I warmly welcome you to Finland. Your timing is excellent. We are celebrating hundred years of our independence. This year also marks the 25th, or the 99th, depending on how…
New Year Speech by President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö on 1 January 2017
My fellow citizens, Milestone anniversaries are important to us. For some, it is a certain age, for others when a community reaches round figures. Many of us remember that significant…
Speech by President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö at Kauniala Hospital Christmas celebration on 9th December 2016
The past week has been an emotional week of festivities. We celebrated 99 years of independence on Tuesday. But for Jenni and me this traditional visit to Kauniala hospital conveys…
Speech by President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö at the opening of the 219th National Defence Course on 7 November 2016
Congratulations on being selected to participate in the National Defence Course. You are on the course because you are needed. A great experience and an important lesson on the many…
Opening address by President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö at the Finnish-Iranian business seminar in Tehran on 25 October 2016
Check against delivery My Spouse and I are delighted to be in Tehran today. This is our first visit to your beautiful country and the first visit by a Finnish…
Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö at the dinner in honour of the visit by President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite at the Presidential Palace on 18 October 2016
(check against delivery) It is a great pleasure for me and my spouse to warmly welcome you to Helsinki. We are delighted that you are here. I look back with…
Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö in the opening ceremony of the seminar “A Girl’s Right to an Education” on International Girls’ Day on 11th October 2016
It is a privilege to open this seminar today. For Finland, the right to education for girls is very dear thing. An interesting historical detail is that the first university…
Statement by President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö at the UNGA 71th General Debate on 21 September 2016
(check against delivery) I wish to congratulate you, Mr. President, upon your election as the President of the 71st session of the General Assembly. You can count on Finland´s full…
Key note speech by President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö at the HeForShe Second Anniversary Reception on 20 September 2016
I joined HeForShe in the spring of 2015. My decision was spurred by a slight feeling of embarrassment: How come we still live in a world where something self-evident, namely…
Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö at the high-level meeting on large movements of refugees and migrants in New York on 19 September 2016
(check against delivery) Let me start by expressing my gratitude to the Secretary-General for organizing this meeting. The issue is of utmost importance. More than 30 000 people are forcibly…