Seven Star Movement (, ) was a Finnish political party founded in 2018. The party was founded by

Paavo Väyrynen Paavo Matti Väyrynen (; born 2 September 1946) is a Finland, Finnish Politics of Finland, politician who has served, among other things, as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Finland), Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1977 to 1982, and again from 198 ...

, its president and only MP, after he was ousted from his previous party, Citizens' Party. The Seven Star Movement shut down its activities after the 2019 European Parliament election and was de-registered in 2023 after failing to win seats in two consecutive parliamentary elections. The party was officially dissolved in 2024.

History

had successfully run for the

Finnish Parliament The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The P ...

in the 2015 Finnish parliamentary election, representing the Centre Party. Väyrynen, however, chose to forfeit his seat in order to serve in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

that he had entered earlier. Väyrynen returned to the Finnish Parliament in June 2018, but defected from the Centre Party to the Citizens' Party, which he had founded. The Citizens' Party was already engulfed in a power struggle at that time, which resulted in Väyrynen's ousting In late June, Väyrynen announced that he had founded the Seven Star Movement as a substitute for Citizens' Party, with which he remained in the parliament for a time. The name was inspired by the Italian

Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( , M5S) is a political party in Italy, led by Giuseppe Conte. It was launched on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a political activist and comedian, and Gianroberto Casaleggio, a web strategist. The party is primarily d ...

. The Seven Star Movement's goals were political independence, non-alignment, and greater

immigration control Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it als ...

. A trial court ruled in November 2018 that Väyrynen's ousting had been illegal. Despite the ruling, the legal struggle convinced Väyrynen to go forward with his Seven Star Movement rather than the Citizens' Party. Later that month, Väyrynen announced that he had officially aligned himself with the Seven Star Movement's parliamentary group, and therefore became their first MP. Väyrynen was the president of the party. The secretary was Seppo Hauta-aho, Väyrynen's former campaign aide. The party was based in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. The movement gathered 5,000 supporter cards by December 2018 and was admitted to the party register on 21 December 2018. The party took part in the 2019 parliamentary election, but failed to get a single seat in the parliament. After the election, Väyrynen wrote in his blog that the party would continue its operations. Although initially skeptical about the party taking part in the

2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 23 and 26 May 2019. It was the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) we ...

, they decided to run. After the Seven Star Movement failed to win any seats, Väyrynen resigned from the party, which then announced that it would focus its efforts on supporting Väyrynen's potential candidacy in the Finnish presidential election of 2024.

Electoral performance

Parliamentary elections

References

{{Portal bar, Finland, Politics 2018 establishments in Finland Agrarian parties in Finland Political parties established in 2018 Political schisms

History

Electoral performance

Parliamentary elections

See also

References