The Swedish People's Party of Finland (SPP; Swedish: Svenska folkpartiet i Finland, SFP; Finnish: Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue, RKP) is a Finnish political party founded in 1906. Its primary aim is to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finland. The party is currently a participant of the Government of Petteri Orpo, holding the posts of Minister of Education and Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering, along with the post of Minister of Youth, Sport and Physical Activity until 13 June 2025.
An ethnic catch-all party, its main election issue since its inception has been the Swedish-speaking Finns' right to their own language while maintaining the position of Swedish as an official language in Finland. Ideologically, it is liberal, social-liberal, centrist, and pro-European. The party has been in government from 1979 to 2015 and again from 2019, with one or two ministerial portfolios in government, and has collaborated with parties across the left–right political spectrum in parliament.
The fact that the winning party in Finland has usually needed the support from the party to form a coalition government has meant that the SPP has been able to affect the politics of Finland on a larger scale than the party's actual size would suggest. The continued position of Swedish as one of two official languages in Finland in the face of a steady erosion of the Swedish speakers' share of the Finnish population from 12% at independence compared to 5% today, as well as the preservation of the Swedish-speaking minority's right to engage in Swedish culture, are two examples of the party's influence in Finnish politics. The party is a member of the Liberal International, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, and Renew Europe. The youth organisation of the party is called Svensk Ungdom (Swedish Youth).
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History and electorate
The Swedish Party (1870–1906), a parliamentary elite party based on members in the Diet of Finland, is the historical predecessor of the Swedish People's Party of Finland. It was a part of the Svecoman movement and its main policy was opposition of the Fennoman movement.
Unlike Fennomans, who were largely liberal on matters other than the language question, the Svecoman were conservative. Axel Lille and Axel Olof Freudenthal are often considered as the main "founding fathers" of the movement. Most members of the Liberal Party joined the Swedish Party in the 1880s, after the Liberals ceased to exist as a distinct party. The Swedish People's Party of Finland was founded in the 1906 party congress of the Swedish Party, making it one of the oldest parties in Finland. The first leader of the Swedish People's Party was Axel Lille.
The current leader of the party is Anders Adlercreutz. In the Parliament of Finland the representative for Åland is usually included in SPP's parliamentary group, regardless of his/her party affiliation; parties on Åland are separate from those on the mainland, but their common interest in Swedish-language issues gives them much in common with the Swedish People's Party group in national politics.
The party receives its main electoral support from the Swedish speaking minority, which makes up about 5.5% of Finland's population. During its history, the party has suffered slow but steady decline in adherence, following the decline of the percentage of Swedish-speaking population. In 1907, the party received 12% of national votes; after World War II, it received 7% of the vote; and in the 2011 parliamentary election, it received 4.3% of the votes (and nine MPs). In municipal elections, it holds large majorities in municipalities with a Swedish-speaking majority.
Despite its position as one of the minor political parties in the Finnish parliament, it has frequently been one of the partners forming the governing coalition cabinets. Since 1956, the year when Urho Kekkonen was elected President, the party has been nearly continuously in the government. It has been part of all coalitions with the significant exception of Paasio's first cabinet (1966–68), which included only socialists (Social Democratic Party (SDP), the split SDP faction Social Democratic Union of Workers and Smallholders and Finnish People's Democratic League) and the Centre Party.
Election results
Political positions
The Swedish language is one of the two official languages of Finland. The SPP has as its main purpose the protection and strengthening of the position of the Swedish language in 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 chiefly include:
Fishermen and farmers from the Swedish-speaking coastal areas.
Small-town dwellers from the adjacent Swedish-speaking and bilingual towns.
A significant part of the Swedish-speaking population of Finland.
Left-leaning middle class people.
Liberals in general, who currently have no representation of their own in the Parliament of Finland, and who as such benefit from the predominantly liberal values of the SPP.
Although the SPP represents a small minority of Finland, having Swedish as a mother tongue is not much of a political handicap in and of itself. Several times, Swedish speaking presidential candidates have gathered considerable support, although not necessarily as candidates for the Swedish People's Party of Finland:
In 1944, the Swedish-Finnish Carl G. E. Mannerheim, a hero of Finnish independence, became Finland's 6th president.
In 1956, the Swedish-speaking Social Democrat Karl-August Fagerholm got one less electoral vote than needed to be elected, leading to the election of Agrarian Urho Kekkonen.
In 1994, the SPP's candidate Elisabeth Rehn was defeated by the Social Democrat candidate Martti Ahtisaari, also with a narrow margin (53.9% to 46.1%).
List of party leaders
Axel Lille (1906–1917)
Eric von Rettig (1917–1934)
Ernst von Born (1934–1945)
Ralf Törngren (1945–1955)
Ernst von Born (1955–1956)
Lars Erik Taxell (1956–1966)
Jan-Magnus Jansson (1966–1973)
Kristian Gestrin (1973–1974)
Carl Olof Tallgren (1974–1977)
Pär Stenbäck (1977–1985)
Christoffer Taxell (1985–1990)
Ole Norrback (1990–1998)
Jan-Erik Enestam (1998–2006)
Stefan Wallin (2006–2012)
Carl Haglund (2012–2016)
Anna-Maja Henriksson (2016–2024)
Anders Adlercreutz (2024–present)