prime-ministers-of-finland

"When improving gender equality, it is of utmost importance that the whole of society works for it. But it is also essential that we, women, make our demands and put our foot down decisively."

"The economy must grow, but economic growth is not a value in itself; it is primarily a way of increasing the well-being of people and their participation in the functioning of the society."

"Public administration and services hold a key position in achieving inclusive growth. It must be possible to offer citizens an opportunity to build the future they want, and the administration must be lighter, more transparent and more innovative than before."

"Equality is not simply an option: it has to be achieved and efforts must not stop until it is so."

"Don’t hesitate to take risks. It is often needed if you want to achieve something. Remember also that it is ok to fail, and that you can learn a lot from your mistakes."

"Media reports say Sanna Marin was raised in a "rainbow family", living in a rented apartment with her mother and her mother's female partner... But she said her mother had always been supportive and made her believe she could do anything she wanted. She was the first person in her family to go to university."

"As digitalisation becomes more and more important … we must be able to trust technology. Our common lifelines have to be based on solid cooperation in science research and innovation as well."

"I think China could play an important role to stop the war, if they wanted. It's up to China how they want to act concerning the war. But we shouldn't only rely on that, on China or any others … we should make sure we are stronger."

"We would be in trouble without the United States involving [itself] in the war of Ukraine."

"We are not perhaps the most cheerful people in the globe, But of course, we have a good nation and we have a good society."

"It doesn’t mean that you don’t have to do things by yourself, Of course, you have to work by yourself, but still we have that network that helps you if life gets tough. And I think that creates that kind of trust that societies need to really bloom."

"well taken care of and that they have that social life and also all the support for the education that they need."

"We are entering a decade during which we must find solutions for combating climate change, This calls for decisions that reduce emissions and strengthen carbon sinks. We will rely on scientific data, while taking account of the social and regional impacts of the solutions proposed."

"There is enormous demand and a huge market for new climate technology, Will our country have the bold pioneering spirit needed to prosper?"

"We have a lot of work to do to rebuild trust... I have never thought about my age or gender. I think of the reasons I got into politics and those things for which we have won the trust of the electorate."

"The strength of a society is measured not by the wealth of its most affluent members, but by how well its most vulnerable citizens are able to cope. The question we need to ask is whether everyone has the chance to lead a life of dignity."

"This war (by Russia) against a sovereign European nation (Ukraine) puts the European security order at risk. In this changing security environment, Finland and Sweden will further enhance their cooperation."

"Finland should urgently apply for NATO membership"

"This consensus provides a good foundation for building our future as a NATO member, With our decision, we have strengthened Finland’s position and broadened our room for manoeuvre in a situation where it was at risk of narrowing and even being compromised altogether."

"Together, we have defended our values and taken the necessary actions on our own terms. I hope that as a nation, we can be proud of this."

"Russia may have started this war, but they will not win it. A world where undemocratic powers subjugate other states, in blatant disregard of the UN Charter and human suffering, is a world we must leave behind forever. Russia’s friends are now few and far between."

"We must strengthen our strategic autonomy – that is, Europe’s self-sufficiency – our resilience and our global partnerships, especially with other democracies."

"Strategic autonomy also means defending our values. It is in Finland’s interests to help build a stronger Europe, especially now, when the world is crying out for defenders of human rights, equality and cooperation."

"I encourage everyone to exercise their right to vote, as free elections are the cornerstone and foundation of a democratic society. Finland is worth fighting for, but it is also worth voting for."

"Make no mistake, if Russia wins its terrible gamble, it will not be the only one to feel empowered."

"We have become far too dependent on cooperation with regimes that do not share our common values."

"We all have worries when it comes to China and we must make sure that we don't have that kind of critical dependencies when it comes to China."

"We cannot be dependent, for example, on microchips or semiconductors or any kind of critical technologies when it comes to authoritarian countries. Because if those trading routes would be cut suddenly, then we would be in trouble."

"I must be brutally honest with you, Europe isn't strong enough right now. We would be in trouble without the United States."

"The United States has given a lot of weapons, a lot of financial aid, a lot of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Europe isn't strong enough yet."

"We have to make sure that we are building those capabilities when it comes to European defence, European defence industry."

"We need to draw the right lessons from the recent global challenges, wars and crises."

"In increasingly critical areas, from medical equipment to new technologies and energy, we have become far too dependent on cooperation with regimes which do not share our common values."

"I hate atheists because they want to become gods themselves and think they understand things that no one understands."

"One must not be provoked when someone provokes him."

"My respect for Yle is now exactly zero, which of course does not differ from yours for me. So now we're even."

"Tax reductions of the poor is an hollow idea. The critics of the decrease in taxation is based on harmful envy."

"We are not able to find out, what (funds) were gathered in these campaigns."

"Kaiken viisauden alku on tosiasiain tunnustaminen."

"Venäläisten muuttumattomana politiikkana on saada, mitä he voivat, niin vähällä kuin mahdollista, ja sitten pyytää lisää. He eivät uhraa koskaan välittömiä etujaan tulevaisuuden päämäärien hyväksi. He eivät kiinnitä koskaan huomiota siihen mitä on sanottu, vaan ainoastaan siihen, mitä on tehty. He pyrkivät saamaan korkean hinnan siitä, minkä ymmärtävät joutuvansa tekemään joka tapauksessa. He ovat immuuneja eettisille, humanitaarisille ja abstraktiin oikeuteen perustuville tekijöille ollen pelkästään käytännöllisten ja realististen näkökohtien vaikutettavissa."

"I have learned with regret of the passing of Finland's illustrious former President Paasikivi. On behalf of the American people and myself I send sincere condolences to both you and the people of Finland in the loss of President Paasikivi who served his people so well through a difficult period in the history of Finland."