Order of the Lion of Finland

Order of the Lion of Finland Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta
Commander Grand Cross breast star of the order (missing three of its original fifteen gold rays)
Awarded by the President of Finland
Country	Finland
Type	Order
Eligibility	Civilians and military personnel
Awarded for	Civil and military merit
Statistics
Established	September 11, 1942
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of the White Rose of Finland
Next (lower)	Cross of Merit for Finnish Physical Education and Sports

The Order of the Lion of Finland (Finnish: Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; Swedish: Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The orders are administered by boards consisting of a chancellor, a vice-chancellor and at least four members. The orders of the White Rose of Finland and the Lion of Finland have a joint board.

The Order of the Lion of Finland was founded on September 11, 1942. It was introduced in an effort to preserve the prestige of the Order of the White Rose of Finland, which could have been diminished if granted too frequently, and to facilitate the awarding of honours for various types of merit. The Lion of Finland is awarded for civilian and military merit. The ribbon for all classes of insignia is dark red.

The President of Finland wears the Star of the Order of the Lion of Finland.

The classes of the Order of the Lion of Finland are: