2017 Senate Joint Resolution 85
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: recognizing Finnish Independence Centennial Day.
Whereas, Finland is celebrating 100 years of independence on December 6, 2017, and this is an exciting time for that country as well as its friends across the world; and
Whereas, the Republic of Finland won its complete independence from the Russian Republic in 1917, and today Finland and her 5.5 million citizens enjoy a highly industrialized, largely free-market economy based on manufacturing and exports, with an output similar to that of other European Union countries; and
Whereas, Finns played an important role in the early development of Wisconsin through immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and through their influence on the mining, farming, and logging industries and their more lasting cultural contributions; and
Whereas, Finnish immigrants settled mainly in northern Wisconsin due to the abundance of land and opportunities there, but had settlements from Redgranite to Marinette to Oulu, and developed farms and centralized Finnish communities; and
Whereas, the Prime Minister of Finland, Juha Sipilä, spearheaded the “Finland 100 Years” organization, which will oversee celebratory events across the world, with the theme of the Finland 100 movement being “Together”; and
Whereas, the State of Wisconsin and the Republic of Finland enjoy a strong relationship and a similar cultural identity, and the best way to celebrate Finland's 100 years of independence is to come together as friends across the world and realize how important an independent nation is; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the
senate, the assembly concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin Legislature hereby recognize December 6, 2017, as the Finnish Independence Centennial Day.
