This article discusses the establishment of Finland’s national suicide prevention strategy in 1987. The focus of the strategy was to address fundamental issues including how to identify people with risk factors, how to reach out to these people, how to recommend treatment, & how to raise awareness among family & friends. A major psychological autopsy study that examined all 1397 suicides in Finland in 1987 is described. The last part of this article discusses the need for research to identify interventions that work in the prevention of suicide.