Official duties of the Prime Minister

The election of the Prime Minister

 

The Prime Minister is elected by Parliament and thereafter formally appointed to office by the President of the Republic. Before the Prime Minister is elected, the groups represented in Parliament negotiate on the political programme and composition of the Government. On the basis of these negotiations, and having heard the views of the Speaker of Parliament, the President informs Parliament of the nominee for Prime Minister.

 

The nominee is elected Prime Minister if supported by more than half the votes cast in an open vote in Parliament. If the nominee does not receive the necessary majority, another nominee is put forward in accordance with the same procedure. If the second nominee also fails to receive the support of more than half the votes cast, the Prime Minister is elected by a third open vote in Parliament. In this event the candidate who receives the highest number of votes is elected.

 

Prime Minister's duties in brief

 

The Prime Minister directs the work of the Government and oversees the preparation and consideration of Government business. When the Prime Minister is prevented from attending to his or her duties, these are taken over by the Minister designated as Deputy Prime Minister, or, when the Deputy Prime Minister is also prevented, by the Government's longest-serving minister.

 

Directing the work of the Government

 

The Prime Minister chairs plenary sessions of the Government and has the right to decide the days and the order for the presentation of business in the sessions. The Prime Minister may also require presentation of a particular item of business to the Government plenary session by a set date. On the proposal of the Prime Minister or the minister under whose competence the matter in hand falls, the Government plenary session may transfer a matter coming under the competence of an individual ministry for decision in plenary session. When a vote in plenary session ends in a tie, the Prime Minister's casting vote is decisive.

 

The Prime Minister chairs all the statutory Cabinet Committees, namely the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy, the Cabinet Committee on European Union Affairs, the Cabinet Finance Committee and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Policy . He or she also chairs sessions of the Economic Council, the Research and Innovation Council and the Title Board. The Vanhanen Cabinet appointed the Information Society Council that is chaired by the Prime Minister.

 

Head of the Prime Minister's Office

 

The Prime Minister is head of the Prime Minister's Office. The role of the Prime Minister's Office is to ensure that the activities of the Prime Minister and Government flow smoothly in all circumstances. The Prime Minister's Office is responsible for the monitoring of the implementation of the Government Programme and assists the Prime Minister in the general management of Government functions. The Prime Minister’s Office also coordinates Finland’s EU policy and handles issues related to the development of the EU.

 

Political leadership of the Government

 

The Prime Minister is the political leader of the Government and is responsible for reconciling the differing views on Government policy held by the various groups represented in the Government. The Prime Minister is also responsible for coordinating the work of the Government with that of Parliament.

 

The new Finnish Constitution which came into force on 1 March 2000 has strengthened the position of the Prime Minister.

 

Under the new Constitution, the President of the Republic may dissolve Parliament and call fresh elections only on receipt of a reasoned request from the Prime Minister and having first consulted the party groups in Parliament. The President appoints the other ministers of the Government in accordance with a proposal by the Prime Minister.

 

Standing in for the President

 

The Prime Minister stands in for the President of the Republic whenever the President is prevented from carrying out his or her duties. However, a statement by the President of the Republic entered in the Government minutes in December 1991 ended the previous practice whereby the President had been automatically considered to be prevented from carrying out his or her duties during trips abroad.

 

In practice, the Prime Minister only stands in for the President in cases where it is known in advance that it will be necessary during the course of a presidential trip abroad for the President to take decisions in presidential sessions of the Government, or where such a need arises after the President has gone abroad and the President does not consider he or she will be able to return to Finland to attend the session in person.