Christian Democrats (Finland)

Christian Democrats
Suomen Kristillisdemokraatit (Finnish)
Kristdemokraterna i Finland (Swedish)
AbbreviationKD, CD
ChairpersonSari Essayah
SecretaryMikko Rekimies [fi]
General SecretaryMerja Eräpolku
Parliamentary group leaderPeter Östman
First deputy chairMika Poutala
Founded6 May 1958 (1958-05-06)
Split fromNational Coalition Party
HeadquartersKarjalankatu 2A
00520, Helsinki
NewspaperKD-lehti [fi]
Think tankAjatushautomo Kompassi [fi]
Youth wingChristian Democratic Youth of Finland[1]
Women's wingChristian Democratic Women of Finland[2]
Swedish-speaking wingKD Svenska [fi]
Membership (2021)Decrease 8,370[3]
IdeologyChristian democracy
Social conservatism
Political positionCentre to centre-right
European affiliationEuropean People's Party
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party Group
Nordic affiliationCentre Group
Colors  Blue
  White
  Light blue
  Orange
Eduskunta
5 / 200
European Parliament
0 / 15
Municipalities
311 / 8,859
County seats
57 / 1,379
Website
www.kd.fi
Sari Essayah, CD leader since 2015.

The Christian Democrats (CD; Finnish: Suomen Kristillisdemokraatit; Swedish: Kristdemokraterna i Finland, KD) is a Christian-democratic political party in Finland.[4][5]

It was founded in May 1958, chiefly by the Christian faction of the National Coalition Party.[6][7] It entered parliament in 1970. The party leader since 28 August 2015 has been Sari Essayah.[8] The Christian Democrats have five seats in the Finnish Parliament. It is positioned on the centre-right on the political spectrum.[9]

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.[citation needed]

  1. ^ "Suomen Kristillisdemokraattiset (KD) Nuoret ry". kansalaisyhteiskunta.fi (in Finnish). Kansalaisfoorumi. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Kristillisdemokraattiset Naiset". kansalaisyhteiskunta.fi (in Finnish). Kansalaisfoorumi. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  3. ^ "PUOLUEEN TOIMINTAKERTOMUS 2019-2021" (PDF). Liitteet 3 ja 4: Suomen Kristillisdemokraatit r.p. – Kristdemokraterna i Finland r.p. 2021.
  4. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Finland". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  5. ^ Bale, Tim (2021). Riding the populist wave: Europe's mainstream right in crisis. Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-009-00686-6. OCLC 1256593260.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference christiandemocracy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Finland". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  8. ^ "Sari Essayah kristillisdemokraattien puheenjohtajaksi". 28 August 2015.
  9. ^ "Finland's largest political parties". European Parliament Information. Retrieved 15 April 2019.