en %C3%85land Centre

Åland Centre

*Åländsk Center* (Swedish)
*Ahvenanmaan keskusta* (Finnish)
Åland Centre Åländsk Center (Swedish); Ahvenanmaan keskusta (Finnish)
Chairperson	Veronica Thörnroos
First deputy chair	Anna Holmström
Second deputy chair	Mathias Sandberg
Founded	1976
Headquarters	Ålands Lagting, Strandgatan 37, 22100 Mariehamn
Youth wing	Åländsk Ungcenter
Women's wing	Centerkvinnorna
Ideology	Conservative liberalism; Agrarianism (Nordic)
Political position	Centre
European affiliation	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (co-operation with the Swedish People's Party of Finland)
Nordic affiliation	Centre Group
Colours	Green
Eduskunta; (Åland Coalition)	1 / 1
Lagtinget	7 / 30
Municipalities	36 / 208
Website
	www.centern.ax
	Politics of Åland; Political parties; Elections;

The Åland Centre (Swedish: Åländsk Center) is an agrarian-centrist^[3] political party on the Åland Islands. The party was founded by Karl-Anders Bergman in 1976.^[4]

The party has had four premiers of Åland including: Folke Woivalin (1979–1988), Ragnar Erlandsson (1991–1995), Roger Nordlund (1999–2007), and Veronica Thörnroos (2019–2023).

The party is affiliated with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.^[5] Mats Löfström, the current MP of Åland in the Finnish parliament, represents Åland Centre.^[6]

History

The party was founded in 1976, when the Swedish Centre Party was the largest non-socialist party in Sweden and hold the position of Prime Minister. Åland Centre then created its youth wing, 'Young Centre', in 1976, and a women's organization in 1988. In the 1979 Ålandic legislative election, the party won 42.3% of the popular vote at its first election, becoming the largest party in the Lagting. Subsequently, the party had emerged as the largest party in Åland in majority of the Ålandic elections.^[7]

The party lost its longstanding position as the largest party in 2015 Ålandic legislative election. Ever since, it has been positioning itself as the opponent of centralization and municipal reforms, opposing the governmental proposals to reduce the number of municipalities from 16 to 4. The party maintains its dominance in the rural and archipelago municipalities of Åland.^[7]

Election results

Parliament of Åland (Lagting)

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/-	Place	Government
1979	3,954	42.34	14 / 30	New	1st	—
1983	3,704	35.62	11 / 30	3	1st	—
1987	3,063	28.73	9 / 30	2	1st	Coalition
1991	3,242	30.16	10 / 30	1	1st	Coalition
1995	3,118	27.78	9 / 30	1	1st	Coalition
1999	3,292	27.32	9 / 30		2nd	Coalition
2003	2,980	24.14	7 / 30	2	1st	Coalition
2007	3,107	24.23	8 / 30	1	2nd	Coalition
2011	3,068	23.65	7 / 30	1	1st	Coalition
2015	2,984	21.60	7 / 30		2nd	Opposition
2019	3,970	27.84	9 / 30	2	1st	Coalition
2023	1,757	21.24	7 / 30	2	2nd	Coalition

References

^ ^a ^b "Lagtings- och kommunalval 2023 Åland, Finland". Valresultat. 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
^ Hepburn, Eve. "Forging autonomy in a unitary state The Åland Islands in Finland" (PDF). Comparative European Politics. 12 (4–5). University of Edinburgh: 468-487. doi:10.1057/cep.2014.10. Since the 1970s, Åland politics has been dominated by two centrist parties: the Liberals in Åland (Liberalerna på Åland) and the centrist and agrarian-oriented Åland Centre (Åländsk Center), which have tended to lead coalition governments.
^ Christina Bergqvist (1 January 1999). Equal Democracies?: Gender and Politics in the Nordic Countries. Nordic Council of Ministers. pp. 319–. ISBN 978-82-00-12799-4.
^ "Historik". Centern på Åland (in Swedish). 18 July 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). Parties and Elections in Europe. Books on Demand. p. 202. ISBN 9783750481343.
^ "Mats Löfström". Parliament of Finland. 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
^ ^a ^b Arter, David (2022). "Personal representation or party representation? Elections in the autonomous Åland Islands". Regional & Federal Studies. 32 (4). Taylor & Francis: 511–24. doi:10.1080/13597566.2022.2047940.