Alexander Stubb in the context of "President of Finland"

The foreign relations of Finland are the responsibility of the president of Finland, who leads foreign policy in cooperation with the government. Implicitly the government is responsible for internal policy and decision making in the European Union. Within the government, preparative discussions are conducted in the government committee of foreign and security policy (ulko- ja turvallisuuspoliittinen ministerivaliokunta), which includes the Prime Minister and at least the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defence, and at most four other ministers as necessary. The committee meets with the President as necessary. Laws concerning foreign relations are discussed in the parliamentary committee of foreign relations (ulkoasiainvaliokunta, utrikesutskottet). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs implements the foreign policy.

Finland is a member of the European Union, the Eurozone, NATO, the Nordic Council, and the United Nations.

A prime minister, also known as a chief of cabinet, chief minister, first minister, minister-president or premier, is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rather the head of government, serving as the chief of the executive under either a monarch or a president in a republican form of government.

In parliamentary systems of government (be they constitutional monarchies or parliamentary republics), the Prime Minister (or occasionally a similar post with a different title, such as the Chancellor of Germany) is the most powerful politician and the functional leader of the state, by virtue of commanding the confidence of the legislature. The head of state is typically a ceremonial officer, though they may exercise reserve powers to check the Prime Minister in unusual situations.

Presidential elections were held in Finland on 28 January 2024, with a second round held on 11 February. Voters elected a president of the Republic for a six-year term. Incumbent president Sauli Niinistö was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election, having served the maximum two terms, ensuring that the president elected would be the country's thirteenth.

Had the new president been elected in the first round on 28 January by winning more than half of valid votes cast, their term would have begun on 1 February. However, as no candidate received a majority of votes, Alexander Stubb and Pekka Haavisto contested in a runoff on 11 February with Stubb winning 51.6% to Haavisto's 48.4%. The result in the second round was the closest in the history of presidential elections in Finland, followed by the 2000 presidential runoff. Stubb began his term as president on 1 March.

The Finnish order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the government of Finland. It has no legal standing, it does not reflect the Finnish presidential line of succession or the co-equal status of the branches of government under the constitution, and is only used to indicate ceremonial protocol.

1. President of the Republic Alexander Stubb
2. Retired Presidents of the Republic in order of term:
   1. President Tarja Halonen
   2. President Sauli Niinistö
3. Speaker of the Parliament Jussi Halla-Aho
4. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo
5. Other ministers of the Finnish Government
6. President of the Supreme Court Tatu Leppänen
7. President of the Supreme Administrative Court Kari Kuusiniemi
8. Chief of Defence Janne Jaakkola
9. Chancellor of Justice Tuomas Pöysti
10. Archbishop of Turku Tapio Luoma
11. Chancellor of the Order of the Cross of Liberty Ari Puheloinen
12. Chancellor of the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland Jussi Nuorteva
13. Chancellor of the University of Helsinki Kaarle Hämeri

Jyrki Tapani Katainen (born 14 October 1971) is a Finnish politician who served as the European Commission's Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness from 2014 until 2019. Katainen was previously prime minister of Finland from 2011 to 2014 and chairman of the National Coalition Party from 2004 to 2014. He was succeeded by Alexander Stubb as chairman of Finland's National Coalition Party. After stepping down as prime minister, Katainen was elected as European Commission Vice-President in July 2014.

The politics of Finland take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy. Finland is a republic whose head of state is President Alexander Stubb, who leads the nation's foreign policy and is the supreme commander of the Finnish Defence Forces. Finland's head of government is Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, who leads the nation's executive branch, called the Finnish Government. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Finland (Finnish: Suomen eduskunta, Swedish: Finlands riksdag), and the Government has limited rights to amend or extend legislation. The Constitution of Finland vests power to both the President and Government: the President has veto power over parliamentary decisions, although this power can be overruled by a majority vote in the Parliament.

The judiciary is independent of the executive and legislative branches. The judiciary consists of two systems: regular courts and administrative courts. The judiciary's two systems are headed by the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court, respectively. Administrative courts process cases in which official decisions are contested. There is no constitutional court in Finland: the constitutionality of a law can be contested only as applied to an individual court case.