Christian Democrats (Finland)

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Christian Democrats Suomen Kristillisdemokraatit (Finnish) Kristdemokraterna i Finland (Swedish)
Abbreviation	KD
Chairperson	Sari Essayah
Secretary	Mikko Rekimies [fi]
General Secretary	Merja Eräpolku
Parliamentary group leader	Peter Östman
First deputy chair	Mika Poutala
Second deputy chair	Katriina Hiippavuori [fi]
Third deputy chair	David Pettersson [fi]
Founded	6 May 1958 (1958-05-06)
Split from	National Coalition Party
Headquarters	Karjalankatu 2 A 00520, Helsinki
Newspaper	KD-lehti [fi]
Think tank	Ajatushautomo Kompassi [fi]
Youth wing	Christian Democratic Youth of Finland[1]
Women's wing	Christian Democratic Women of Finland[2]
Swedish wing	KD Svenska [fi]
Membership (2021)	8,370[3]
Ideology	Christian democracy Social conservatism
Political position	Centre-right
European affiliation	European People's Party
Nordic affiliation	Centre Group
Colors	Blue   White   Light blue   Orange
Eduskunta	5 / 200
European Parliament	0 / 14
Municipalities	314 / 8,859
County seats	57 / 1,379
Website
www.kd.fi
Politics of Finland Political parties Elections

The Christian Democrats (KD, Finnish: Suomen Kristillisdemokraatit; Swedish: Kristdemokraterna i Finland) is a Christian-democratic political party in Finland.^[4][5]

It was founded in May 1958, chiefly by the Christian faction of the National Coalition Party.^[6][7] It entered parliament in 1970. The party leader since 28 August 2015 has been Sari Essayah.^[8] The Christian Democrats have five seats in the Finnish Parliament. It is positioned on the centre-right on the political spectrum.^[9]

The party name was for a long time abbreviated to SKL (standing for Suomen Kristillinen Liitto, Finlands Kristliga Förbund, Finnish Christian League), until 2001, when the party changed its name to the current Christian Democrats and its abbreviation to KD. The KD was a minor party in the centre-right coalition government led by Prime Minister Esko Aho between 1991 and 1994 and later a part of Rainbow coalition led by Jyrki Katainen and Alexander Stubb between 2011 and 2015. KD-lehti (English: CD News) is the party's weekly newspaper. The party is a member of the European People's Party.