1982 Finnish presidential election

none Finland presidential 1978 Finnish presidential election 1978 1988 Finnish presidential election 1988 17–18 January 1982 President Ronald Reagan with President Mauno Koivisto of Finland in the Rose Garden (cropped).jpg Mauno Koivisto Social Democratic Party of Finland 167 1,370,314 Harri-Holkeri-1981 (cropped).jpg Harri Holkeri National Coalition Party 58 593,271 JohannesVirolainen1975 (cropped).jpg Johannes Virolainen Centre Party (Finland) 53 534,515 Kalevi Kivistö in 1980 (cropped).jpg Kalevi Kivistö Finnish People's Democratic League 11 348,359 President Urho Kekkonen Centre Party (Finland) Mauno Koivisto Social Democratic Party of Finlandthumb|President Koivisto was first elected in 1982. Two-stage presidential elections were held in Finland in January 1982. The public elected presidential electors to an electoral college on 17 and 18 January.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p630 978-3-8329-5609-7 They in turn elected the president. The result was a victory for Mauno Koivisto, the first member of the Social Democratic Party to be elevated to the country's highest post, and his election meant the full integration of Social Democrats into Finnish public life and an end to the postwar dominance of the Centre Party. Background Koivisto had been a leading public figure since the late 1960s, when he had served as prime minister for two years. During the 1970s, as governor of the Bank of Finland and, for a short time, as minister of finance, he had won the public's respect for the accuracy of his economic forecasts. His personality and considerable media astuteness also won him a very considerable personal popularity across party lines. Born in 1923 in Turku, the son of a carpenter, he fought in World War II. After the war he returned to his native city, and through years of part-time study, earned a doctorate in sociology in 1956. He was active within the moderate wing of the SDP, yet did not seek an elective office. He began his banking career by directing a large employees' savings bank in Helsinki. Summoned again in 1979 to serve as prime minister, Koivisto retained the public's esteem and became a strong potential candidate for the presidential election scheduled for 1984. Seen by Centre Party politicians as a threat to their party's hold on the presidency after Urho Kekkonen's inevitable retirement, Koivisto was pressured to resign in the spring of 1981. He refused, telling Kekkonen that he would continue as prime minister until a lack of parliamentary support for his government was shown. Koivisto's survival despite Kekkonen's challenge was seen by some observers as the end of an era in which the president had dominated Finnish public life. In autumn 1981 failing health forced Kekkonen to resign the presidency, and Koivisto assumed the duties of the office until the presidential election set for January 1982, two years ahead of schedule. He won handily, with the Social Democratic Party receiving 43% of the votes with a turnout of 81.3% --and 145 of the electors. With the support of some electors pledged to the Finnish People's Democratic League candidate, he won, with 167 votes, on the first ballot of the electoral college. His popularity remained high during his first term, and he easily won re-election in 1988.Text from PD source: US Library of Congress: A Country Study: Finland, Library of Congress Call Number DL1012 .A74 1990. Results Popular vote Social Democratic Party 1370314 144 National Coalition Party 593271 58 Centre Party 534515 53 Finnish People's Democratic League 348359 32 Swedish People's Party 121519 11 Finnish Rural Party 71947 1 Finnish Christian League 59885 0 Liberals 56070 1 Åland Coalition 11119 1 Constitutional Right Party 9532 0 Finnish People's Unity Party 994 0 10531 3921005 0 Nohlen & Stöver Electoral college Mauno Koivisto Social Democratic Party 145 167 Harri Holkeri National Coalition Party 58 58 Johannes Virolainen Centre Party 53 53 Kalevi Kivistö Finnish People's Democratic League 32 11 Jan-Magnus Jansson Swedish People's Party 11 11 Helvi Sipilä Liberals 1 1 Veikko Vennamo Finnish Rural Party 1 Raino Westerholm Finnish Christian League 0 Nohlen & Stöver References Category:Presidential elections in Finland Finland President Finland