Video greeting from President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen to mark the International Women's Day Celebration "Suffrage Birthday Bash: 100 Years of Full Political Rights in Finland” at the Embassy of Finland in Washington D.C. 8 March 2007

It is a pleasure to join you tonight from Helsinki by the means of a video. We mark together one of the great victories of universal suffrage.

The beginning of the twentieth century was a time of change, both in Finland, and in the United States. Countless women in both countries planned, organized, lectured, published, marched, lobbied, and broke new ground in every field. They achieved revolutionary results - without violence. Our world was changed – and to a better one.

One hundred years ago Finnish women were the first women in the world to gain full political rights. The women in New Zealand had been already given the right to vote a few years before. Then the Finnish women got the right to vote and also the right to present themselves as candidates for political office.

The political reform in our very poor country was an exceptionally radical one even by international standards. That decision was extremely important both for the democracy and for the whole development of our country. The women of Finland were involved from the beginning in building the welfare society, which every Finn enjoys today. Gender equality is still important to us, and it plays also a remarkable role in Finland’s international competitiveness.

In ten days, we will hold next parliamentary elections in Finland. The date will mark almost exactly one hundred years since the first election was held, where all Finns over the age of 24 were entitled to vote and to stand for office. In the first parliamentary election, already 19 women were elected to the 200 available seats. The current parliament, whose term is now coming to an end, has 75 women members.

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Women are a majority in the world, not a minority. Women’s rights, prevention of violence against women, gender equality and promotion of education are essential for progress in human rights and development. Poverty, all too often, has the face of a woman. Therefore, improving the status of women globally will help reduce poverty. By promoting women’s rights, we pave the way towards a fairer and more sustainable world.

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Women and men in our generation, and the ones that will follow us, are living the legacy of women's rights. We – both the women and men - can be proud to be part of it. Today we have the Centenary of Full Political Rights in Finland to celebrate - and a great deal more.

I thank you for joining in this celebration and I wish you all an inspiring evening.