Finnish President

President of Finland Suomen Tasavallan Presidentti Republiken Finlands President
Presidential Standard
Incumbent Sauli Niinistö since 1 March 2012
Residence	Presidential Palace (ceremonial) Mäntyniemi (residential) Kultaranta (summer residence)
Appointer	Popular vote
Term length	Six years renewable once, consecutively
Inaugural holder	Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg 26 July 1919
Formation	Constitution of Finland
Salary	126,000 €
Website	Suomen tasavallan presidentti

The President of the Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavallan presidentti, Swedish: Republiken Finlands president) is the nation's head of state. Under the Finnish constitution, executive power is vested in the president and the government, with the president possessing only residual powers. The president is elected directly by the people of Finland for a term of six years. Since 1991, no president may be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The president must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919. The current office-holder is Sauli Niinistö.

Officially the head of state is known as the President of the Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavallan presidentti; Swedish: Republiken Finlands president) or, more often, the President of the Republic (tasavallan presidentti, republikens president). This is in contrast to the former presidents, who retain the title "President". In other contexts, the generic term for "president" is puheenjohtaja – except for appeals courts and supreme courts where the term presidentti is used.

Candidates for president can be nominated by registered parties which have received at least one seat in the preceding parliamentary election. A candidate may also be nominated by 20,000 enfranchised citizens. Between 1919 and 1988, the president was elected indirectly by an electoral college made up of electors chosen by voters in the presidential election. In the 1988 presidential election, a direct and an indirect election were conducted in parallel: if no candidate could gain a majority, the president was elected by an electoral college formed in the same elections. Since 1994, the president has been elected by a direct popular vote.