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History of the ministry The Finnish Ministry of the Interior was set up in 1809 as the Administrative Department for General Management. In 1869, the name was changed to the Administrative Department for Civil Affairs, and in 1917, to the Administ...

Fight against environmental damage in sea areas The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for general guidance, monitoring and development concerning the prevention of and response to oil and chemical spills from ships at sea. The National Strat...

Police The Ministry of the Interior guides and directs the police service, and prepares related legislation. The purpose of police work is to ensure the safety of people and the environment. The National Police Board guides and directs operational...

Critical infrastructure protection A changing security environment and more diverse threats have increased the need to protect society’s critical infrastructure and improve the resilience of critical entities. Critical infrastructure refers to fac...

10.12.2025 | An independent group of experts has conducted a broad-based interim evaluation of the wellbeing services county reform, which was published on 10 December. Minister of Social Affairs and Health Kaisa Juuso, Minister of Local and Regional Government Anna-Kaisa Ikonen and Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen consider the findings valuable.

10.12.2025 | The wellbeing services county reform is progressing towards the set objectives throughout Finland, but there are still many issues left to address. This is according to a broad-based interim evaluation of the wellbeing services county reform made by an independent expert group.

2.10.2025 | The tense security situation underscores the importance of preparedness, both in the Baltic Sea region and in the Euro-Arctic area. Meeting new threats requires joint exercises and well-functioning processes, as underlined at the Rescue Borealis 2025 international field exercise held in Oulu.

18.11.2024 | The new Preparing for Incidents and Crises guide aimed at the entire population has been published on Suomi.fi. The Ministry of the Interior produced the online guide together with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency and an extensive cooperation network. The guide collects preparedness instructions in one place.

30.5.2024 | The EU’s strategic stockpiles in Finland can be deployed in major accidents and emergencies. Supplies must be ready for delivery within 12 hours. An extensive exercise was organised under the lead of the Ministry of the Interior from 27 May to 30 May 2024 where assistance was delivered to an accident area. 

24.6.2025 | Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen met with Somalia's Minister of Internal Security Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail in Helsinki on 23 June. The meeting was a continuation of Minister Rantanen’s visit to Mogadishu earlier this year. Its purpose was to further strengthen relations between Finland and Somalia in the field of internal security and to agree on the next steps in cooperation on return issues.

16.2.2023 | The Government has adopted a resolution on the National Strategy for the Prevention of and Response to Environmental Damage extending to 2035. The Strategy was adopted at the government session on 16 February. Its main objective is to guide the authorities’ preparedness for current and future threats of environmental damage. The Strategy needed to be updated to ensure that the responsibilities of different actors are in line with the current legislation.

2.9.2025 | The Government of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has reached a decision on its budget proposal for 2026. The Government’s decisions aim to support economic growth, which is picking up. Supporting economic growth and continuing responsible fiscal management is necessary to ensure the security of people in Finland and safeguard their access to important services going forward.

17.1.2023 | The European Commission is funding the EU’s first chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear strategic reserve in Finland, under rescEU, which includes personal protective equipment, measuring equipment, pharmaceuticals and antibodies in Finland for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear accidents.

31.3.2025 | Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen will attend the Border Security Summit in London on 31 March. The ministerial summit will focus on crime related to people smuggling and organised immigration crime. The aim is to identify the best ways to combat these phenomena.

16.2.2021 | A study commissioned by the Government investigated the combined impacts of the amendments made to the Aliens Act in 2015–2019 on the status of people applying for and receiving international protection and on the realisation of the best interests of the child. The decision to carry out the study was based on an objective set in the Government Programme, which states that the Government will investig...

17.3.2020 | The Government resolution to slow the spread of coronavirus infections and to protect at-risk groups, issued on 16 March 2020, states as follows (section 2):

6.11.2020 | The Ministry of the Interior sent the draft government proposal on amending the Money Collection Act out for comments on 6 November 2020. By this amendment, voluntary carbon offsetting services would be excluded from the scope of application of the Money Collection Act. In future, no money collection licence would be required for operations concerning voluntary carbon offsetting.

1.9.2022 | The budget proposal for 2023 of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Government builds sustainable growth for the future, secures purchasing power and assists people with the hike in electricity prices. The budget proposal responds to the effects of Russia’s war of aggression and inflation, improves safety and security, security of supply, and energy self-sufficiency, and provides further investment in research and development and in the green transition.

21.11.2019 | The Government has appointed a new Advisory Board on Gaming for the parliamentary term 2019–2023. According to the Lotteries Act, the task of the Advisory Board is to monitor the achievement of gambling policy goals and development needs in order to maintain and strengthen the exclusive right system.

21.3.2019 | The Security Committee has granted its 2018 Timanttiteko (Diamond Act) award to the group in charge of implementing the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan for 2022. The award was presented on 21 March 2019 at the Erve Forum, an annual cooperation event for security professionals organised by the State Security Networks Group.