History

The roots of the Prime Minister’s Office go back to the events that took place 200 years ago. In 1809, Finland became an autonomous part of Russia and its own central administrative body, the Governing Council, later named as the Senate, was established.

 

The history of the Prime Minister's Office is linked to the development of the position of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister inherited his formal position from the vice-chairman of the Financial Department of the old Senate, who was placed in charge of his own office in 1892.

 

The Financial Department was in charge of the registration of documents, the Senate's regulations, the statute book, and accounting and translation activities for the Senate. The vice-chairman of the Financial Department was not responsible for any political matters.

 

In 1918 the Office of the Senate Financial Department was renamed the Prime Minister's Office and given ministerial status. Its structure, official posts and personnel remained unchanged. Its tasks were intended to serve the entire Government and not just the Prime Minister.

 

Since the different ministries remained quite independent - a holdover from the days when Finland was an autonomous grand duchy - there was no room for a strong Prime Minister or Prime Minister's Office. According to Finland's form of government, the Prime Minister initially stood in the shadow of a strong presidency.

 

The strengthening of the Prime Minister's position in the 1990s has also strengthened the position of the Prime Minister's Office.

 

Organisation has included various separate bodies

 

After Finland gained independence, the Prime Minister's Office was divided into two units: the registry and the translation office. Subordinate to these were the Government publications stock, a printing house, the Library of Parliament, the Official Gazette and the Statistics Office, which in the 1950s was transferred to the Ministry of Finance.

 

The Government organisation has at times included various separate bodies. In 1918, a separate Office for Foreign Affairs was established under the Prime Minister's Office. In 1939, at the start of the Second World War, an Information Centre was established. The Information Centre was transferred to the Ministry of the Interior in 1945 and was abolished in 1947.

 

A National Planning Committee was established under the Prime Minister's Office in 1953. This body was succeeded by the National Planning Office in 1958 and by the National Planning Council later on, before the establishment of a separate planning department in 1973. In the early 1950s the Economic Council and its secretariat were established under the Prime Minister's Office.

 

Nearly 190 permanent employees

 

The Prime Minister's Office initially had a small staff and this was further reduced in the 1920s. Up to 1963 the Prime Minister's Office had only a minimal staff of 10-20 employees in addition to the presenting official. Directing the Government was based largely on the Prime Minister's personal characteristics. The first non-political secretary to the Prime Minister was employed in 1926.

 

The Prime Minister has had a political secretary since the early years of independence. Beginning in 1972, political secretaries have also been appointed for other ministers under the Prime Minister's Office. Today they are called special advisers to ministers. The number of the persons employed by the Prime Minister's Office began to grow in the 1960s and currently amounts to some 200 permanent employees.

 

The title of the top official in the Prime Minister's Office varied in the early years. In 1963, the post of Permanent Secretary was established. The Prime Minister's Office was the first ministry to have such a post. The first Permanent Secretary was Aarne Nuorvala.

 

In 1990 the first State Secretary was appointed to the Prime Minister's Office. This is a political appointment which changes with the Prime Minister. The tasks of the Permanent Secretary were divided between the State Secretary and the newly established post of Permanent State Under-Secretary.

 

The State Secretary assists the Prime Minister in the direction of the political process, while the Permanent State Under-Secretary directs the administration of the Prime Minister's Office.