2023 in Finland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- President: Sauli Niinistö
- Prime Minister:
- Sanna Marin (till 20 June 2023)
- Petteri Orpo (from 20 June 2023)
- Parliament: 2019–2023 Eduskunta/Riksdag
- Speaker of the Parliament:
- Matti Vanhanen (till 4 April 2023)
- Petteri Orpo (till 20 June 2023)
- Jussi Halla-aho (from 21 June 2023)
Events
Ongoing — Accession of Finland to NATO (Until 4 April)
- 1 March – The Finnish Parliament votes 184–7 to formally approve the country's accession to NATO, and to adopt the military alliance's founding documents.[1]
- 17 March – Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan submits a bill on granting Finland membership into NATO to the Grand National Assembly.[2]
- 30 March – Turkey's Grand National Assembly approves Finland's NATO membership bid.[3]
- 31 March – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed and approved the proposal containing Finland's accession protocol to NATO.[4]
- 2 April – 2023 Finnish parliamentary election: Finns elect the 200 members of the parliament. Centre-right National Coalition Party wins the most votes at 20.7%, while the ruling Social Democratic Party places third with 19.9%.[5] The Finns Party becomes the 2nd largest party in Parliament and got its highest vote ever with 20.1%.
- 4 April – Finland officially joins NATO, becoming the 31st member of the military alliance and expanding NATO's border with Russia by 1,300 kilometres (810 mi).[6]
- 10 May – 2023 Espoo bridge collapse.[7]
- 20 June – 2023 Finnish parliamentary election: Petteri Orpo is officially appointed as the 47th Prime Minister and his cabinet is formed.[8]
- Former Finns Party leader Jussi Halla-aho is named Speaker of the Parliament of Finland[9][10]
- 30 June – Finns Party Vilhelm Junnila announces his resignation as Minister of Economic Affairs in the Orpo Cabinet after his past actions and potential connections to neo-Nazi organizations became a subject of heated discussion.[11][12]
- 10 October – Finland reports that the Balticconnector submarine pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia has been closed following damage and a gas leak.[13]
- 28 November – Finland closes the entire border with Russia after accusing the Russian government of facilitating the entry of asylum seekers into the country.[14]
- 29 November – Polish National Security Bureau chief Jacek Siewiera announces that Poland will send "a team of military advisors" to the Finland–Russia border in response to an official request for allied support. Russia warns against the move, viewing the concentration of troops on the border as a threat.[15]
- 14 December – Finland announces the creation of a defense cooperation agreement with the United States. The agreement will grant Finland access to American military resources for use in defensive operations, while the US will gain military access to the nation in the event of conflict.[16]
