Petteri Orpo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Prime Minister of Finland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 20 June 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Sauli Niinistö Alexander Stubb | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Riikka Purra | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Sanna Marin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Speaker of the Parliament of Finland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 12 April 2023 – 20 June 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Matti Vanhanen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Jussi Halla-aho | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy Prime Minister of Finland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 28 June 2017 – 6 June 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Juha Sipilä | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Timo Soini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Mika Lintilä | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Leader of the National Coalition Party | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 11 June 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Alexander Stubb | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of theFinnish Parliament forFinland Proper | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 21 March 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Antti Petteri Orpo (1969-11-03)3 November 1969 (age 56) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | National Coalition | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Niina Kanniainen-Orpo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | University of Turku (MA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Antti Petteri Orpo (Finnish pronunciation:[ˈɑntːiˈpetːeriˈorpo]; born 3 November 1969)[1] is a Finnish politician currently serving as theprime minister of Finland since 2023. He has also been the leader of theNational Coalition Party since 2016[2] and briefly served asspeaker of the Parliament of Finland after the2023 parliamentary election.
He served asDeputy Prime Minister of Finland from 2017 to 2019,Minister of Finance from 2016 to 2019,Minister of the Interior from 2015 to 2016 andMinister of Agriculture and Forestry from 2014 to 2015.[3][4] On 2 April 2023, Orpo's National Coalition Party won the 2023 parliamentary election with a plurality of 20.8% of the vote and 48 seats. Orpo garnered over 17,000 votes in his district.
Antti Petteri Orpo was born on 3 November 1969 inKöyliö, Finland.[5] His father, Hannu Orpo, was a politician and member of theNational Coalition Party.[6] Antti is a member of the centre-rightNational Coalition Party.[6] He passed the Finnish matriculation exams and graduated fromSäkylän seudun lukio [fi]. Later Orpo earned a master's degree inpolitical science from theUniversity of Turku. Orpo attended Finland'smandatory national armed service and became a reserve officer. His current reserve rank is captain.[5]
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During his tenure asMinister of the Interior, Orpo received support for his handling of the2015 migration crisis from coalition partners in the anti-immigrationFinns Party, as well as from opposition lawmakers.[7]
In May 2016, Orpo announced that he would challenge the chair of the National Coalition Party and incumbent Minister of FinanceAlexander Stubb in June'sparty conference.[8] At the time, Orpo joined second-term parliamentarianElina Valtonen in seeking to replace Stubb.[9] In contrast to polyglot and outspoken Stubb, Orpo was widely seen as a careful consensus-seeker with little experience of international politics.[10] Orpo received 441,4 votes against Stubb's 361 and was thus elected as the new chair for the party.[11] Orpo soon announced that he would take Stubb's seat as the Minister of Finance.[12] He was officially appointed as the Minister of Finance on 22 June 2016.[13]
In June 2017, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and Orpo announced said they could not cooperate with their parties' third coalition partner, theFinns Party, anymore, citing differences in core values and in the immigration and EU policies. For both Sipilä and Orpo, at stake were major healthcare and local government reform, which were key to their plan to balance public finances.[14]
In addition to his national political roles, Orpo co-chaired (alongsideValdis Dombrovskis) theEPP Economic and Financial Affairs Ministers Meeting, which gathers the centre-rightEuropean People's Party (EPP) ministers ahead of meetings of theEconomic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN).[15]
In December 2019 Orpo attempted a vote of no-confidence in the incumbent government.[16] This would then cause new elections, which Orpo hoped on winning. The incumbent government was accused of malpractice in responding to problems in the labor market. Later, Prime Minister Antti Rinne resigned, and Kulmuni publicly refused to join the National Coalition Party's plan of premature elections.[16]
On 2 April 2023, Orpo'sNational Coalition Party won the2023 Finnish parliamentary election. The party had led the polls since mid-2021 and finished first, with 20.8% of the votes and 48 seats in the parliament, increasing their total by 10 seats.[17] This was the party's third highest result in its history.[18] Orpo began government formation talks when the new parliament and President convened the week after Easter and named him as the lead negotiator.[19]
Orpo campaigned on a platform of reducing Finland'sgovernment debt and the yearly budget deficit as well as reducing income taxes. He defines himself as a "fiscal conservative."[18]
Orpo was elected by parliamentary groups as theSpeaker of the Parliament of Finland on 12 April on a temporary basis until a new government is formed.[20]
On 27 April, it was announced that Orpo would begin final negotiations with theFinns Party, theSwedish People's Party and theChristian Democrats to form a coalition government.[21][22] This coalition of parties was confirmed on 15 June,[23] with the government formation, including the names of its ministers, announced on 17 June.[24] His party received eight cabinet posts, the Finns Party seven (including the Ministries of Finance, the Interior and Justice), while the Swedish People's Party and the Christian Democrats shared the remaining five. It is Finland's most right-wing government since the end of the Second World War; indeed, it is one of the few occasions since the return of peace that one side of the Finnish political spectrum has been able to form a government on its own.
Orpo becamePrime Minister of Finland on 20 June 2023.[25] The government's roadmap makes cutting public spending a priority. Petteri Orpo announced a €6 billion cut in the state budget, stating that the greatest danger threatening Finland was "the debt crisis" (it stands at 74% of GDP), and reforms, some of which "are going to hurt".[26]
The coalition is betting on unprecedented cuts in social benefits. For example, the conditions for receivingunemployment benefit will be tightened, a one-daywaiting period will be introduced at the start of sick leave, and access tohousing benefit will be restricted. In addition, the right to strike will be restricted and a fine introduced for unauthorized work stoppages. The government agreement also provides for easier redundancies and the use of fixed-term contracts, while increasing investment in vocational training.[26]
These announcements were welcomed by employers, who see in the program the reforms they have been "demanding for decades", but the unions denounced "an attack on employees". While the center-left and left-wing parties also denounced a "difficult program, especially for people on low and middle incomes" (Sanna Marin) and "the most anti-worker government in Finnish history" (Li Andersson), Finns Party leaderRiikka Purra declared that she "saw no divergence between the interests of employers and employees".[26]
With regard toimmigration, reception conditions will be restricted. Asylum will no longer be granted on a temporary basis, and six full years' residence in Finland will be required to apply for a permanent residence permit.Family reunification and access to naturalization will be restricted. In addition, the country will only accept 500 refugees per year under the relocation scheme, compared with 1,050 at present. Immigrant workers will no longer have the same privileges as permanent residents, and will have to leave the country within three months of being laid off.[26]
During the first month of his cabinet, there were numerous scandals regarding past writings by the Finns Party ministers, including the Deputy Prime MinisterRiikka Purra.[27][28] The scandal around Nazi-connected joking and potential connections toneo-Nazi organisations of Minister of Economic AffairsVilhelm Junnila led to him resigning.[29] Orpo's Cabinet's party Swedish People's Party of Finland have criticized Orpo for too weak leadership during the Junnila scandal.[30] Orpo's leadership among the various controversies was also questioned and criticized widely in Finnish and international media.[31][32][33] In March 2024 Orpo stated inPolitico that the Finns are not a far-right party anymore in his opinion.[34] After Orpo opened an anti racist campaign of his cabinet in August 2024 Deputy Prime Minister Purra stated the Finns Party likely do not participate as a party and added "better immigration policy" as an example of her anti-racist deeds.[35]
He condemnedHamas' actions during theGaza war and expressed his support toIsrael and its right to self-defense.[36] The Orpo cabin has approved thetwo-state solution as solution of theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict.[37] In August 2025 Orpo stated that the two-state solution will be realized when all Western and Arab countries are committed to supporting the existence of both the Palestinian and Israeli states.[38]
Although in 2019 Orpo was co-founder of Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action his cabinet's Finance MinisterRiikka Purra stated in January 2024 that climate matters are not responsibility of the Finance Minister.[39]
In 2024, Orpo condemned racist attacks made againstDaniela Owusu, a Finnish-Ghanian woman who was elected to serve asSaint Lucy for the nationalSaint Lucy's Day celebrations, and issued a formal apology to Owusu.[40]
After theUS strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June 2025, Orpo said, "it is important for Finland that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon and that no new nuclear-weapon state emerges in the world."[41]
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Orpo is known for his limited ability to speak English,[42][43][44] unlike the majority of the population in Finland, and Swedish.[45]
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Order of the White Rose of Finland (Finland, 2016)[54]
Military merit medal (Finland)[55]
Medal of Merit in silver, of the Finnish Sports (Finland, 2022)[56]
Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (Poland, 2015)[57]
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Media related toPetteri Orpo at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture and Forestry 2014–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of the Interior 2015–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Finance 2016–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deputy Prime Minister of Finland 2017–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Speaker of the Parliament of Finland 2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Finland 2023–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of theNational Coalition Party 2016–present | Incumbent |
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| Preceded byas Speaker of the Parliament | Order of precedence of Finland Prime Minister | Succeeded byas President of the Supreme Court |
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