westerholm (1971–1973)
 * Ilmari Helimäki (1973–1982)
 * Olavi Ronkainen (1982–1985)
 * Marjatta Laakko (1985–1989)
 * Juhani Peltonen (1989–1991)
 * Leea Hiltunen (1991–2003)
 * Marja-Leena Kemppainen (2003–2005)
 * Peter Östman (2005–2009)
 * Sari Palm (2009–2011)
 * Teuvo V. Riikonen (2011–2013)
 * Sauli Ahvenjärvi (2013–2015)
 * Tommy Björkskog (2015–2017)
 * Tiina Tuomela (2017–2019)
 * Peter Östman (2019–2023)
 * Mika Poutala (2023–present)

Party secretaries

 * 1958–1959: S. N. Venho
 * 1959–1965: Paavo Luostarinen
 * 1965–1978: Eino Pinomaa
 * 1979–1982: Esko Almgren
 * 1982–1996: Jouko Jääskeläinen
 * 1997–2002: Milla Kalliomaa
 * 2003: Eija-Riitta Korhola
 * 2003–2007: Annika Kokko
 * 2007–2009: Sari Essayah
 * 2009–2011: Peter Östman
 * 2011–2021: Asmo Maanselkä
 * 2022–2023: Elsi Juupaluoma
 * 2024– Mikko Rekimies

Current members of parliament

 * Sari Essayah (Savo-Karjala constituency)
 * Mika Poutala (Uusimaa constituency)
 * Päivi Räsänen (Häme constituency)
 * Sari Tanus (Pirkanmaa constituency)
 * Peter Östman (Vaasa constituency)

Members of 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.

Affiliated organisations

 * Christian Democratic Youth of Finland (Suomen Kristillisdemokraattiset Nuoret Finlands Kristdemokratiska Unga)
 * Christian Democratic Women of Finland (Suomen Kristillisdemokraattiset Naiset Finlands Kristdemokratiska Kvinnor)
 * KD-Lehti
 * Ajatushautomo Kompassi