MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Finland: President and 60% of cabinet ministers, women

A century after becoming the first country in the world to grant women full voting rights, Finland on Thursday marked another milestone by appointing the world's most female-dominated cabinet.

The new centre-right coalition government is headed by a man, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, but 12 of the 20 ministers are women â€" 60% â€" a world record according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union. "The majority of the cabinet members are women. It's a first in the history of our country," President Tarja Halonen â€" also a woman â€" said as she formally appointed the new administration. While women will dominate numerically they will not head up the most prestigious or influential portfolios, with the ministries of finance, foreign affairs and defence all going to men. Women will be in charge of the portfolios of agriculture, transport, health, environment, interior, education, justice, labour, European affairs and immigration, municipal affairs, social services and telecommunications. Following the country's March 18 legislative elections, Finland also now places among the top three countries when it comes to female representation in parliament. With 84 women among the 200 MPs, or 42%, Finland places third behind Rwanda with 48.8% and Sweden with 47.3%. Finland has since 2000 had a female president, Tarja Halonen, who was re-elected to a second six-year term in 2006. And in 2003 the country elected then-Centre Party leader Anneli Jaeaetteenmaeki as prime minister. While Jaeaettenmaeki was forced to resign over an election scandal after just 73 days in office, the country had two women at the top two political posts for a brief period. Finland's success at encouraging women in political life dates back to the early days of Finnish democracy. In 1906, when the country was still under Russian administration, Finnish women were given the right to vote and stand for political office