. The
Swedish Party (1870–1906), a parliamentary
elite party based on members in the
Diet of Finland, is the historical predecessor of the Swedish People's Party of Finland. It was a part of the
Svecoman movement and its main policy was opposition of the
Fennoman movement. Unlike Fennomans, who were largely
liberal on other matters than the language question, the Svecoman were
conservative.
Axel Lille and
Axel Olof Freudenthal are often considered as some of the main "founding fathers" of the movement. Most members of the Liberal Party joined the Swedish Party in the 1880s, after the Liberals ceased to exist as a distinct party. The Swedish People's Party of Finland was founded in the 1906 party congress of the Swedish Party, making it one of the oldest parties in Finland. The first leader of the Swedish People's Party was
Axel Lille. The current leader of the party is
Anders Adlercreutz. In the
Parliament of Finland the representative for
Åland is usually included in SPP's parliamentary group, regardless of his/her party affiliation;
parties on Åland are separate from those on the mainland, but their common interest in Swedish-language issues gives them much in common with the Swedish People's Party group as regards national politics. The party receives its main electoral support from the
Swedish speaking minority, which makes up about 5.5% of Finland's population. During its history, the party has suffered slow but steady decline in adherence, following the decline of the percentage of Swedish-speaking population. In 1907, the party received 12% of national votes; after World War II, it received 7% of the vote; and in the
2011 parliamentary election, it received 4.3% of the votes (and nine MPs). In municipal elections, it holds large majorities in municipalities with a Swedish-speaking majority. Despite its position as one of the minor political parties in the Finnish parliament, it has frequently been one of the partners forming the governing
coalition cabinets. Since 1956, the year when
Urho Kekkonen was elected President, the party has been nearly continuously in the government. It has been part of all coalitions with the significant exception of Paasio's first cabinet (1966–68), which included only socialists (
Social Democratic Party (SDP), the split SDP faction
Social Democratic Union of Workers and Smallholders and
Finnish People's Democratic League) and the
Centre Party. from 1966 to 1973. Short periods of rule by single-party minority governments, Miettunen cabinet (1961–62, Centre) and Paasio's second government (1972, SDP) and of nonpartisan
caretaker governments have also interrupted its stay in the government. For this reason, the SPP is often criticized for being a single-issue party that allegedly accepts nearly all other policies as long as its own vital interest, the status of the Swedish language is maintained. However, although Vanhanen's first cabinet made Swedish a voluntary subject in the upper secondary schools'
matriculation exam, the SPP remained in the government. In contrast, the
Greens left the previous government after a new nuclear power plant was decided in 2002. The SPP's long continuous participation in the Finnish cabinets came to an end in following the
2015 parliamentary election when it was left out of the
Sipilä Cabinet. In June 2019, the SPP returned to government with two ministerial positions in the
Rinne Cabinet, the Minister of Justice and the Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality. Recently, the SPP has emphasized the liberal part of its programme, attempting to woo voters outside its traditional Swedish-speaking electorate. In 2010, the party added the word
Suomen ("of Finland") to its official Finnish name. == Election results ==