Christian Democrats (Finland)

Christian Democrats
200px
Finnish name	Kristillisdemokraatit
Swedish name	Kristdemokraterna
Leader	Sari Essayah
Founded	1958
Headquarters	Karjalankatu 2 C 7 krs. FIN - 00520 HELSINKI
Newspaper	KD-lehti
Membership  (2011)	13,000
Ideology	Christian democracy Social conservatism
Political position	Centre to centre-right
European affiliation	European People's Party (observer)
International affiliation	Centrist Democrat International
Colours	Blue and orange
Parliament	5 / 200
European Parliament	0 / 13
Municipalities	300 / 9,674
Website
www.kristillisdemokraatit.fi
Politics of Finland Political parties Elections

The Christian Democrats (Finnish: Kristillisdemokraatit, KD; Swedish: Kristdemokraterna) is a Christian democratic political party in Finland. The Christian Democrats have five seats in the Finnish Parliament. The party was represented in the Finnish government by Minister of Interior Päivi Räsänen from June 22, 2011 until May 29, 2015.

The party was founded in 1958, chiefly by the Christian faction of the National Coalition Party, as the Finnish Christian League (Suomen Kristillinen Liitto, SKL; Finlands Kristliga Förbund.) The party adopted its current name in 2001.

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.

The party has lost many of its members to bigger parties, mainly to the National Coalition and Center Party. KD MP Lyly Rajala and MEP Eija-Riitta Korhola defected to the National Coalition in 2003, and the former party secretary Annika Kokko moved to the National Coalition in 2007.

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.

The party is an observer member of the European People's Party (EPP.)

KD-lehti (English: CD News) is the party's weekly newspaper.

Politicians

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–)

Current members of parliament

• Sari Essayah (Savo-Karjala constituency)
• Antero Laukkanen (Uusimaa constituency)
• Päivi Räsänen (Häme constituency)
• Sari Tanus (Pirkanmaa constituency)
• Peter Östman (Vaasa constituency)

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.

Election results

Parliament elections

Year	MPs	Votes	Share of votes
1958	0	3,358	0.17%
1966	0	10,646	0.45%
1970	1	28,228	1.40%
1972	4	65,228	2.53%
1975	9	90,599	3.29%
1979	9	138,244	4.77%
1983	3	90,410	3.03%
1987	5	74,209	2.58%
1991	8	83,151	3.05%
1995	7	82,311	2.96%
1999	10	111,835	4.17%
2003	7	148,987	5.34%
2007	7	134,643	4.86%
2011	6	118,453	4.03%
2015	5	105,134	3.54%

Local council elections

Year	Councillors	Votes	Share of votes
1972	134	49,877	2.0%
1976	322	85,792	3.2%
1980	333	100,800	3.7%
1984	257	80,455	3.0%
1988	273	71,614	2.72%
1992	353	84,481	3.2%
1996	353	75,494	3.2%
2000	443	95,009	4.3%
2004	392	94,666	4.0%
2008	351	106,639	4.2%

European parliamentary elections

Year	MEPs	Votes	Share of votes
1996	0	63,134	2.8%
1999	1	29,637	2.4%
2004	0	70,845	4.3%
2009	1	69 467	4.2%
2014	0	90 586	5.2%

External links

• Christian Democrats - Official site (Finnish)