150 Years of the Finnish Parliament

At the centre the year 1863, in which the figure 6 takes the form of a young, unfurling tendril — symbolising the rebirth of democracy and development in Finland. Along the bottom, in a semicircle, the issuing country's name "SUOMI FINLAND", the two versions separated by the mint mark and the year "2013".

As a Grand Duchy under Russian rule, Finland experienced a momentous turning point in 1863: Tsar Alexander II convened the Finnish Diet in Helsinki after nearly two decades of suspension, opening a period of far-reaching domestic reform. The Diet — the precursor of what is today the Finnish Parliament, the Eduskunta — gradually gained more powers, and during the same period Finnish was officially recognised as an administrative language alongside Swedish. Finnish historiography regards this opening as the beginning of modern state-building, which, despite formal membership of the Russian Empire, fostered a pronounced national independence. The 1863 session was thus not merely a constitutional event but a cultural and social turning point.

The path from the 19th-century Diet to today's Finnish Parliament ran through the declaration of independence in 1917 and the introduction of universal suffrage — Finland was one of the first countries in Europe to grant women the vote, in 1906. The unicameral parliament, housed in the Parliament House in Helsinki, is today regarded as a model of parliamentary democracy, with high voter turnout and a strong institutional culture. In European comparisons, Finland regularly ranks at the top of indices on press freedom, transparency and political trust. To mark the 150th anniversary of the historic 1863 parliamentary session, Finland issued a 2-euro commemorative coin in 2013 recalling this founding moment.