Finland had time to be an independent country for almost 58 years before the sitting president of the United States came to visit our country. It started with Gerald Ford in 1975.
President Joe Biden The visit to Finland on July 13 ends a period of five years without an official visit of the US president to our country.
Biden is the sixth President of the United States Visiting Finland in his term of office.
The US president was last seen in Finland in July 2018, when the president Donald Trump visited Helsinki to meet the President of Russia Vladimir Putin during a visit hosted by the President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö.
21 years had already passed since the US president’s previous visit to Finland. In the years 1993–2001 served as the President of the United States Bill Clinton met the then president of Russia Boris Yeltsin Helsinki in March 1997. Clinton’s only visit to Finland during her term of office.
Clinton’s predecessor in office, George HW Bush visited Finland no less than twice, although his presidency lasted only one four-year term.
Bush senior visited Finland for the first time in September 1990 and the second time in July 1992. Bush got along very well with the president Mauno Koiviston with what could have influenced the matter.
President Ronald Reagan landed at the Finnish Chamber towards the end of his second term in office in May 1988. He came to Finland together Nancy– with his wife. The actual destination of the visit was the Moscow Summit. Reagan’s visit can be seen in the arena.
Reagan was the second US president to visit Finland during his term of office. The first one was Gerald Ford, who participated in the EEC meeting of Finland in Helsinki from 29 July to 2 August 1975. The meeting is hosted by the president Urho Kekkonen. More about the visit in arena.
Almost 58 years had passed since Finland’s independence before the sitting president of the United States made his first visit to our country.
Before and after
Of course, US presidents have been seen in Finland more often, but the visits have been scheduled to take place either before the actual presidency or after the term of office.
Vice President Joe Biden visited Finland on March 7-8, 2011. He was the president at the time Barack Obamawho did not visit Finland once during his term of office 2009-2017, but immediately afterwards in the fall of 2018 in Helsinki.
Vice President George HW Bush visited Finland on July 1-3, 1983 and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson 6–10 September 1963.
Richard Nixon visited Finland before his presidency in April 1965, Gerald Ford after his term in 1995, as well as Jimmy Carter in 1997.
Bill Clinton has even visited Finland twice since his term, in 2006 in Tampere and in 2019 in Helsinki and Mariehamn in Åland.
There are also former US presidents who have visited Finland Ulysses S. Grant in the summer of 1878 and Herbert Hoover 1938 and 1946.