View source for List of presidents of Finland

This article is a list of '''[[President of Finland|presidents of Finland]]'''.

== List of presidents==
{{legend2|{{party color|National Progressive Party (Finland)}}|[[National Progressive Party (Finland)|National Progressive Party]]|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend2|{{party color|Agrarian League (Finland)}}|[[Centre Party (Finland)|Agrarian League (Centre Party {{small|(1965–1988)}}, Centre of Finland {{small|(from 1988)}})]]|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend2|{{party color|National Coalition Party}}|[[National Coalition Party|National Coalition (National Coalition Party {{small|(1918–1951)}})]]|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend2|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Finland}}|[[Social Democratic Party of Finland|Social Democratic Party of Finland (Labour People's Party of Finland {{small|(1899–1903)}}, Social Democratic Party in Finland {{small|(1903–1906)}})]]|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! Rank
! Portrait
! President <br /><small>(Birth–Death)</small>
! Elected
! Took office
! Left office
! Political party (until election)
! Birth and death

<!-- Ståhlberg -->
|-style="background:#EEEEEE;"
! style="background:{{party color|National Progressive Party (Finland)}};" rowspan="2"| 1
| rowspan="2"|[[File:Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg 1919.jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="2"|[[Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg]] <br /> <small>(1865–1952)</small>
| [[1919 Finnish presidential election|1919]]
| 26 July 1919
| 2 March 1925
| height=70|[[National Progressive Party (Finland)|National Progressive Party]] (Ed.)
| ''b.'' 28 January 1865, [[Suomussalmi]]<br />''d.'' 22 September 1952, [[Helsinki]]
|-
| colspan="5"|[[Parliament of Finland|Member of parliament]] (1908–1910, 1914–1918 and 1930–1933). [[Speaker of the Parliament of Finland|Speaker of parliament]] (1914–1917). [[Supreme Administrative Court of Finland|President of the Supreme Administrative Court]] (1918–1919). Elected as president by the [[Parliament of Finland|parliament]] in 1919.

<!-- Relander -->
|-style="background:#EEEEEE;"
! style="background:{{party color|Agrarian League (Finland)}};" rowspan="2"| 2
| rowspan="2"|[[Image:Lauri Kristian Relander.jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="2"|[[Lauri Kristian Relander]]<br /><small> (1883–1942)</small>
| [[1925 Finnish presidential election|1925]]
| 2 March 1925
| 2 March 1931
| height=70|[[Centre Party (Finland)|Agrarian League]] (ML)
| ''b.'' 31 May 1883, [[Kurkijoki]]<br />''d.'' 9 February 1942, [[Helsinki]]
|-
| colspan="5"|[[Parliament of Finland|Member of parliament]] (1910–1914 and 1917–1920). [[Speaker of the Parliament of Finland|Speaker of parliament]] (1919–1920). Governor of [[Viipuri Province]] (1920–1925). Elected as president by an [[electoral college#Former electoral colleges|electoral college]] in 1925.

<!-- Svinhufvud -->
|-style="background:#EEEEEE;"
! style="background:{{party color|National Coalition Party}}; color:white;" rowspan="2"| 3
| rowspan="2"|[[File:Pehr Evind Svinhufvud (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="2"|[[Pehr Evind Svinhufvud]]<br /><small> (1861–1944)</small>
| [[1931 Finnish presidential election|1931]]
| 2 March 1931
| 1 March 1937
| height=70|[[National Coalition Party]] (Kok.)
| ''b.'' 15 December 1861, [[Sääksmäki]]<br />''d.'' 29 February 1944, [[Luumäki]]
|-
| colspan="5"|Member of the [[Estates of the realm|Estate of Nobles]] in the [[Diet of Finland]] (1894 and 1899–1906). [[Parliament of Finland|Member of parliament]] (1907–1917 and 1930–1931). [[Speaker of the Parliament of Finland|Speaker of parliament]] (1907–1913). [[Regent]] (interim head of state) of Finland (1918). [[Prime Minister of Finland|Prime Minister]] (1917–1918 and 1930–1931). Elected as president by an [[electoral college#Former electoral colleges|electoral college]] in 1931.

<!-- Kallio -->
|-style="background:#EEEEEE;"
! style="background:{{party color|Agrarian League (Finland)}};" rowspan="2"| 4
| rowspan="2"|[[File:Kyösti Kallio.jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="2"|[[Kyösti Kallio]]<br /><small> (1873–1940)</small>
| [[1937 Finnish presidential election|1937]]
| 1 March 1937
| 19 December 1940<br /><small>(died)</small>
| height=70|[[Centre Party (Finland)|Agrarian League]] (ML)
| ''b.'' 10 April 1873, [[Ylivieska]]<br />''d.'' 19 December 1940, [[Helsinki]]
|-
| colspan="5"|[[Parliament of Finland|Member of parliament]] (1907–1937). Chairman of the [[Centre Party (Finland)|Agrarian League]] (1909–1917). Minister of Agriculture (1919–1920 and 1921–1922). [[Speaker of the Parliament of Finland|Speaker of parliament]] (1920–1921, 1922, 1924–1925, 1927–1928, 1929 and 1930–1936). [[Prime Minister of Finland|Prime Minister]] (1922–1924, 1925–1926, 1929–1930 and 1936–1937). Elected as president by an [[electoral college#Former electoral colleges|electoral college]] in 1937. Announced resignation in 1940 because of poor health, but died in office.

<!-- Ryti -->
|-style="background:#EEEEEE;"
! style="background:{{party color|National Progressive Party (Finland)}};" rowspan="2"| 5
| rowspan="2"|[[File:Risto Ryti 1940.png|100px]]
| rowspan="2"|[[Risto Ryti]]<br /><small> (1889–1956)</small>
| [[1940 Finnish presidential election|1940]]<br />[[1943 Finnish presidential election|1943]]
| 19 December 1940
| 4 August 1944<br /><small>(resigned)</small>
| height=70|[[National Progressive Party (Finland)|National Progressive Party]] (Ed.)
| ''b.'' 3 February 1889, [[Huittinen]]<br />''d.'' 25 October 1956, [[Helsinki]]
|-
| colspan="5"|[[Parliament of Finland|Member of parliament]] (1919–1924 and 1927–1929). [[Minister of Finance (Finland)|Minister of Finance]] (1921–1922 and 1922–1924). [[Bank of Finland|Governor of the Bank of Finland]] (1923–1940 and 1944–1945). [[Prime Minister of Finland|Prime Minister]] (1939–1940). Elected as president by the [[electoral college#Former electoral colleges|electoral college]] from 1937 in 1940 and re-elected in 1943 also by the electoral college from 1937. Resigned in 1944 due to the [[Ryti–Ribbentrop Agreement]].

<!-- Mannerheim -->
|-style="background:#EEEEEE;"
! rowspan="2"| 6
| rowspan="2"|[[File:Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim 1940.jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="2"|[[Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim]]<br /><small> (1867–1951)</small>
| 1944
| 4 August 1944
| 11 March 1946<br /><small>(resigned)</small>
| [[Independent politician|Non-partisan]]
| ''b.'' 4 June 1867, [[Askainen]]<br />''d.'' 27 January 1951, [[Lausanne]], [[Switzerland]]
|-
| colspan="5"|[[Regent]] (interim head of state) of Finland (1918–1919). [[Chief of Defence (Finland)|Commander-in-Chief]] of the [[Finnish Defence Forces]] (1939–1945). The only [[Field marshal (Finland)|War Marshal and Marshal of Finland]]. Decreed as president in 1944 by an exception law. Resigned in 1946 because of poor health. Finland's only non-partisan president and the only president to die outside Finland.

<!-- Paasikivi -->
|-style="background:#EEEEEE;"
! style="background:{{party color|National Coalition Party}}; color:white;" rowspan="2"| 7
| rowspan="2"|[[File:Juho Kusti Paasikivi.jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="2"|[[Juho Kusti Paasikivi]]<br /><small> (1870–1956)</small>
| [[1946 Finnish presidential election|1946]]<br />[[1950 Finnish presidential election|1950]]
| 11 March 1946
| 1 March 1956
| height=70|[[National Coalition Party]] (Kok.)
| ''b.'' 27 November 1870, [[Hämeenkoski]]<br />''d.'' 14 December 1956, [[Helsinki]]
|-
| colspan="5"|[[Parliament of Finland|Member of parliament]] (1907–1909 and 1910–1914). [[Prime Minister of Finland|Prime Minister]] (1918 and 1944–1946). Elected as president by the [[Parliament of Finland|parliament]] in 1946 and re-elected by an [[electoral college#Former electoral colleges|electoral college]] in 1950.

<!-- Kekkonen -->
|-style="background:#EEEEEE;"
! style="background:{{party color|Agrarian League (Finland)}};" rowspan="2"| 8
| rowspan="2"|[[File:Urho-Kekkonen-1977-c.jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="2"|[[Urho Kekkonen]]<br /><small> (1900–1986)</small>
| [[1956 Finnish presidential election|1956]]<br />[[1962 Finnish presidential election|1962]]<br />[[1968 Finnish presidential election|1968]]<br />[[1978 Finnish presidential election|1978]]
| 1 March 1956
| 27 January 1982<br /><small>(resigned)</small>
| height=70|[[Centre Party (Finland)|Agrarian League]] (ML)
| ''b.'' 3 September 1900, [[Pielavesi]]<br />''d.'' 31 August 1986, [[Helsinki]]
|-
| colspan="5"|[[Parliament of Finland|Member of parliament]] (1936–1956). [[Minister of Justice (Finland)|Minister of Justice]] (1936–1937 and 1944–1946). [[Minister of the Interior (Finland)|Minister of the Interior]] (1937–1939 and 1950–1951). [[Speaker of the Parliament of Finland|Speaker of parliament]] (1948–1950). [[Prime Minister of Finland|Prime Minister]] (1950–1953 and 1954–1956). Elected as president by an [[electoral college#Former electoral colleges|electoral college]] in 1956 and re-elected in 1962, 1968 and 1978. In 1973, the term that started in 1968 was extended by four years by an exception law. Resigned in 1982 because of poor health. Served in the [[Finnish Civil War]].

<!-- Mauno Koivisto -->
|-style="background:#EEEEEE;"
! style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Finland}}; color:white;" rowspan="2"| 9
| rowspan="2"| 
| rowspan="2"|[[Mauno Koivisto]]<br /><small> (1923–2017)</small>
| [[1982 Finnish presidential election|1982]]<br />[[1988 Finnish presidential election|1988]]
| 27 January 1982
| 1 March 1994
| [[Social Democratic Party of Finland]] (SDP)
| ''b.'' 25 November 1923, [[Turku]]<br />''d.'' 12 May 2017, [[Helsinki]]
|-
| colspan="5"|[[Minister of Finance (Finland)|Minister of Finance]] (1966–1967 and 1972). [[Bank of Finland|Governor of the Bank of Finland]] (1968–1982). [[Prime Minister of Finland|Prime Minister]] (1968–1970 and 1979–1982). Elected as president by an [[electoral college#Former electoral colleges|electoral college]] in 1982 and re-elected in 1988. The first president born in independent Finland. Served in the [[Continuation War]] of the [[World War II]].

<!-- Ahtisaari -->
|-style="background:#EEEEEE;"
! style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Finland}}; color:white;" rowspan="2"| 10
| rowspan="2"|[[File:Martti Ahtisaari, tidigare president Finland och mottagare av Nobels fredrspris (2).jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="2"|[[Martti Ahtisaari]]<br /> <small>(1937-2023)</small>
| [[1994 Finnish presidential election|1994]]
| 1 March 1994
| 1 March 2000
| [[Social Democratic Party of Finland]] (SDP)
| ''b.'' 23 June 1937, [[Vyborg|Viipuri]]<br />''d.'' 16 October 2023
|-
| colspan="5"|[[Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations]] (1987–1991). Elected as president in 1994. The first president elected by direct popular vote. [[Nobel Peace Prize]] laureate 2008. Member of [[The Elders (organization)|The Elders]].

<!-- Halonen -->
|-style="background:#EEEEEE;"
! style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Finland}}; color:white;" rowspan="2"| 11
| rowspan="2"|[[File:Tarja Halonen 1c389 8827-2.jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="2"|[[Tarja Halonen]]<br /><small> (b. 1943)</small>
| [[2000 Finnish presidential election|2000]]<br />[[2006 Finnish presidential election|2006]]
| 1 March 2000
| 1 March 2012
| [[Social Democratic Party of Finland]] (SDP)
| ''b.'' 24 December 1943, [[Helsinki]]
|-
| colspan="5"|[[Parliament of Finland|Member of parliament]] (1979–2000). [[Minister of Justice (Finland)|Minister of Justice]] (1990–1991). [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Finland)|Minister for Foreign Affairs]] (1995–2000). Elected as president in 2000 and re-elected in 2006. The first president subject to [[term limit]]s. Finland's first female president.

<!-- Niinistö -->
|-style="background:#EEEEEE;"
! style="background:{{party color|National Coalition Party}}; color:white;" rowspan="2"| 12
| rowspan="2"|[[File:President of Finland Sauli Niinistö 2019.jpg |100px]]
| rowspan="2"|[[Sauli Niinistö]]<br /><small> (b. 1948)</small>
| [[2012 Finnish presidential election|2012]]<br />[[2018 Finnish presidential election|2018]]
| 1 March 2012
| 1 March 2024
| [[National Coalition Party|National Coalition]] (Kok.)
| ''b.'' 24 August 1948, [[Salo, Finland|Salo]]
|-
| colspan="5"|[[Parliament of Finland|Member of parliament]] (1987–2003 and 2007–2011). Chairman of the [[National Coalition Party]] (1994–2001). [[Minister of Justice (Finland)|Minister of Justice]] (1995–1996). [[Minister of Finance (Finland)|Minister of Finance]] (1996–2003). [[Speaker of the Parliament of Finland|Speaker of parliament]] in 2007–2011. Elected as president in 2012 and re-elected in 2018.

<!-- Stubb -->
|-style="background:#EEEEEE;"
! style="background:{{party color|National Coalition Party}}; color:white;" rowspan="2"| 13
| rowspan="2"|[[File:Alexander Stubb EPP October 2018 (44474967285) (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="2"|[[Alexander Stubb]]<br /><small> (b. 1968)</small>
| [[2024 Finnish presidential election|2024]]
| 1 March 2024
| Incumbent
| [[National Coalition Party|National Coalition]] (Kok.)
| ''b.'' 1 April 1968, [[Helsinki]]
|-
| colspan="5"|[[Member of the European Parliament]] (2004–2008). [[Parliament of Finland|Member of parliament]] (2011–2017). [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Finland)|Minister for Foreign Affairs]] (2008–2011). [[Minister of Finance (Finland)|Minister of Finance]] (2015–2016). [[Prime Minister of Finland]] in 2014–2015. Elected as president in 2024
|}

==Other websites==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090713024528/http://www.presidentti.fi/english/ Official site]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070604145148/http://www.om.fi/Etusivu/Perussaannoksia/Perustuslaki?lang=en The Constitution of Finland]


{{multistub|politics|Europe}}

[[Category:Presidents of Finland|*]]
[[Category:Finland-related lists|presidents]]