2000 Finnish presidential election

2000 Finnish presidential election

← 1994 16 January 2000 (first round) 6 February 2000 (second round) 2006 →
Turnout	73.63% (first round) 76.83% (second round)
Candidate Tarja Halonen Esko Aho Party SDP Centre Popular vote 1,644,532 1,540,803 Percentage 51.63% 48.37%
Tarja Halonen   Esko Aho   Elisabeth Rehn First round results by province   Tarja Halonen   Esko Aho Second round results by province
President before election Martti Ahtisaari SDP Elected President Tarja Halonen SDP

Politics of Finland
State Constitution Declaration of Independence Human rights Law enforcement Military
Executive President (list) Alexander Stubb Prime Minister (list) Petteri Orpo Government Ministries (list)
Legislative Parliament Speaker: Jussi Halla-aho
Judiciary General Courts Supreme Court Courts of Appeal District Courts Administrative Courts Supreme Administrative Court Regional Administrative Courts Prosecutor General Chancellor of Justice
Recent elections Presidential: 2006 2012 2018 Parliamentary: 2015 2019 2023 European: 2014 2019 2024
Political parties Social Democratic Party (SDP) Finns Party (PS) National Coalition Party (KOK) Centre Party (KESK) Green League (VIHR) Left Alliance (VAS) Swedish People's Party (RKP) Christian Democrats (KD) Movement Now (LIIK)
Administrative divisions Regions (Maakunnat, Landskap) Sub-regions (Seutukunnat, Ekonomiska regioner) Municipalities (Kunnat, Kommuner) Wellbeing services counties (Hyvinvointialueet, Välfärdsområde)
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister: Elina Valtonen Diplomatic missions of / in Finland Ambassadors Politics of the European Union
Finland portal Other countries
v t e

Presidential elections were held in Finland on 16 January 2000, with a second round on 6 February.^[1]

The result was a victory for Tarja Halonen of the Social Democratic Party, who became the country's first female president. During the elections Halonen was the incumbent Minister for Foreign Affairs. President Martti Ahtisaari had indicated in January 1999 that he would accept the Social Democratic Party's nomination for the 2000 presidential elections, but only if no presidential primary was held. However, Jacob Söderman announced his candidacy at the start of April 1999, and during the final week of that month, Ahtisaari announced that he would not seek the Social Democratic presidential candidacy. In his memoirs, Ahtisaari claims that Tarja Halonen badly wanted to become president, a claim that Halonen has denied.

There were three other female presidential candidates in 2000: Riitta Uosukainen of the National Coalition, Elisabeth Rehn of the Swedish People's Party, and Heidi Hautala of the Greens. Halonen's popularity rose significantly during the last few months before the first round of the 2000 presidential elections, while Uosukainen's and Rehn's popularity declined. Former Prime Minister Esko Aho, the Centrist presidential candidate, emerged as the second most popular candidate. Halonen received votes from women across party lines, and she was partly helped by her lack of a major left-wing opponent, and by her reputation as a tolerant, human rights-oriented person. The election was decided by slightly over 100,000 votes, and the voter turnout was much higher than in the 1996 municipal elections or in the 1999 parliamentary elections.^[2][3][4]