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| Abbreviation | KD CD |
| Chairperson | Sari Essayah |
| Secretary | Mikko Rekimies [fi] |
| Parliamentary group leader | Peter Östman |
| First deputy chair | Mika Poutala |
| Chair of the party council | Riitta Kuismanen |
| Founded | 6 May 1958 (1958-05-06) |
| Split from | National Coalition Party |
| Headquarters | Karjalankatu 2A 00520,Helsinki |
| Newspaper | KD-lehti [fi] |
| Think tank | Ajatushautomo Kompassi [fi] |
| Youth wing | Christian Democratic Youth of Finland[1] |
| Women's wing | Christian Democratic Women of Finland[2] |
| Swedish-speaking wing | KD Svenska [fi] |
| Membership(2021) |  8,370[3] |
| Ideology | Christian democracy Conservatism Social conservatism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| European affiliation | European People's Party |
| European Parliament group | European People's Party Group |
| Nordic affiliation | Centre Group |
| Colors | Blue White Light blue Orange |
| Eduskunta | 5 / 200 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 15 |
| Municipalities | 299 / 8,586 |
| County seats | 62 / 1,379 |
| Website | |
| kd.fi | |
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TheChristian Democrats (CD;Finnish:Suomen Kristillisdemokraatit;Swedish:Kristdemokraterna i Finland,KD) is aChristian democratic andconservativepolitical party in Finland.[4][5]
It was founded in May 1958, chiefly by the Christian faction of theNational Coalition Party.[6][7] It entered parliament in 1970. The party leader since 28 August 2015 has beenSari Essayah.[8] The Christian Democrats have five seats in theFinnish Parliament. It is positioned on thecentre-right on the political spectrum.[9][10]
The party name was for a long time abbreviated toSKL (standing forSuomen Kristillinen Liitto,Finlands Kristliga Förbund,Finland's Christian League), until 2001, when the party changed its name to the currentChristian Democrats and its Finnish and Swedish abbreviations toKD. The CD was aminor party in thecentre-right coalition government led byPrime MinisterEsko Aho between 1991 and 1994 and was later a part of arainbow coalition led byJyrki Katainen andAlexander Stubb between 2011–2015. It has been a part of theOrpo Cabinet since its formation on 20 June 2023.KD-lehti is the party's weekly newspaper. The party is a member of theEuropean People's Party and theEuropean People's Party Group.[citation needed]
When the Christian Democrats was founded in 1958, as the nameFinnish Christian League, thecommunist-dominatedFinnish People's Democratic League was polling about 25 per cent and became the largest parliamentary grouping. That, together with lax alcohol laws, salacious publications and assistance from theNorwegian KrF, sparked the Christian initiative.[11]
The 1960s were an 'incubation period', but there was a growing conviction of the need for parliamentary seats in the wake of liberal legislation. At the 'earthquake election' of 1970, after four years of apopular front government, the CD only hadRaino Westerholm elected. Westerholm was a party chair between 1973 and 1982. Westerholm polled a creditable 8.8 per cent at the1978 presidential election. The modest 'Westerholm effect' was a backlash for long-servingUrho Kekkonen, who was backed by all of the larger parties.[12]
The party was a junior coalition partner in governmentfrom 1991 to 1995, when it occupied the development aid portfolio. It was asoft Eurosceptic party and stressed the importance of the principle of subsidiarity in European affairs. After being renamed to "The Christian Democrats" in 2001, it moved to apro-European stance.[11]Bjarne Kallis, the party chairman between 1995 and 2004, was instrumental in the party's change of name and concern to attract a wider electorate, being able to draw votes from theSwedish People's Party and Finnish-speakingconservative andcentrist voters.[12]
At the 2003 general election, the Christian Democrats polled its highest vote of 5.3%.[13]
English-speaking members of the party founded their own chapter inHelsinki in 2004. Its monthly meetings attract immigrants to participate in societal matters and the issues that are particularly important to them. In 2005, a Russian-speaking chapter was also founded in Helsinki, Finland.[14]
The party describes itself as following the tenets ofChristian democracy. It has been described by third-party sources asconservative.[15][16][17][18][19] It emphasizes "respect of human dignity, the importance of family and close communities, defending the weak, encouraging resourcefulness and individual and collective responsibility, not just for themselves but also for their neighbours and the rest of God's creations". Membership is open to everyone who agrees with their values and aims.[6] The party also claims to be committed toprotecting the environment.[20] It is also orientated towardssocially conservative policies.[9][21]
Sari Essayah was the most recent MEP of the party; she was elected to theEuropean Parliament in the2009 election but failed to win re-election in2014.
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | 3,358 | 0.17 | 0 / 200 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 1966 | 10,646 | 0.45 | 0 / 200 |  | Extra-parliamentary |
| 1970 | 28,228 | 1.40 | 1 / 200 |  1 | Opposition |
| 1972 | 65,228 | 2.53 | 4 / 200 | 3 | Opposition |
| 1975 | 90,599 | 3.29 | 9 / 200 | 5 | Opposition |
| 1979 | 138,244 | 4.77 | 9 / 200 | | Opposition |
| 1983 | 90,410 | 3.03 | 3 / 200 | 6 | Opposition |
| 1987 | 74,209 | 2.58 | 5 / 200 | 2 | Opposition |
| 1991 | 83,151 | 3.05 | 8 / 200 | 3 | Coalition |
| 1995 | 82,311 | 2.96 | 7 / 200 | 1 | Opposition |
| 1999 | 111,835 | 4.17 | 10 / 200 | 3 | Opposition |
| 2003 | 148,987 | 5.34 | 7 / 200 | 3 | Opposition |
| 2007 | 134,643 | 4.86 | 7 / 200 | | Opposition |
| 2011 | 118,453 | 4.03 | 6 / 200 | 1 | Coalition |
| 2015 | 105,134 | 3.54 | 5 / 200 | 1 | Opposition |
| 2019 | 120,144 | 3.90 | 5 / 200 | | Opposition |
| 2023 | 130,394 | 4.22 | 5 / 200 | | Coalition |
| Election | Councillors | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 134 | 49,877 | 2.0 |
| 1976 | 322 | 85,792 | 3.2 |
| 1980 | 333 | 100,800 | 3.7 |
| 1984 | 257 | 80,455 | 3.0 |
| 1988 | 273 | 71,614 | 2.7 |
| 1992 | 353 | 84,481 | 3.2 |
| 1996 | 353 | 75,494 | 3.2 |
| 2000 | 443 | 95,009 | 4.3 |
| 2004 | 392 | 94,666 | 4.0 |
| 2008 | 351 | 106,639 | 4.2 |
| 2012 | 300 | 93,257 | 3.7 |
| 2017 | 316 | 105,551 | 4.1 |
| 2021 | 311 | 88,259 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 299 | 86,428 | 3.6 |
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 63,134 | 2.81 (#8) | 0 / 16 | New | – |
| 1999 | 29,637 | 2.39 (#7) | 1 / 16 | 1 | EPP-ED |
| 2004 | 70,845 | 4.28 (#7) | 0 / 14 | 1 | – |
| 2009 | 69,467 | 4.17 (#8) | 1 / 13 | 1 | EPP |
| 2014 | 90,586 | 5.24 (#8) | 0 / 13 | 1 | – |
| 2019 | 89,204 | 4.87 (#8) | 0 / 13 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 75,426 | 4.12 (#8) | 0 / 15 | 0 |
| Electoral college | |||||||||||||||
| Election | Candidate | Popular vote | First ballot | Second ballot | Third ballot | Results | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |||||||
| 1978 | Raino Westerholm | 215,244 | 8.8 | 24 / 300 | 24 / 300 | 8.8 (#2) | Lost | ||||||||
| 1982 | Raino Westerholm | 59,885 | 1.9 | 0 / 300 | 0 / 300 | 1.9 (#7) | Lost | ||||||||
| Election | Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| 1994 | Toimi Kankaanniemi | 31,453 | 1.0 | Lost | ||
| 2006 | Bjarne Kallis | 61,483 | 2.0 | Lost | ||
| 2012 | Sari Essayah | 75,744 | 2.5 | Lost | ||
| 2018 | SupportedSauli Niinistö | 1,874,334 | 62.6 | Won | ||
| 2024 | Sari Essayah | 47,820 | 1.48 | Lost | ||
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