Green League

Green League
The Green League is one of the many political parties found in Finland. The first word ‘Green’ in the name was given as it is a Green Party, one which focuses more on principles such as environmentalism, reliance on grassroots democracy, nonviolence, and support for social justice causes. The second word, ‘League’ surfaced as the party originates from a popular movement. It was the first European Green party to be part of a state-level Cabinet in 1995.
Beside the principles above, this party especially stresses on openness and democratic decision-making. In addition, about half of Green were against joining the European Union in 1994 because they were critical about the market economy.

History
February 28, 1987- Formation of Green League.
1995 election- Received a total of 9/200 seats. Join coalition-cabinet led by Social Democrats. Pekka Haavisto became the minister of Environment and Development Aid, and thus the first green minister in Europe.
1999 election- Received 7.3% of the votes. Won two more seats.
May 26, 2002- Resigned from coalition-cabinet in protest of cabinet’s decision to allow construction of a new nuclear plant.
2003 election- Gained 8% of the vote, giving a total of 14 seats.
April 2007- Become one of the 4 parties which form the Finnish government
2007 election- 8.5% of votes. Seats in parliament increased to 15, which mean greater say.
2009 election- 2 of the thirteen Finnish representatives are Green

Popularity
They are generally more well-received in large cities such as Helsinki but not in rural areas, particularly municipalities experiencing strong outward migration.