Christian Democrats (Finland)

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Christian Democrats Suomen Kristillisdemokraatit (Finnish) Kristdemokraterna i Finland (Swedish)
Abbreviation	KD, CD
Chairperson	Sari Essayah
Secretary	Mikko Rekimies [fi]
General Secretary	Merja Eräpolku
Parliamentary group leader	Peter Östman
First deputy chair	Mika Poutala
Founded	6 May 1958 (1958-05-06)
Split from	National Coalition Party
Headquarters	Karjalankatu 2A 00520, Helsinki
Newspaper	KD-lehti [fi]
Think tank	Ajatushautomo Kompassi [fi]
Youth wing	Christian Democratic Youth of Finland[2]
Women's wing	Christian Democratic Women of Finland[1]
Swedish-speaking wing	KD Svenska [fi]
Membership (2021)	8,370[3]
Ideology	Christian democracy Social conservatism
Political position	Centre to centre-right
European affiliation	European People's Party
European Parliament group	European People's Party Group
Nordic affiliation	Centre Group
Colors	Blue   White   Light blue   Orange
Eduskunta	5 / 200
European Parliament	0 / 15
Municipalities	311 / 8,859
County seats	57 / 1,379
Website
www.kd.fi
Politics of Finland Political parties Elections

The Christian Democrats (CD; Finnish: Suomen Kristillisdemokraatit; Swedish: Kristdemokraterna i Finland, KD) 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, Finland's Christian League), until 2001, when the party changed its name to the current Christian Democrats and its Finnish and Swedish abbreviations to KD. The CD was a minor party in the centre-right coalition government led by Prime Minister Esko Aho between 1991 and 1994 and was later a part of a rainbow coalition led by Jyrki Katainen and Alexander Stubb between 2011–2015. It has been a part of the Orpo Cabinet since its formation on 20 June 2023. KD-lehti is the party's weekly newspaper. The party is a member of the European People's Party and the European People's Party Group.^{[citation needed]}