page_title: Finnish Government
section_title: Legislation
hierarchical_section_title: Finnish Government / Legislation
caption_attribution_description: English: Matti Vanhanen's second cabinet at the Session Hall of the Parliament of Finland. Jyri Häkämies, Minister of Defence, is absent. Suomi: Matti Vanhasen toinen hallitus alkuperäisessä kokoonpanossaan kuvattuna eduskunnan täysistuntosalin valtioneuvoston aitiossa. Kuvasta puuttuu puolustusministeri Jyri Häkämies. Svenska: Matti Vanhanens andra regerings ursprungliga sammansättning fotograferad i statsrådslogen i plenisalen i Finlands riksdag. På bilden saknas försvarsminister Jyri Häkämies.
context_page_description: The Finnish Government is the executive branch and cabinet of Finland, which directs the politics of Finland and is the main source of legislation proposed to the Parliament. The Government has collective ministerial responsibility and represents Finland in the Council of the European Union. In the incumbent Marin Cabinet, the Government comprises 19 ministers leading 12 ministries.
  Majority coalition governments have become the foundation of the Finnish Government; apart from a few historical exceptions, a Government is usually assembled by the representatives of two major parties and a number of smaller parties.
context_section_description: The Government initiates the majority of legislation. A proposed act (Finnish: laki; Swedish: lag) is drafted in the respective ministry under the direction of its minister, after which it is reviewed by the Government and forwarded as a government proposal (Finnish: hallituksen esitys; Swedish: regeringens proposition) to Parliament for processing and possible amendments. However, since coalition governments have become the norm in Finland, the parties represented in the Government usually form the majority in the parliament, making the process somewhat more harmonious. Since 1957, all governments have been majority governments. Before a proposal is enacted into law, it must be confirmed by the President of Finland. As such, the president has the power of a delaying veto as a check against majority politics and potential violations of international agreements. Periods of cohabitation, wherein the president and the government represent different political positions, can create strife. The president's veto can be overridden by the Parliament, although this is in practice not done. Parties can also agree to not to vote along party lines but to leave the decision to individual MPs, although this is uncommon.
  While the Parliament passes acts, the Government or an individual ministry issues decrees (Finnish: asetus; Swedish: förordning) as delegated legislation. Decrees clarify, specify, and guide the implementation of an act of Parliament, but cannot contradict it. They are similar to US standing executive orders. A typical example is specifying the actual monetary sums for benefits described in general terms in an act. Decrees form an important body of law alongside acts of Parliament.
caption: Vanhanen II Cabinet in a session of Finnish Parliament in 2007.
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