6 February

Tarja Halonen wins the second round of the presidential election with Esko Aho as the runner-up. Halonen, Finland’s first female president, received 51.6 per cent of the vote. The voter turnout was 83.0 per cent for women, and 77.2 per cent for men.

1 March

The new Finnish constitution enters into force. The constitution cuts the president’s powers and transfers power to the prime minister.