The Swedish Assembly of Finland (, , although often referred to as ''Folktinget'' even in Finnish) is an official consultative parliament representing the
Swedish-speaking minority in
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
.
Folktinget was originally founded in 1919 but dissolved the following year. It was re-established in 1941 when the
relocation of Karelian evacuees threatened to shift the balance between Finnish and Swedish speakers in Swedish-speaking municipalities,
and has functioned continuously since its re-establishment. Since 2003, its operations have been governed by law.
Elections
Elections are held every four years, and candidates are nominated by the
political parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
which are either bilingual or Swedish-speaking. The assembly has 75 seats, where 70 are filled on the basis of
municipal
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...
election results, and five are appointed by the
Parliament of Åland
The Parliament of Åland (''Ålands lagting'') is the unicameral legislature of Åland, an autonomous, Swedish-speaking region of Finland. The Lagting has 30 members who make laws for Åland and oversee its government.
Committees
Most parli ...
().
Purpose
The assembly is a forum for political discussion on issues concerning Swedish speakers, and it also functions as an interest group for the Swedish-speaking population. It also engages in research on demographic issues and publishes information to the public about the situation of the Swedish-speaking Finns.
Leadership
Astrid Thors was chairperson of the Swedish Assembly of Finland from 2005 to 2007. She was succeeded by
Ulla-Maj Wideroos in 2007, by
Anna-Maja Henriksson in 2009, by
Christina Gestrin in 2011, by
Thomas Blomqvist in 2015 and by
Sandra Bergqvist in 2019.
See also
*
Finland's language strife
Finland's language strife (; ) was a major conflict in mid-19th century Finland. Both the Swedish and Finnish languages were commonly used in Finland at the time, associated with descendants of Swedish colonisation and leading to class tensions ...
*
Svecoman
*
Swedish People's Party
*
Yle Teema & Fem
*
Thing (assembly)
A thing, also known as a folkmoot, assembly, tribal council, and Thing (assembly)#Etymology, by other names, was a governing assembly in early Germanic peoples, Germanic society, made up of the free people of the community presided over by a l ...
References
External links
* (in both Swedish and Finnish)
Swedish in Finland a brochure in English and French by (and in part about) the Assembly
{{Authority control
Swedish-speaking population of Finland
Politics of Finland
Language policy in Finland