Finland–United States relations

The Kingdom of Sweden 1100-1809

In 1776, an important Signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, John Morton, was the descendant of early Finnish pioneers who had founded New Sweden colony on the Delaware in 1638. Ethnic Finns, including “Forest Finns” who had been temporarily resettled to use slash-and-burn agriculture to clear parts of Sweden proper like Värmland, would account for the majority of permanent settlers who moved on to America: Finnish trailblazers transplanted log cabin architecture from Tavastia, Savo and Karelia, which would become icons of American frontier culture in the Thirteen Colonies and early United States, such as the Nothnagle Log House.^[1][2]

2000–present

In 2003, Anneli Jäätteenmäki, leader of the Centre Party, won the Finnish parliamentary election. During the campaign, she accused the incumbent Prime Minister, Paavo Lipponen, of aligning neutral Finland with the United States in the Iraq War following a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush. This accusation was based on confidential foreign ministry documents that suggested Finnish cooperation with the U.S.-led coalition, which many Finns considered an illegal war of aggression. Lipponen denied the claims, affirming Finland's support for the United Nations and its Secretary-General.

Jäätteenmäki's government, formed after the election, lasted only 63 days. She resigned amid allegations that she had misled Parliament regarding the manner in which she obtained the leaked documents. Jäätteenmäki received the documents from President Tarja Halonen’s adviser, Martti Manninen. The scandal, widely referred to in Finland as the "Iraq leak".^[3][4]

The number of travelers from the United States to Finland has been steadily increasing, amounting to between 200,000 and 380,000 visitors each year.^[5]

In 2019, Finnish Air Force and USSPACECOM signed a Memorandum of Understanding between Finland and the United States on space situational awareness cooperation in Helsinki, Finland. These agreements foster openness, predictability of space operations, and transparency for space domain awareness.

On August 3, 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved Finland and Sweden's accession bids to join NATO.^[6] U.S. President Joe Biden approved the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden in August 2022.^[7]

On December 18, 2023, the US (represented by Antony Blinken) and Finland (represented by Antti Häkkänen and Elina Valtonen) signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) in Washington, D.C.^[8][9]

The agreement regulates the presence of the US armed forces and their dependents on the territory of the Finland, as well as the presence and activities of US suppliers on the territory of the Finland.^[10]

President Joe Biden visited Helsinki on July 12, 2023, and met with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and leaders of other Nordic nations, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The purpose was to celebrate Finland joining the NATO.^[11][12][13]

During the second term of US President Donald Trump, Finnish President Alexander Stubb established a good personal rapport with Trump over their shared interest in golf, with the United States committing to purchase icebreakers from Finland in March 2025.^[14] To this trust experts attributed the American invitation of the Finnish President to participate in talks at the August 2025 White House Multilateral Meeting on Ukraine, making Finland the only small country represented at the high-stakes summit in Washington alongside the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Ukraine, the EU, and NATO.^[15][16]

The increasing importance of close relations between Finland and the United States was further evidenced by the announcement that a third meeting between Presidents Stubb and Trump - for the first time accompanied by Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo - was scheduled to take place over a two-day visit by Finnish officials to meet with American officials to discuss a variety of topics at the White House in October 2025.^[17]

The United States Ambassador to Finland is Howard Brodie. The current Finnish Ambassador to the United States is Leena-Kaisa Mikkola, who began her posting in September 2024.^[18][19]