128-569: Tarja Kaarina Halonen ( pronounced [ˈtɑrjɑ (ˈkɑːrinɑ) ˈhɑlonen] , born 24 December 1943) is a Finnish politician who served as the 11th president of Finland , and the first and to date only woman to hold the position, from 2000 to 2012. She first rose to prominence as a lawyer with the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), and as the Prime Minister 's parliamentary secretary (1974–1975) and
256-647: A Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland . Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these countries as well as those who have resettled. Some of these may be classified as separate ethnic groups, rather than subgroups of Finns. These include the Kvens and Forest Finns in Norway , the Tornedalians in Sweden , and
384-480: A Moomin watch. In the 1960s, she left the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland , to which the majority of Finns belong, to protest against its policy of taxing church members and its stance against female priests. The church has since accepted women as priests, and Halonen has stated that she has no personal reason not to return to the church but refrains from doing so in order not to give
512-588: A vocational school until they have full job qualifications. It is also possible to get an erweiterter Realschulabschluss after 10th grade that allows the students to continue their education at the Oberstufe of a gymnasium and get an Abitur . There are two types of vocational school in Germany: the Berufsschule , a part-time vocational school and a part of Germany's dual education system , and
640-641: A 2001 interview Halonen said that she was worried about the Russian response if NATO approved membership bids by Baltic countries . Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga asked what she meant and whether Halonen is actively opposing NATO membership of Baltic countries. In the Iraqgate scandal, Halonen's advisor Martti Manninen leaked confidential documents to the Centre Party leader Anneli Jäätteenmäki , who had become prime minister. The revelations led to
768-790: A British or American comprehensive school . However, it offers the same school-leaving certificates as the other three types—the Hauptschulabschluss (school-leaving certificate of a Hauptschule after 9th grade or in Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia after 10th grade), the Realschulabschluss (also called Mittlere Reife , school-leaving certificate of a Realschule after 10th Grade) and Abitur (also called Hochschulreife , school-leaving certificate after 12th Grade). Students who graduate from Hauptschule or Realschule may continue their schooling at
896-463: A C-level lasting tree years). In Sweden , there are two different kinds of branches of studies: the first branch focuses on giving a vocational education while the second branch focuses on giving preparation for higher education. While students from both branches can go on to study at a university, students of the vocational branch graduate with a degree within their attended program. There are 18 national programs, 12 vocational and 6 preparatory. In
1024-512: A May Day speech in the 1970s, the employment relationship would have been rather short." Throughout her political career, Halonen has described herself as a supporter of "international solidarity". She describes herself as a "relative pacifist", meaning that she does not support unilateral disarmament. She has strongly defended the President's role as the commander in chief of the military. She opposed NATO membership during her tenure. Following
1152-572: A Social Affairs and General Secretary from 1969 to 1970. Her work in the Union spurred her interest in politics, and in 1970 she obtained a post as a lawyer in the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions , being the first female ever to work as a lawyer in the Union. In 1971, Halonen joined the Social Democratic Party which had close ties with the trade unions in which she worked as a lawyer from 1970 to 1974. In early 1970, she
1280-444: A Swiss university. The gymnasia are operated by the cantons of Switzerland , and accordingly in many cantons they are called Kantonsschule (cantonal school). In Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia , Montenegro , North Macedonia , Serbia , and Slovenia , a gymnasium education takes four years following a compulsory eight or nine-year elementary education and ending with a final aptitude test called Matura . In these countries,
1408-473: A certain type of gymnasia called Classical Gymnasia ( klasična gimnazija ). In all of the countries, the gymnasium ( gimnazija / gjimnazi ) is generally viewed as a destination for best-performing students and as the type of school that serves primarily to prepare students for university studies, while other students go to technical/vocational schools. Therefore, gymnasia often base their admittance criteria on an entrance exam, elementary school grades, or
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#17327796491241536-603: A combination of the two. Depending on country, the final degree (if any) is called Abitur , Artium , Diploma , Matura , Maturita or Student and it usually opens the way to professional schools directly. However, these degrees are occasionally not fully accredited internationally, so students wanting to attend a foreign university often have to submit to further exams to be permitted access to them. In countries like Austria, most university faculties accept only students from secondary schools that last four years (rather than three). This includes all Gymnasium students but only
1664-547: A common foundation course can choose between different fields of study that meet the individual student's abilities and interests. The course is offered in Aasiaat , Nuuk , Sisimiut and Qaqortoq , with one in Ilulissat to be opened in 2015, latest in 2016 if approved by Inatsisartut . In Finland, the admissions to gymnasia are competitive, the accepted people comprising 51% of the age group. The gymnasia concludes with
1792-745: A divine service of her home parish of Kallio. This is a privilege that the parish priest may grant only in exceptional cases to persons known for their Christian conviction. In 1980–1981 Halonen served as the chairman of Seta , the main LGBT rights organization in Finland. Halonen was criticized for her view that the COVID-19 pandemic was handled better in countries with female leaders. Former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Finnish author Sofi Oksanen have strongly criticized Halonen for perceived unwillingness to publicly condemn Russia’s hostilities in
1920-572: A fellow Balto-Finnic group. Finns and Karelians form a cluster with another Balto-Finnic people, the Veps . They show relative affinity to Northern Russians as well, who are known to be at least partially descended from Finno-Ugric-speakers who inhabited Northwestern Russia before the Slavs. When not compared to these groups, Finns have been found to cluster apart from their neighboring populations, forming outlier clusters. They are shifted away from
2048-600: A fine-scale analysis contain more precise clusters that are consistent with traditional dialect areas. When looking at the fixation index (F ST ) values, the distance within Finns from different parts of the same country is exceptional in Europe. The distance between Western and Eastern Finns is higher than the distance between many European groups from different countries, such as the British people and Northern Germans. This
2176-725: A higher frequency of the Y-haplogroup N1c (71.6%). While N1c is the most common haplogroup in Western Finland as well (53.8%), the haplogroup I1a is found more often there (30.9%) than it is in Eastern and Northern Finland (19%). This suggests that there is an additional Western component in the Western Finnish gene pool. Despite the differences, the IBS analysis points out that Western and Eastern Finns share overall
2304-461: A large number of words (about one-third) without a known etymology, hinting at the existence of a disappeared Paleo-European language ; these include toponyms such as niemi , 'peninsula'. Because the Finnish language itself reached a written form only in the 16th century, little primary data remains of early Finnish life. For example, the origins of such cultural icons as the sauna , and
2432-429: A largely similar genetic foundation. In the 19th century, the Finnish researcher Matthias Castrén prevailed with the theory that "the original home of Finns" was in west-central Siberia . Until the 1970s, most linguists believed that Finns arrived in Finland as late as the first century AD. However, accumulating archaeological data suggests that the area of contemporary Finland had been inhabited continuously since
2560-516: A low frequency, but seems to be found in significantly higher levels among Finns, Estonians and the Sami people . The older population of European hunter-gatherers that lived across large parts of Europe before the early farmers appeared are outside the genetic variation of modern populations, but most similar to Finns. With regard to the Y-chromosome, the most common haplogroups of the Finns
2688-571: A member of the City Council of Helsinki (1977–1996). Halonen was a Social Democratic Party member of parliament from 1979 until her election to the presidency in 2000 . She also served as a minister at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health from 1987 to 1990, as Minister of Justice from 1990 to 1991, and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 2000. Halonen was an extremely popular president, with her approval ratings reaching
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#17327796491242816-689: A minor employer (see Economy of Finland ). Christianity spread to Finland from the Medieval times onward and original native traditions of Finnish paganism have become extinct. Finnish paganism combined various layers of Finnic, Norse, Germanic and Baltic paganism. Finnic Jumala was some sort of sky-god and is shared with Estonia. Belief of a thunder-god, Ukko or Perkele , may have Baltic origins. Elements had their own protectors, such as Ahti for waterways and Tapio for forests. Local animistic deities, haltija , which resemble Scandinavian tomte , were also given offerings to, and bear worship
2944-442: A more toponymical approach. Yet another theory postulates that the words Finn and Kven are cognates . The Icelandic Eddas and Norse sagas (11th to 14th centuries), some of the oldest written sources probably originating from the closest proximity, use words like finnr and Finnas inconsistently. However, most of the time they seem to mean northern dwellers with a mobile life style. Current linguistic research supports
3072-504: A northern part of Europe, but the real meaning of these terms is debatable. It has been suggested that this non- Uralic ethnonym is of Germanic language origin and related to such words as Old High German : finthan , lit. 'find, notice'; Old English : fanthian , lit. 'check, try'; and fendo ( Middle High German : vende ) ' pedestrian, wanderer ' . Another etymological interpretation associates this ethnonym with fen in
3200-508: A part of the curricula of all German schools, yet not compulsory; a student or their parents or guardians can conscientiously object to taking them, in which case the student (along with those whose religion is not being taught in the school) is taught ethics or philosophy. In-state schools, a student who is not baptized into either the Catholic or Protestant faiths is allowed to choose which of these classes to take. The only exception to this
3328-419: A part of vocational high schools, in effect making Gymnasium the preferred choice for all pupils aiming for university diplomas. In Germany, other types of secondary school are called Realschule , Hauptschule and Gesamtschule . These are attended by about two thirds of the students and the first two are practically unknown in other parts of the world. A Gesamtschule largely corresponds to
3456-462: A peak of 88 percent in December 2003. She was re-elected in 2006 , defeating National Coalition Party candidate Sauli Niinistö in the second round by 51% to 48%. Ineligible to run in the 2012 presidential elections because of term limits, Halonen left office on 1 March 2012 and was succeeded by Niinistö. Widely known for her interest in human rights issues, Halonen served as the chairperson of
3584-657: A press conference in Mäntyniemi where she announced her willingness to run for a second term. Officially, this was the desired answer for the SDP delegation that had visited her two days earlier. In addition to her own party's support, the leader of the Left Alliance , Suvi-Anne Siimes , gave her support for Halonen's future campaign. SAK openly lobbied for her re-election. It used its members' money on mudslinging campaigns on behalf of Halonen. In those flyers, "Niinistö
3712-403: A runoff on 29 January 2006, where Halonen was re-elected with 51.8% of the vote against Mr. Niinistö's 48.2%. The re-election was a close call. She led in the advance voting, but she eventually received fewer votes on the actual voting day than Mr. Niinistö did. After her narrow election victory in the first election, Halonen's approval ratings rose and reached a peak of 88% in December 2003. In
3840-423: A second term. Halonen won the preliminaries by a landslide, getting 7,800 out of 12,800 votes. Halonen was a surprising candidate as she did not represent many traditional values: she was known as a left-wing social democratic party member, who lived in a domestic partnership , was a single parent and had resigned from the national church . Despite starting from fourth place in the presidential election polls, in
3968-500: A signal that might be misinterpreted. In the 1990s, Halonen acted as the chairman of Suomen setlementtiliitto , a Christian social work organization. After her presidential term, Halonen rejoined the Evangelical-Lutheran Church. According to her statements, she had previously refrained from it as it might have been considered an attempt to garner political support. Since then, Halonen has even preached publicly in
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4096-608: A specific focus. (This also differs from country to country.) The four traditional branches are: Curricula differ from school to school but generally include literature, mathematics, informatics , physics, chemistry, biology, geography, art (as well as crafts and design), music, history, philosophy, civics /citizenship, social sciences, and several foreign languages. Schools concentrate not only on academic subjects, but also on producing well-rounded individuals, so physical education and religion or ethics are compulsory, even in non-denominational schools which are prevalent. For example,
4224-467: A very negative attitude towards Halonen, precisely because of her pro-Soviet and far-left wing world of ideas. Since 2004, rumors have been circulating on Internet that Halonen gave a May Day speech at Hakaniemi Market Square in 1976 and hoped that Finland would join the Soviet Union, saying: "Finland would be blessed to join the Soviet Union by peaceful means. At the same time, we would get rid of
4352-488: A very technical and highly demanding course, being available as final exams. Usually, schools will have all classes mandatory in switching combinations for the first three or so years (with the exception of Technasium which is a free choice from the second year onward), after which students will choose their subjects in the directions of Economics and Society, Culture and Society, Nature and Health, Nature and Technology or Technology. The equivalent without classical languages
4480-468: A way that distinguished it from its neighbors. Finnish material culture became independent of the wider Baltic Finnic culture in the 6th and 7th centuries, and by the turn of the 8th century the culture of metal objects that had prevailed in Finland had developed in its own way. The same era can be considered to be broadly the date of the birth of the independent Finnish language, although its prehistory, like other Baltic Finnic languages, extends far into
4608-506: Is N1c , as it is carried by 58–64 percent of Finnish men. N1c, which is found mainly in a few countries in Europe (Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia), is a subgroup of the haplogroup N distributed across northern Eurasia and suggested to have entered Europe from Siberia. The haplogroup N is typical for Uralic-speaking peoples. Other Y-DNA haplogroups among Finns include I1a (25 %), R1a (4.3 %), and R1b (3.5 %). Finns are genetically closest to Karelians ,
4736-584: Is a matter of debate how best to designate the Finnish-speakers of Sweden, all of whom have migrated to Sweden from Finland. Terms used include Sweden Finns and Finnish Swedes , with a distinction almost always made between more recent Finnish immigrants, most of whom have arrived after World War II , and Tornedalians , who have lived along what is now the Swedish-Finnish border since the 15th century. The term "Finn" occasionally also has
4864-642: Is a single kind of gymnasium, Den Gymnasiale Uddannelse (Ilinniarnertuunngorniarneq), that replaced the earlier Greenlandic Secondary Education Programme (GU), the Greenland Higher Commercial Examination Programme ( HHX ) and the Greenland education to Higher Technical Examination Programme ( HTX ), which were based on the Danish system. This program allows a more flexible Greenland gymnasium, where students based on
4992-470: Is also Meänkieli , a language developed in partial isolation from standard Finnish, spoken by three minorities, Tornedalians, Kvens and Lantalaiset , in the border area of northern Sweden. The Finnish language as well as Meänkieli are recognized as official minority languages in Sweden . The use of mitochondrial "mtDNA" (female lineage) and Y-chromosomal "Y-DNA" (male lineage) DNA-markers in tracing back
5120-510: Is also EUX, which takes four to five years and ends with both the HTX (or HHX for EUX-business) exam and status as a journeyman of a craft. Compared to the somewhat equivalent A-levels in the UK, Danish gymnasia have more mandatory subjects. The subjects are divided into levels, where A-levels usually run through all three years, B-levels usually two years and C-levels one year (apart from PE which exists as
5248-527: Is also noticeable in the distances of Finns from other Europeans, as the isolation is even more profound in Eastern Finns than in Western Finns. The division is related to the later settlement of Eastern Finland by a small number of Finns, who then experienced separate founder and bottleneck effects and genetic drift. Eastern Finns also have a higher portion of autosomal Siberian admixture and
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5376-620: Is called Atheneum , and gives access to the same university studies (although some extra classes are needed when starting a degree in classical languages or theology). All are government-funded. See Voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs (in English) for the full article on Dutch "preparatory scientific education". In Denmark , Estonia , the Faroe Islands , Finland , Greenland , Iceland , Latvia , Norway and Sweden , gymnasium consists of three years, usually starting at
5504-426: Is currently the oldest living former president of Finland. Tarja Halonen was born on 24 December 1943 in the district of Kallio , which at the time was a traditional working-class area in central Helsinki. Her mother Lyyli Elina Loimola was a set-dresser and her father Vieno Olavi Halonen worked as a welder . Halonen's parents married at the beginning of World War II and Tarja was born a few years later. Vieno Halonen
5632-495: Is generally viewed as a destination for the best-performing students and as the type of school that serves primarily to prepare students for university. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia , gymnázium (also spelled gymnasium ) is a type of school that provides secondary education. Secondary schools, including gymnázium , lead to the maturita exam. There are different types of gymnázium distinguished by
5760-709: Is how the Celtic , Germanic , Slavic , and Baltic languages were formed. The linguistic ancestors of modern Finns did not switch their language due to their isolated location. The main supporters of Wiik's theory are Professor Ago Künnap of the University of Tartu , Professor Kyösti Julku of the University of Oulu and Associate Professor Angela Marcantonio of the University of Rome . Wiik has not presented his theories in peer-reviewed scientific publications. Many scholars in Finno-Ugrian studies have strongly criticized
5888-593: Is in most cases free (and in other cases at low cost). It consists of six years, after eight years (including kindergarten ) of primary school, in which pupils study the same subjects as their German counterparts, with the addition of compulsory Ancient Greek , Latin and Klassieke Culturele Vorming (Classical Cultural Education), history of the Ancient Greek and Roman culture and literature. Schools have some freedom in choosing their specific curriculum, with for example Spanish, Philosophy and Technasium ,
6016-542: Is in the state of Berlin , where the subject ethics is mandatory for all students and (Christian) religious studies can only be chosen additionally. A similar situation is found in Brandenburg where the subject life skills, ethics, and religious education ( Lebensgestaltung, Ethik, Religionskunde, LER ) is the primary subject but parents/guardians or students older than 13 can choose to replace it with (Christian) religious studies or take both. The intention behind LER
6144-466: Is not known how, why, and when this occurred. Petri Kallio had suggested that the name Suomi may bear even earlier Indo-European echoes with the original meaning of either "land" or "human", but he has since disproved his hypothesis. The first known mention of Finns is in the Old English poem Widsith which was compiled in the 10th century, though its contents are believed to be older. Among
6272-573: Is only two years, instead of the three required for STX, HHX, and HTX. All different types of gymnasia (except for HF) theoretically gives the same eligibility for university. However, because of the different subjects offered, students may be better qualified in an area of further study. E.g. HHX students have subjects that make them more eligible for studies such as business studies or economics at university, while HTX offer applied science and mathematics that benefit studies in Science or Engineering. There
6400-774: Is presented as the horror of worker, whereas SAK-supported Halonen is like a worker's dream". Halonen said she approved of the flyers. A study analyzed newspaper articles and concluded that the main newspaper Helsingin Sanomat produced almost exclusively positive tone stories about Halonen and much more negative tone articles about candidates Niinistö, Vanhanen and Hautala. American talk show host Conan O'Brien made recurring jokes about Halonen on his show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien , because of his own resemblance to her. He endorsed Halonen and produced humorous mock campaign ads and attack ads against her opponents. He went as far as visiting Finland and meeting Halonen. On 19 November,
6528-416: Is standardized at the state level and serves as an entrance qualification for universities. These can be either public (state-run, tuition-free) or private (fee-paying). The subjects taught are mathematics, Albanian language, one to three foreign languages, history, geography, computer science, the natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics), history of art, music, philosophy, logic, physical education, and
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#17327796491246656-476: Is that students should get an objective insight on questions of personal development and ethics as well as on the major world religions. For younger students nearly the entire curriculum of a gymnasium is compulsory; in higher years additional subjects are available and some of the hitherto compulsory subjects can be dropped, but the choice is not as wide as in other school systems, such as US high schools. Although some specialist gymnasia have English or French as
6784-541: The Abitur examinations, which complete the Gymnasium education, after 13 years of primary school and Gymnasium combined. In addition, some states offer a 12-year curriculum leading to the Abitur . These final examinations are now centrally drafted and controlled ( Zentralabitur ) in all German states except for Rhineland-Palatinate and provide a qualification to attend any German university. In Italy originally
6912-622: The Berufsfachschule , a full-time vocational school outside the dual education system. Students who graduate from a vocational school and students who graduate with a good grade point average from a Realschule can continue their schooling at another type of German secondary school, the Fachoberschule , a vocational high school. The school leaving exam of this type of school, the Fachhochschulreife , enables
7040-837: The ginnasio indicated a type of five-year junior high school (age 11 to 16) and preparing to the three year Classical Lyceum (age 16 to 19), a high school focusing on classical studies and humanities . After the school reform that unified the junior high school system, the term ginnasio stayed to indicate the first two year of Liceo Classico , now five years long. An Italian high school student who enrolls in Liceo Classico follows this study path: Quarta Ginnasio (gymnasium fourth year, age 14), Quinta Ginnasio (gymnasium fifth year, age 15), Prima Liceo (lyceum first year, age 16), Seconda Liceo (lyceum second year, age 17) and Terza Liceo (lyceum third year, age 18). Some believe this still has some sense, since
7168-488: The heimos have been constructed according to dialect during the rise of nationalism in the 19th century. The historical provinces of Finland can be seen to approximate some of these divisions. The regions of Finland , another remnant of a past governing system, can be seen to reflect a further manifestation of a local identity. Journalist Ilkka Malmberg [ fi ] toured Finland in 1984 and looked into people's traditional and contemporary understanding of
7296-402: The heimos , listing them as follows: Tavastians ( hämäläiset ), Ostrobothnians ( pohjalaiset ), Lapland Finns ( lappilaiset ), Finns proper ( varsinaissuomalaiset ), Savonians ( savolaiset ), Kainuu Finns ( kainuulaiset ), and Finnish Karelians ( karjalaiset ). Today the importance of the tribal ( heimo ) identity generally depends on the region. It is strongest among
7424-467: The Faroe Islands , there are also four kinds of gymnasia, which are the equivalents of the Danish programmes: Studentaskúli (equivalent to STX), Handilsskúli (HHX), Tekniski skúli (HTX) and HF (HF). Studentaskúli and HF are usually located at the same institutions as can be seen in the name of the institute in Eysturoy : Studentaskúlin og HF-skeiðið í Eysturoy. In Greenland , there
7552-518: The Ice age ended. They populated central and northern Europe, while Basque speakers populated western Europe. As agriculture spread from the southeast into Europe, the Indo-European languages spread among the hunter-gatherers. In this process, both the hunter-gatherers speaking Finno-Ugric and those speaking Basque learned how to cultivate land and became Indo-Europeanized. According to Wiik, this
7680-896: The Ingrian Finns in Russia. Finnish , the language spoken by Finns, is closely related to other Balto-Finnic languages , e.g. Estonian and Karelian . The Finnic languages are a subgroup of the larger Uralic family of languages , which also includes Hungarian . These languages are markedly different from most other languages spoken in Europe, which belong to the Indo-European family of languages . Native Finns can also be divided according to dialect into subgroups sometimes called heimo ( lit. ' tribe ' ), although such divisions have become less important due to internal migration. Today, there are approximately 6–7 million ethnic Finns and their descendants worldwide, with
7808-486: The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. The term was derived from the classical Greek word γυμνάσιον ( gymnasion ), which was originally applied to an exercising ground in ancient Athens . Here teachers gathered and gave instruction between the hours devoted to physical exercises and sports, and thus the term became associated with and came to mean an institution of learning. This use of
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#17327796491247936-482: The University of Helsinki in 1962 but in autumn 1963 she changed her studies to law, and obtained her Master of Laws degree in 1968 specializing in criminal law . She began to work as a lawyer, already before obtaining her degree, in a credit surveillance company Luotonvalvonta oy in 1967. After working there for a few years, she was hired by the National Union of University Students in Finland to work as
8064-521: The Uralic languages were first spoken in the area of contemporary Finland is debated. It is thought that Proto-Finnic (the proto-language of the Finnic languages ) was not spoken in modern Finland, because the maximum divergence of the daughter languages occurs in modern-day Estonia. Therefore, Finnish was already a separate language when arriving in Finland. Furthermore, the traditional Finnish lexicon has
8192-664: The Volga , Oka , and Kama rivers in what is now Russia. The genetic basis of future Finns also emerged in this area. There have been at least two noticeable waves of migration to the west by the ancestors of Finns. They began to move upstream of the Dnieper and from there to the upper reaches of the Daugava , from where they eventually moved along the river towards the Baltic Sea in 1250–1000 BC. The second wave of migration brought
8320-692: The kantele (an instrument of the zither family) have remained rather obscure. Agriculture supplemented by fishing and hunting has been the traditional livelihood among Finns. Slash-and-burn agriculture was practiced in the forest-covered east by Eastern Finns up to the 19th century. Agriculture, along with the language, distinguishes Finns from the Sámi , who retained the hunter-gatherer lifestyle longer and moved to coastal fishing and reindeer herding . Following industrialization and modernization of Finland, most Finns were urbanized and employed in modern service and manufacturing occupations, with agriculture becoming
8448-505: The matriculation examination , an exam whose grades are the main criteria for university admissions. In Switzerland, gymnasia ( Gymnasien , gymnases ) are selective schools that provide a three- to six-year (depending on the canton) course of advanced secondary education intended to prepare students to attend university. They conclude with a nationally standardized exam, the maturité or Maturität , often shortened to " Matura or Matur ", which if passed allows students to attend
8576-460: The 100 most powerful women in the world. Halonen is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders , an international network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development. Since the death of Martti Ahtisaari in 2023, Halonen
8704-661: The 18th century. When Finland became independent, it was overwhelmingly Lutheran Protestant . A small number of Eastern Orthodox Finns were also included, thus the Finnish government recognized both religions as "national religions". In 2017 70.9% of the population of Finland belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland , 1.1% to the Finnish Orthodox Church , 1.6% to other religious groups and 26.3% had no religious affiliation . Whereas, in Russian Ingria, there were both Lutheran and Orthodox Finns;
8832-517: The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, when Finnish public opinion had turned, and the Parliament had debated the issue and decided, in favor of submitting an application for NATO membership , Halonen also voiced her support on Twitter, calling the move "a necessary measure in the changed security situation in Europe". Her strong stands on these issues have characterised her presidential term and shaped Finnish foreign policy, in part in cooperation with
8960-468: The 26th Infantry Regiment, so-called Ace Regiment . Vieno Halonen was wounded three times during the war and after the war he was awarded first, second and fourth class Order of the Cross of Liberty medals. In later interviews, Tarja Halonen has said that she has met her father only a few times. After the divorce, in 1950, Lyyli Halonen married her new husband Thure Forss, who worked as an electrician and
9088-656: The Finnish LGBT rights organization Seta in the 1980s, and she actively participated in the discussion of issues such as women's rights and the problems of globalization during her presidency. In 2006, she was mentioned by various commentators as a potential candidate for the United Nations Secretary-General selection , but she denied an interest at that time, stating that she wanted to finish her term as president before thinking about other career options. In 2009, Forbes named her among
9216-925: The Finns and the Sami. While their genome is still mostly European, they also have some additional East Eurasian ancestry (varies from 5 up to 10 –13 % in Finns). This component is most likely Siberian -related, best represented by the north Siberian Nganasans . The specific Siberian-like ancestry is suggested to have arrived in Northern Europe during the early Iron Age , linked to the arrival of Uralic languages . Finns have high steppe or Corded Ware culture -like admixture, and they have less farmer-related and more hunter-gatherer-related admixture than Scandinavians and West and Central Europeans. Finns share more identity-by-descent (IBD) segments with several other Uralic-speaking peoples, including groups like Estonians,
9344-448: The Finns, are also closer to Finns than most European populations. Finns being an outlier population has to do with their gene pool having reduced diversity and differences in admixture, including Asian influence, compared to most Europeans. In general, Europeans can be modelled to have three ancestral components (hunter-gatherer, farmer and steppe), but this model does not work as such for some northeastern European populations, like
9472-482: The German constitution guarantees the separation of church and state, so although religion or ethics classes are compulsory, students may choose to study a specific religion or none at all. Today, a number of other areas of specialization exist, such as gymnasia specializing in economics, technology or domestic sciences. In some countries, there is a notion of progymnasium , which is equivalent to beginning classes of
9600-619: The Karelians, Savonians and South Ostrobothnians. The Sweden Finns are either native to Sweden or have emigrated from Finland to Sweden. An estimated 450,000 first- or second-generation immigrants from Finland live in Sweden, of which approximately half speak Finnish . The majority moved from Finland to Sweden following the Second World War, contributing and taking advantage of the rapidly expanding Swedish economy . This emigration peaked in 1970 and has been declining since. There
9728-556: The SDP's party council meeting was held; praised as "the president of the whole nation", she was unanimously chosen as the presidential candidate. Shortly thereafter, the party council of the Left Alliance gave the party's official support to Halonen. Halonen's received 46% of the first round vote in the election. Sauli Niinistö (of the National Coalition Party ) was second with 24%. They faced each other in
9856-495: The Sami and the geographically distant Komis and Nganasans, than with their Indo-European-speaking neighbours. This is consistent with the idea that the Uralic peoples share common roots to some degree. Finnish genes being often described as homogeneous does not mean that there is no regional variation within Finns. Finns can be roughly divided into Western and Eastern (or Southwestern and Northeastern) Finnish sub-clusters, which in
9984-674: The Social Committee, which she held from 1984 to 1987. In 1987, Halonen was appointed Minister of Social Affairs and Health by Prime Minister Harri Holkeri . Halonen held the position until 1990. In addition to this, she served as Minister for Nordic Cooperation from 1989 to 1991, the same year in which she was also appointed the chairman of the International Solidarity Foundation, a post she relinquished in 2000. From 1990 to 1991, she served as Minister of Justice, and from 1995 until her election to
10112-558: The cline that most Europeans belong to towards geographically distant Uralic-speakers like the Udmurts and Mari (while remaining genetically distant from them as well). Their distance from Western Europeans is about the same as their distance from Komis . The Balto-Finnic Estonians are among the genetically closest populations of Finns, but they are less isolated from the European cluster than Finns. Swedes , while being distinct from
10240-495: The course of the previous 50 years, the President had only once chosen to not obey the government's consensus, leading to Halonen thusly being accused of cronyism. In September 2008, Halonen was perceived as insulting Estonia by saying that the Estonians suffer from a "post-Soviet stress condition". President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves commented on the issue, saying that "Estonia has never condemned, and will not condemn
10368-635: The debate has calmed, each side retaining their positions. Genotype analyses across the greater European genetic landscape have provided some credibility to the theory of the Last Glacial Maximum refugia . But this does not in any way corroborate or prove that these 'refugia' spoke Uralic/Finnic, as it belies wholly independent variables that are not necessarily coeval (i.e. language spreads and genetic expansions can occur independently, at different times and in different directions). Gymnasium (school) Gymnasium (and variations of
10496-1134: The degree awarded substituted for the bachelor's degree (Baccalaureate) previously awarded by a college or university so that universities in Germany became exclusively graduate schools. In the United States, the German Gymnasium curriculum was used at a number of prestigious universities, such as the University of Michigan, as a model for their undergraduate college programs. Pupils study subjects such as German, mathematics, physics, chemistry, geography, biology, arts, music, physical education, religion, history and civics /citizenship/ social sciences and computer science . They are also required to study at least two foreign languages. The usual combinations are English and French or English and Latin , although many schools make it possible to combine English with another language, most often Spanish, Ancient Greek , or Russian. Religious education classes are
10624-427: The end of the ice age , contrary to the earlier idea that the area had experienced long uninhabited intervals. The hunter-gatherer Sámi were pushed into the more remote northern regions. A hugely controversial theory is so-called refugia . This was proposed in the 1990s by Kalevi Wiik , a professor emeritus of phonetics at the University of Turku . According to this theory, Finno-Ugric speakers spread north as
10752-635: The far-left wing of the SDP. She publicly opposed the proposed free trade agreement of the European Economic Community in 1973, by signing a petition along with 500 other prominent social democrats and socialists. Otherwise she was loyal to President Kekkonen 's foreign policy, which was founded on Finnish neutrality and good relations with the Soviet Union . Markku Salomaa's 2021 book Tarza – Pasifistin odysseia voimapolitiikan maailmassa states that Chancellor Angela Merkel had
10880-429: The final test is standardized at the state level and can serve as an entrance qualification for universities. There are either public (state-run and tuition-free), religious (church-run with secular curriculum and tuition-free) or private (fee-paying) gymnasium schools in these countries. The subjects taught are mathematics, the native language, one to three foreign languages, history, geography, informatics (computers),
11008-535: The first round of the elections, Halonen received the most votes, 40.0%. Her nearest opponent, former prime minister Esko Aho of the Centre Party , received 34.4% of votes. Since neither of the two candidates got over 50% of the votes, a second round was held. In the second round, Halonen narrowly defeated her opponent with 51.6% against 48.4%, thus becoming Finland's first female head of state . Her first term began on 1 March 2000. On 20 May 2005, Halonen held
11136-469: The first three years of the gymnasium and instituted a unique path of studies for children aged from 12 to 14. The last two years of the gymnasium kept the previous denomination and the related scholastic curriculum for the following decades. In the Netherlands, gymnasium is the highest variant of secondary education, offering the academically most promising youngsters (top 5%) a quality education that
11264-522: The first written sources possibly designating western Finland as the land of Finns are also two rune stones . One of these is in Söderby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont ( U 582 ), and the other is in Gotland , a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea , with the inscription finlandi ( G 319 M ) dating from the 11th century. As other Western Uralic and Baltic Finnic peoples, Finns originated between
11392-473: The foreign affairs decisions of another EU country. It will also not assess the psychiatric state of other EU countries". In 2009, Halonen rejected calls to apologize for Finland's attitude towards Estonian independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. At the end of her second term Halonen's presidency and economic views received harsh criticism from Björn Wahlroos , the chairman of the two largest banks in Finland. Early in her political career Halonen represented
11520-402: The former meaning of a place for physical education was retained. Because gymnasia prepare students for university study, they are thus meant for the more academically minded students, who are sifted out between the ages of 10 and 13. In addition to the usual curriculum, students of a gymnasium often study Latin and Ancient Greek . Some gymnasia provide general education, while others have
11648-481: The former were identified as Ingrian Finns while the latter were considered Izhorians or Karelians . Finns are traditionally assumed to originate from two different populations speaking different dialects of Proto-Finnic ( kantasuomi ). Thus, a division into Western Finnish and Eastern Finnish is made. Further, there are subgroups, traditionally called heimo , according to dialects and local culture. Although ostensibly based on late Iron Age settlement patterns,
11776-412: The full gymnasium, with the rights to continue education in a gymnasium . Here, the prefix pro - is equivalent to pre -, indicating that this curriculum precedes normal gymnasium studies. In Central European, Nordic , Benelux and Baltic countries, this meaning for "gymnasium" (that is a secondary school preparing the student for higher education at a university) has been the same at least since
11904-533: The graduate to start studying at a Fachhochschule ( polytechnic ) and in Hesse also at a university within the state. Students who have graduated from vocational school and have been working in a job for at least three years can go to Berufsoberschule to get either a Fachabitur (meaning they may go to university, but they can only study the subjects belonging to the "branch" (economical, technical, social) they studied in at Berufschule ) after one year, or
12032-585: The history of human populations has been gaining ground in ethnographic studies of Finnish people (e.g. the National Geographic Genographic Project and the Suomi DNA-projekti.) The most common maternal haplogroup among Finns is H , as 41.5% of Finnish women belong to it. One in four carry the haplogroup U5 . It is estimated to be the oldest major mtDNA haplogroup in Europe and is found in the whole of Europe at
12160-466: The hypothesis of an etymological link between the Finnish and the Sami languages and other modern Uralic languages . It also supports the hypothesis of a common etymological origin of the toponyms Sápmi ( Northern Sami for 'Lapland') and Suomi ( Finnish for 'Finland') and the Finnish and Sami names for the Finnish and Sami languages ( suomi and saame ). Current research has disproved older hypotheses about connections with
12288-745: The language of instruction, at most gymnasia lessons (apart from foreign language courses) are conducted in Standard German . The number of years of instruction at a gymnasium differs between the states. It varies between six and seven years in Berlin and Brandenburg (primary school is six years in both as opposed to four years in the rest of Germany) and eight in Bavaria , Hesse and Baden-Württemberg among others. While in Saxony and Thuringia students have never been taught more than eight years in Gymnasium (by default), nearly all states now conduct
12416-622: The length of study. In the Czech Republic there are eight-year, six-year, and four-year types, and in Slovakia there are eight-year and four-year types, of which the latter is more common. In both countries, there are also bilingual (Czech or Slovak with English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, or Russian; in Slovakia, bilingual gymnáziums are five-year) and private gymnáziums . German gymnasia are selective schools. They offer
12544-463: The like-minded former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Erkki Tuomioja . Halonen has publicly supported the involvement of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) in politics. The Constitution of Finland and Halonen's decision to take part in some European Union meetings with the prime minister has created the so-called "problem of two dinner plates" in Finland. Since most other countries only have their prime ministers representing them, it
12672-533: The main group of ancestors of Finns from the Baltic Sea to the southwest coast of Finland in the 8th century BC. During the 80–100 generations of the migration, Finnish language changed its form, although it retained its Finno-Ugric roots. Material culture also changed during the transition, although the Baltic Finnic culture that formed on the shores of the Baltic Sea constantly retained its roots in
12800-556: The majority of them living in their native Finland and the surrounding countries, namely Sweden , Russia and Norway. An overseas Finnish diaspora has long been established in the countries of the Americas and Oceania, with the population of primarily immigrant background, namely Australia , Canada , New Zealand , Brazil, and the United States . The Finnish term for Finns is suomalaiset ( sing. suomalainen ). It
12928-462: The meaning "a member of a people speaking Finnish or a Finnic language". Historical references to Northern Europe are scarce, and the names given to its peoples and geographic regions are obscure; therefore, the etymologies of the names are questionable. Such names as Fenni , Phinnoi , Finnum , and Skrithfinni / Scridefinnum appear in a few written texts starting from about two millennia ago in association with peoples located in
13056-627: The most academically promising youngsters a quality education that is free in all state-run schools (and generally not above €50/month cost in Church-run schools, though there are some expensive private schools). Gymnasia may expel students who academically under-perform their classmates or behave in a way that is often seen as undesirable and unacceptable. Historically, the German Gymnasium also included in its overall accelerated curriculum post-secondary education at college level and
13184-471: The name of gymnasium. By the 20th century, this practice was followed in almost the entire Austrian-Hungarian , German , and Russian Empires . In the modern era, many countries which have gymnasia were once part of these three empires. In Albania, a gymnasium ( Albanian : Gjimnaz ) education takes three years following a compulsory nine-year elementary education and ending with a final aptitude test called Albanian : Matura Shtetërore . The final test
13312-408: The names Häme (Finnish for ' Tavastia ') and Proto-Baltic *žeme / Slavic землꙗ (zemlja) meaning ' land ' . This research also supports the earlier hypothesis that the designation Suomi started out as the designation for Southwest Finland ( Finland Proper , Varsinais-Suomi ) and later for their language and later for the whole area of modern Finland. But it
13440-420: The natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics), history of art, music, philosophy, logic, physical education, and the social sciences (sociology, ethics or religious education, psychology, politics, and economy). Religious studies are optional. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and North Macedonia, Latin is also a mandatory subject in all gymnasia, just as Ancient Greek is, with Latin, in
13568-484: The past. Just as uncertain are the possible mediators and the timelines for the development of the Uralic majority language of the Finns. On the basis of comparative linguistics, it has been suggested that the separation of the Finnic and the Sami languages took place during the 2nd millennium BC, and that the Proto-Uralic roots of the entire language group date from about the 6th to the 8th millennium BC. When
13696-491: The past. Notably, after the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia , Halonen referred to Ilves' concerns as "post-Soviet stress". A long-running joke, which stems from the recurring segment " Conan O'Brien Hates My Homeland ", is that American talk show host Conan O'Brien resembles Tarja Halonen. After joking about this for several months (which led to his endorsement of her campaign), O'Brien travelled to Finland, appeared on several television shows and met President Halonen. The trip
13824-857: The presidency, she served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Lipponen I Cabinet . Halonen announced in 1999 that she wished to stand as a candidate for president in the 2000 presidential elections . In the preliminary elections of the Social Democrats Halonen ran against Pertti Paasio , a member of the European Parliament and former party chairman, and Jacob Söderman , the European Ombudsman . The incumbent, Martti Ahtisaari , refused to run in party preliminaries and thus announced that he would not run for
13952-511: The resignation of Jäätteenmäki. Halonen has opposed the use of landmines in Finnish military doctrine. Halonen has defended cluster bombs and did not sign a treaty which would have banned Finland from using these kinds of weapons. In 2008, Halonen nominated SDP-affiliated Ritva Viljanen for a second term in the Ministry of the Interior. The government had nominated Ilkka Laitinen. Over
14080-492: The sciences. In the last few decades, more autonomy has been granted to schools, and various types have been developed, focusing on sports, music, or economics, for example. In Belarus, gymnasium is the highest variant of secondary education, which provides advanced knowledge in various subjects. The number of years of instruction at a gymnasium is 11. However, it is possible to cover all required credits in 11 years, by taking additional subjects each semester. In Belarus, gymnasium
14208-428: The social sciences (sociology, ethics, psychology, politics and economy). The gymnasium is generally viewed as a destination for the best-performing students and as the type of school that serves primarily to prepare students for university, while other students go to technical/vocational schools. Therefore, gymnasia often base their admittance criteria on an entrance exam, elementary school grades, or some combination of
14336-574: The term did not prevail among the Romans , but was revived during the Renaissance in Italy , and from there passed into the Netherlands and Germany during the 15th century. In 1538, Johannes Sturm founded at Strasbourg the school which became the model of the modern German gymnasium. In 1812, a Prussian regulation ordered all schools with the right to send their students to the university to bear
14464-450: The theory. Professor Raimo Anttila, Petri Kallio and brothers Ante and Aslak Aikio have rejected Wiik's theory with strong words, hinting strongly to pseudoscience , and even alt-right political biases among Wiik's supporters. Moreover, some dismissed the entire idea of refugia, due to the existence even today of arctic and subarctic peoples. The most heated debate took place in the Finnish journal Kaltio during autumn 2002. Since then,
14592-484: The two-year ginnasio has a differently oriented curriculum from the Liceo . Ginnasio students spend the majority of their schooling studying Greek and Latin grammar, laying the bases for the "higher" and more in depth set of studies of the Liceo , such as Greek and Latin literature and philosophy. In July 1940 the fascist Minister of National Education Giuseppe Bottai got a bill of law approved that abolished
14720-555: The two. In Austria the Gymnasium has two stages, from the age of 11 to 14, and from 15 to 18, concluding with Matura . Historically, three types existed. The Humanistisches Gymnasium focuses on Ancient Greek and Latin . The Neusprachliches Gymnasium puts its focus on actively spoken languages. The usual combination is English, French, and Latin; sometimes French can be swapped with another foreign language (like Italian, Spanish or Russian). The Realgymnasium emphasizes
14848-554: The word; pl. gymnasia ) is a term in various European languages for a secondary school that prepares students for higher education at a university . It is comparable to the US English term preparatory high school or the British term grammar school . Before the 20th century, the gymnasium system was a widespread feature of educational systems throughout many European countries. The word γυμνάσιον ( gumnásion ), from Greek γυμνός ( gumnós ) 'naked' or 'nude',
14976-493: The world of Finnish politics and government and her political career took a great step forward, as she went on to hold a number of public offices. Sorsa later said that he wanted his parliamentary secretary to have good ties with the trade unions of Finland and have skills in jurisprudence . Working in Parliament made Halonen even more interested in politics and she decided to take part in the municipal elections of 1976. She
15104-716: The year the students turn 16 years old after nine or ten years of primary school. In Lithuania , the gymnasium usually consists of four years of schooling starting at the age of 15–16, the last year roughly corresponding to the first year of college . Most gymnasia in the Nordic countries are free. Universal student grants are also available in certain countries for students over 18. In Denmark (see also Gymnasium (Denmark) ), there are four kinds of gymnasia: STX (Regular Examination Programme), HHX (Higher Business Examination Programme), HTX (Higher Technical Examination Programme) and HF (Higher Preparatory Examination Programme). HF
15232-518: The yoke of capitalism , because capitalism will die in 20 years. Finland, together with the Soviet Union, could be a pioneer towards a communist society." In an interview with STT , Halonen herself has completely rejected the gossip, saying: "I have not given any May Day speech in Hakaniemi in 1976, nor can the text be found in the Informant. And if a Social Democrat SAK lawyer had given such
15360-471: Was also decided in Finland that the task is reserved for the Prime Minister in most cases. On 20 March 2013, Halonen publicly voiced her support for same-sex marriage . Halonen says her interests include art history , the theatre and swimming. She says she speaks Finnish , Swedish , and English , and is studying Estonian . Halonen had two cats during her presidential term. After they died, she
15488-504: Was also known. Finnish neopaganism , or suomenusko , attempts to revive these traditions. Christianity was introduced to Finns from both the west and the east. Swedish kings conquered western parts of Finland in the late 13th century, imposing Roman Catholicism . Reformation in Sweden had the important effect that bishop Mikael Agricola , a student of Martin Luther 's, introduced written Finnish, and literacy became common during
15616-494: Was at the frontline during the Continuation War and Lyyli Halonen was working in a shoe factory when their daughter was born. When Halonen was two years old, her father Vieno Halonen went to the kiosk to buy a magazine and no longer returned home to his family. Halonen has not commented much on the incident since, but Halonen's parents officially divorced in 1948. Vieno Halonen was an award-winning soldier who fought in
15744-711: Was elected to represent Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions in a committee that called for the recognition of East Germany . Later she became the Vice-President of the committee, which lobbied then-President Urho Kekkonen . During the presidential elections of 2006 she was criticized by rivals for this. She responded that the committee was formed by members from many different political parties including conservative parties. In 1973, Finland recognized both East Germany and West Germany as sovereign states. In 1974, Prime Minister Kalevi Sorsa appointed Halonen as his parliamentary secretary . She became acquainted with
15872-518: Was elected to the City Council of Helsinki, a position she held continuously for five terms from 1977 to 1996. Additionally in 1979, she was elected into Parliament as a representative of the Helsinki constituency . She served five full terms and less than a year of her sixth term in Parliament until her inauguration as president in 2000. In Parliament, her first formal post was as the chairman of
16000-587: Was filmed and aired as a special. Halonen also appears as an animated character in the political satire TV series The Autocrats . Finns No official statistics are kept on ethnicity. However, statistics of the Finnish population according to first language and citizenship are documented and available. Finnish born population resident in Sweden. This figure likely includes all Finnish-born (regardless of ethnic background) and as such might be misleading. Finns or Finnish people ( Finnish : suomalaiset , IPA: [ˈsuo̯mɑlɑi̯set] ) are
16128-587: Was first used in Ancient Greece , in the sense of a place for both physical and intellectual education of young men. The latter meaning of a place of intellectual education persisted in many European languages (including Albanian , Bulgarian , Czech , Dutch , Estonian , Greek , German , Hungarian , Macedonian , Polish , Russian , Scandinavian languages , Croatian , Serbian , Slovak , Slovenian and Ukrainian ), whereas in other languages, like English ( gymnasium , gym ) and Spanish ( gimnasio ),
16256-479: Was given a Neva Masquerade cat in 2013 by Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev . On 26 August 2000, Halonen married her longtime partner, Dr. Pentti Arajärvi , in a civil ceremony at her official residence, Mäntyniemi , after a relationship of more than fifteen years. Halonen's adult daughter Anna, and Arajärvi's adult son Esko, acted as witnesses. Both children are from previous relationships. She promotes Finland in her personal accoutrements, such as wearing
16384-674: Was very active in the working-class community. Both Halonen's mother and her stepfather influenced her world view extensively. Halonen later said that her mother was a true survivor, always an extremely active and resilient person who valued good, honest and modest hardworking people. When she entered politics, Halonen stated that these are also the qualities and attributes she respects in people. In 1950 she began her studies in Kallio Elementary school from where she later moved to Kallio Gymnasium and finally finished her matriculation examination in 1962. She began to study Art History in
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