Thanksgiving in Helsinki (Visit to Parliament)

On Friday the Fulbright Finland Foundation arranged for a luncheon with two members of the Finnish Parliament at the Parliament Building in Helsinki. We also received a tour and were able to sit in on a session of the Parliament while they held several votes. The members of Parliament were Mats Lofstrom who is the single member of parliament for the autonomous region of Åland. He is a member of the Åland Centre party which is part of the current coalition government. We were also joined by Sakari Puisto who is a member of the Finns party and represents the Pirkanmaa constituency. He is a member of the opposition party. Both MPs serve as vice chairs for the Finland-US friendship group. Although they represent opposing parties they were very cordial and respectful of each other’s opinions. They also spent well over an hour at lunchtime answering a wide range of questions concerning Finnish politics and US-Finnish relations.

Our luncheon was followed by a tour of the Parliament House. The building was designed by Johan Sigfrid Sirén and was completed in 1931. The building is a classical/neoclassical design. The main chamber (Plenary Hall) has five prominent statues representing: Settler, Intellectual Work, Faith and Harvester. The center female figure standing with her back to the hall carries the future in her lap, a small boy.

Older buildings always seem to have at least one surprising architectural feature. In the case of the Parliament House it may have been an old style, dumbwaiter, elevator that may not meet current building codes.