(1940) Finland forced to concede to Soviet Union; Treaty of Moscow gave 10% of Finnish territory to Soviet Union
(1941) Germany attacked Soviet Union; Finland launched military campaign to regain territory from Soviet Union; Britain declared war on Finland
(1941 - 1944) "Continuation War" with Russia
(1944) Red Army (Soviets) invaded; armistice signed; Finland conceded more land to Soviet Union; paid hundreds of millions of dollars in war reparations
(1945) Finland fought against Germany in Lapland
(1947) Peace treaty signed between Soviet Union and Finland
(1948) Finland and Soviet Union signed Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance
(1952) Olympic Games held in Helsinki
(1955) Finland joined United Nations and Nordic Council
(1956) Soviet Union returned Porkkala Naval Base to Finland
(1956 - 1981) Urho Kekkonen serves as President
(1958) "Night frost crisis" - Soviet Union intervened in composition of Finnish government
(1961) Finland became associate member of European Free Trade Association (EFTA); Soviet Union intervened in Finnish presidential election - "the note crisis"
(1970) Finland adopted 40-hour work week
(1973) Finland signed free-trade agreement with European Economic Community (EEC)
(1975) Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe took place in Helsinki, representatives from 35 countries attended
(1989) Finland became member of Council of Europe
(1991) Soviet Union broke up; Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance lapsed
(1991 - 1993) Former Soviet Union and eastern European markets collapsed; Finnish economy suffered deep recession
(1992) Finland applied for membership in the European Union (EU) community
(1994) Finland became member of NATO Partnership for Peace Program; voters approved membership of European Union
(1995) Finland became member of European Union
(1999) Social Democratic Party returned to power by voters; EU summit held in Helsinki, expanded to 28 members
2000's
(2000) Tarja Halonen elected Finland's first female president; new Constitution went into effect
(2002) Blast in Myyrmanni shopping mall killed seven, 80 injured; Finland changed currency to Euro; Parliament approved construction of fifth nuclear reactor; Green Party withdrew from government coalition in protest
(2003) Center-left government formed by three political parties;(April) Anneli Jaatteenmake became first female prime minister; (June) Prime Minister Jaatteenmake resigned due to accusations about leaks of information during campaign
(2004) Icy road conditions in southern Finland caused bus/truck accident, killed 24, injured 15; two Finnish businessmen shot and killed in Baghdad
(2005) Nation-wide paper industry strike due to holiday pay and work conditions
(2006) Parliament voted in favor of EU constitution
(2007) Center Party won parliamentary elections
(2007) School shooting in southern Finland killed eight
(2011) True Finn party gained significant seats in parliament
