Presidential elections were held in Finland on 16 January 1994, with a second round on 6 February.[1] It was the first time the President had been solely and directly elected by a popular vote. Martti Ahtisaari defeated Elisabeth Rehn in the second round.[2]
Voter turnout was 78.4% in the first round and 78.7% in the second.[3] This was an open presidential election, because the two-term Finnish President, Mauno Koivisto, had refused to seek a third term. His popularity had also clearly declined since Finland entered into a deep economic recession in 1991.
Martti Ahtisaari, a former primary school teacher and a long-time United Nations diplomat, emerged as the frontrunner after winning the Social Democratic presidential primary in the spring of 1993. Having lived abroad for many years during his diplomatic career, he was at first largely unknown to most Finnish voters. On the other hand, he appeared not to be tainted with political scandals or allegations of opportunism, contrary to some of his opponents, especially the Centre Party presidential candidate, Paavo Väyrynen. This was also the first Finnish presidential election to include a popular female candidate. Elisabeth Rehn, the small Swedish People's Party's presidential candidate, appealed to voters through her reputation as a diligent, caring and sincere woman. She was serving as Defence Minister during the election.
Rehn's popularity rose dramatically in early January 1994, helping her defeat her two major bourgeois rivals, Väyrynen and the National Coalition candidate, Raimo Ilaskivi. Väyrynen bitterly blamed the media for scheming to make his support appear to be falling just before the first round of voting. Some Finns voted tactically for Rehn on the first round to eliminate Väyrynen from the second round. Ahtisaari and Rehn agreed on many issues, such as Finland's intention to become a member of the European Union. They disagreed partly on economic issues, with Ahtisaari favouring more economic stimulation and Rehn viewing increased economic stimulus sceptically. The three-week period between the first and second rounds of voting saw Ahtisaari's support rise significantly, and during the final week of campaigning opinion polls showed him leading Rehn.[4][5][6][7]
^Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p606 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
^Arter, David (1994). "The 1994 Finnish presidential election: Honesty was not the best policy!". West European Politics. 17 (4): 190–192. doi:10.1080/01402389408425049. ISSN 0140-2382.
^Nohlen & Stöver, p632
^Timo Vihavainen, "The Welfare Finland" (Hyvinvointi-Suomi), pgs. 902-903 in Seppo Zetterberg et al., eds., A Small Giant of the Finnish History / Suomen historian pikkujättiläinen. Helsinki: WSOY, 2003
^Olavi Jouslehto&Jaakko Okker, From Tamminiemi To Mäntyniemi (Tamminiemestä Mäntyniemeen), pgs. 140-155. Porvoo: WSOY, 2000
^Tapani Ruokanen, On a Journey: Martti Ahtisaari's Story / Matkalla. Martti Ahtisaaren tarina. Helsinki: Otava Ltd., 2009, pgs. 182-191, 197-200, 204-205, 247-256
^What-Where-When: A Citizen's Yearbook (Mitä-Missä-Milloin - Kansalaisen vuosikirja) 1994 and 1995. Helsinki: Otava Ltd., 1993 and 1994
and 27 Related for: 1994 Finnish presidential election information
Presidentialelections were held in Finland on 16 January 1994, with a second round on 6 February. It was the first time the President had been solely...
Presidentialelections were held in Finland on 28 January 2024, with a second round held on 11 February. Voters elected a president of the Republic for...
Since 1994, no president may be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The president must be a natural-born Finnish citizen. The presidential office...
Indirect presidentialelections were held for the first time in Finland in 1919. Although the country had declared Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse king...
Presidentialelections were held in Finland on 28 January 2018. The incumbent Sauli Niinistö received 63% of the vote and was elected for a second term...
Presidentialelections were held in Finland in 1988. They were the first elections held under a new system. Previously, the public had elected an electoral...
Two-stage presidentialelections were held in Finland in 1937. The first stage was on 15 and 16 January 1937 as the public selected 300 presidential electors...
Indirect presidentialelections were held in Finland in 1946. In 1944 the Parliament had passed a law that enabled Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim to serve...
Two-stage presidentialelections were held in Finland in 1931. On 15 and 16 January the public elected presidential electors to an electoral college....
Indirect presidentialelections were held in Finland in 1943. The 1937 electoral college was recalled and re-elected Risto Ryti, who received 269 of the...
Presidentialelections were held in Finland on 16 January 2000, with a second round on 6 February. The result was a victory for Tarja Halonen of the Social...
Two-stage presidentialelections were held in Finland in 1925. On 15 and 16 January the public elected presidential electors to an electoral college....
are four types of elections in Finland. Each Finnish citizen at least 18 years of age has the right to vote in each of the elections, which decide the...
Presidentialelections were held in Russia from 15 to 17 March 2024. It was the eighth presidentialelection in the country. The incumbent president Vladimir...
A presidentialelection is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of...
Party of Finland independent Finland portal Politics portal 2024 Finnishpresidentialelection President of Finland List of presidents of Finland by time...
13th president of Finland since 1 March 2024, having won the 2024 presidentialelection. He previously served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2014 to 2015...
in 1991, the presidentialelections have taken place seven times: in 1991, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2010, 2014 and 2019. The presidentialelection rules are defined...
(Finnish: [ˈmɑrtːi ˈʔoi̯ʋɑ ˈkɑleʋi ˈʔɑhtisɑːri] ; 23 June 1937 – 16 October 2023) was a Finnish politician, the tenth president of Finland, from 1994 to...
Party of Finland (SDP, Finnish: Suomen sosialidemokraattinen puolue [ˈsuo̯men ˈsosiɑ(ː)liˌdemokrɑːtːinen ˈpuo̯lue], nicknamed: demarit in Finnish; Swedish:...
of 200 seats in the parliamentary elections of 2011, becoming the largest party in the Finnish Parliament (Finnish: Eduskunta; Swedish: Riksdagen) for...
Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 1 and 2 July 1936. Following the election Prime Minister Toivo Mikael Kivimäki of the National Progressive...
Russian presidentialelections determine who will serve as the president of Russia for the next six (formerly four from 1996 to 2012 and five from 1991...
equipment for the Finnish army, although the Finnish national debt in 1939 was among the lowest in the Western world. Most Finnish voters were apparently...
Presidentialelections were held in Iran on 19 May 2017, the twelfth such elections in Iran. Local elections were held simultaneously. Candidate registration...
Global Information
