The City Council of Helsinki (, ) is the main decision-making organ in the local politics of Helsinki, Finland. The City Council deals with issues such as city planning, schools, health care, and public transport. The 85-seat Council's members are elected every four years in municipal elections. The seat of the Council is the Helsinki City Hall, which overlooks Market Square in central Helsinki. Historically, the center-right National Coalition Party has been the largest player in Helsinki's local politics, with the center-left Social Democratic Party being the second largest. However, since the 2000 elections, the position of the Social Democrats has been challenged by the Green League, for which Helsinki is the strongest area of support nationally, with the former party becoming the second-largest in only the 2008 elections. As of 2021, the second-largest and third-largest parties in the Council are the Green League and the Social Democrats respectively. The Left Alliance is the Council's fourth-largest party while the Finns are the fifth-largest. The Swedish People's Party is sixth, with the party's support on a steady decline over the years; this can be attributed to the diminishing proportion of Swedish speakers in Helsinki. The agrarian Centre Party, despite being one of the major parties in national politics, has limited support in Helsinki. This is because there are very few farmers in Helsinki. Seat distribution in the Council 1919–1936 1945– Chairmen of the City Council Leo Mechelin (1875–1878) A. W. Liljenstrand (1877) J. A. Estlander (1879–1880) Lorenz Leonard Lindelöf (1881–1882) M. W. af Schultén (1883–1887) J. W. Runeberg (1888–1891) Leo Mechelin (1892–1899) (2nd time) P. K. S. Antell (1900–1903) Alfred Norrmén (1904–1918) Alexander Frey (1919–1920) Arthur Söderholm (1922) Leo Ehrnrooth (1923–1925) Antti Tulenheimo (1926–1928) Ivar Lindfors (1929–1934) Yrjö Harvia (1934–1936) Eero Rydman (1937–1944) Eino Tulenheimo (1945–1950) Konsti Järnefelt (1951) Lauri Aho (1952–1956) Teuvo Aura (1957–1968) Jussi Saukkonen (1969–1972) Pentti Poukka (1973–1979) Gustaf Laurent (1980) Harri Holkeri (1981–1987) Kari Rahkamo (1987–1991) Erkki Heikkonen (1991–1992) Arja Alho (1993–1994) Suvi Rihtniemi (1995–2000) Pekka Sauri (2001–2003) Minerva Krohn (2003–2004) Rakel Hiltunen (2005–2008) Otto Lehtipuu (2009–2011) Minerva Krohn (2011–2012) Mari Puoskari (2013–) Deputy Chairman Väinö Tanner (1929-1930) Johan Helo Pekka Railo Tyyne Leivo-Larsson (1948-1956) B. R. Nybergh (1951-1954) Gunnar Modeen (1954-1964) Yrjö Rantala (1957-1972) Leo Backman (1965-1967) Carl-Gustaf Londen (1967-1974) Keijo Liinamaa (1973-1976) Gustaf Laurent (1974-1980) Per-Erik Förars (1977-1979) Arvo Salo (1979-1980) Grels Teir Jyrki Lohi (1989-1992) Ulla Gyllenberg (1989-1992) Outi Ojala (1993-1994) Erkki Heikkonen (1993-1995)