The Senate of Finland ( fi, Suomen senaatti, sv, Senaten för Finland) combined the functions of

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

and

supreme court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1816 to 1917 and in the independent

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

from 1917 to 1918. The body that would become the Senate was established on August 18, 1809, when

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son o ...

summoned the Diet of Porvoo and directed the Diet to draw up regulations for a Government Council.Jutikkala, Eino and Pirinen, Kauko. ''A History of Finland''. Dorset Press, 1988 p. 162. In 1816, Alexander renamed this body the ''Senate'' to demonstrate that it was equal to rather than inferior to its Russian equivalent.Jutikkala, Eino and Pirinen, Kauko. ''A History of Finland''. Dorset Press, 1988 p. 163. The Senate was headed by the Governor-General of Finland. The members of the Senate had to be Finnish citizens. The Senate was divided into the economic division and the judicial division. In 1822 both divisions were given a Finnish vice-chairman. From 1858 and onwards the members of the senate were formally known as ''senators.'' After the

February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and some ...

in Russia the Vice Chairman of the Economic Division became the Chairman of the Senate. Due to the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

in 1918 the Senate was relocated to the town of

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

from January 29 to May 3. In 1918 the economic division became the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

and the judicial division became the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and the Supreme Administrative Court of the independent Finland. The vice chairman of the economic division became the

Prime Minister of Finland The prime minister of Finland ( fi, Suomen pääministeri; ) is the leader of the Finnish Government. The prime minister and their cabinet exercise executive authority in the state. The prime minister is formally ranked third in the protocol ...

, and the other senators became ministers. Finland became a republic in 1919.

Vice Chairman of the Economic Division (1822–1917)

* Carl Erik Mannerheim, (1822–1826) * (acting), (1826–1828) * Anders Henrik Falck, (1828–1833) *, (1833–1841) * Lars Gabriel von Haartman, (1841–1858) *, (1858–1882) *, (1882–1885) *, (1885–1891) *, (1891–1900) *, (1900–1905) *, (1905) * Leopold Henrik Stanislaus Mechelin, (1905–1908) * Edvard Immanuel Hjelt, (1908–1909) * August Johannes Hjelt, (1909) * Anders Wirenius, (1909) * Vladimir Ivanovich Markov, (1909–1913) * Mikhail Borovitinov, (1913–1917) * Anders Wirenius (acting), (1917)

Chairmen of the Senate (1917–1918)

* Antti Oskari Tokoi,

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(1917) *

Eemil Nestor Setälä Eemil Nestor Setälä (; 27 February 1864 – 8 February 1935) was a Finnish politician and once the Chairman of the Senate of Finland, from September 1917 to November 1917, when he was author of the Finnish Declaration of Independence. Set ...

Young Finnish Party The Young Finnish Party or Constitutional-Fennoman Party ( fi, Nuorsuomalainen Puolue or ) was a liberal and nationalist political party in the Grand Duchy of Finland. It began as an upper-class reformist movement during the 1870s and formed as a ...

(1917) *

Pehr Evind Svinhufvud Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad (; 15 December 1861 – 29 February 1944) was the third president of Finland from 1931 to 1937. Serving as a lawyer, judge, and politician in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, he played a major role in the ...

, Young Finnish Party (1917–1918) * Juho Kusti Paasikivi, Finnish Party (1918)

References

{{Reflist Political history of Finland 1816 establishments in Finland Grand Duchy of Finland ' 1918 disestablishments in Finland ru:Сенат Финляндии#Императорский финляндский сенат

Vice Chairman of the Economic Division (1822–1917)

Chairmen of the Senate (1917–1918)

See also

References