The Swedish Assembly – a common political arena for Swedish-speaking Finns

The Swedish Assembly of Finland, or Folktinget, is a body of political co-operation, and acts as the common voice of the Swedish-speaking population in Finland. Its chief task is to work in favour of the rights of Swedish-speaking individuals, as well as to promote communication and co-operation among speakers of Swedish.

Every fourth year, Assembly representatives are appointed according to the results of the municipal election. At present, the body of representatives includes members of the Swedish People’s Party, the Finnish Social Democrats, the Left Alliance, the Green League, the Christian Democrats, the Center Party, and the National Coalition Party, as well as five representatives of the Åland Legislative Assembly. The 75 representatives gather once a year during the Annual Meeting to discuss current issues and initiatives that are to be undertaken by the Swedish Assembly.

The Board is the executive body of the Swedish Assembly, which discusses current issues and tends to administrative matters. The Board consists of the president, two vice-presidents and thirteen elected members.

In addition, the Board appoints a committee to process issues at hand, and to supervise the activities of the delegations and the Assembly office. There are three delegations which tend to administrative, educational, and populational matters respectively. The office, which handles day-to-day affairs, consists of eight members of staff.