The Senate of 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 In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

from 1816 to 1917 and in independent

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

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

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", 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 in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

summoned the

Diet of Porvoo The Diet of Porvoo (, or unhistorically ; ; ), was the summoned legislative assembly to establish the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809 and the heir of the powers of the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates. The session of the Diet lasted from March to ...

and directed the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

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 governor-general of Finland was the military commander and the highest administrator of Finland sporadically Finland under Swedish rule, under Swedish rule in the 17th and 18th centuries and continuously in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finl ...

. 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 (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

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

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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 policies.J ...

in 1918 the Senate was relocated to the town of

Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),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 In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and the

Supreme Administrative Court A supreme administrative court is the highest court in a country with jurisdiction over lower administrative courts and the administrative decisions of the authorities, but not the legislative decisions (laws) made by the government (which are unde ...

of the independent Finland. The vice chairman of the economic division became the

Prime Minister of Finland The prime minister of Finland (; ) is the leader of the Finnish Government. The prime minister and his or her cabinet exercise executive authority in the state. The prime minister is formally ranked third in the protocol after the president ...

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

Vice Chairman of the Economic Division (1822–1917)

Carl Erik Mannerheim Count Carl Erik Mannerheim (14 December 1759 – 15 January 1837) was a Swedish–Finnish soldier, statesman and member of the Senate of Finland as its first Vice Chairman of the Economic Division, an office corresponding to that of the ...

, (1822–1826) * (acting), (1826–1828) *

Anders Henrik Falck Anders Henrik Falck (25 November 1772 – 30 November 1851) was a Finnish politician. Falck was born in Kerimäki. He was a Vice-Chairman the economic division of the Senate of Finland The Senate of Finland (; ) combined the functions of Ca ...

, (1828–1833) *, (1833–1841) *

Lars Gabriel von Haartman Lars Gabriel von Haartman (23 September 1789 Turku - 16 December 1859 Merimasku) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish politician. Along with Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt, he was one of the most prominent politicians who were in favour of developing ...

, (1841–1858) *

Johan Mauritz Nordenstam Baron Johan Mauritz Nordenstam (21 September 1802 – 8 June 1882) was a Finnish general who served as Senate of Finland#Vice Chairman of the Economic Division (1822–1917), Vice Chairman of the Economic Division of the Senate of Finland, an off ...

, (1858–1882) *, (1882–1885) *, (1885–1891) *, (1891–1900) *, (1900–1905) *, (1905) *

Leopold Henrik Stanislaus Mechelin Leopold Henrik Stanislaus Mechelin (24 November 1839 – 26 January 1914), known as Leo Mechelin, was a Finnish politician, professor, liberal reformer and businessman. A leading defender of the autonomy of the Grand Duchy of Finland, and of ...

, (1905–1908) *

Edvard Immanuel Hjelt Edvard Immanuel Hjelt (28 June 1855 – 2 July 1921) was a Finnish chemist, politician and a member of the Senate of Finland. Hjelt studied chemistry in Finland and in Germany and became rector of the University of Helsinki in 1899. He oppos ...

, (1908–1909) *

August Johannes Hjelt August Hjelt (29 June 1862 in Tuusula – 12 July 1919 in Helsinki) was a Finnish politician. He was a member of the Senate of Finland. He belonged to the conservative Finnish Party. He was a member of the Diet of Finland in 1897 and from ...

, (1909) *

Anders Wirenius Anders Wirenius (29 April 1850 – 29 August 1919) was a Finland, Finnish politician. Born in Saint Petersburg, he was twice vice-chairman of the Home Office of the Senate of Finland in 1909 and in 1917, and was acting chairman of the Senate f ...

, (1909) *

Vladimir Ivanovich Markov Vladimir Ivanovitch Markoff ''(Markov)'' (26 July 1859 Hamina – August 1919 Saint Petersburg) was a Finnish Lieutenant General who was also the vice-chairman of the economic division ( Prime minister) of the Senate of Finland from 1909 to 1913 ...

, (1909–1913) *

Mikhail Borovitinov Mikhail Borovitinov (, 2 August 1874 in Saint Petersburg, Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, a ...

, (1913–1917) *

(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 Form ...

(1917) *

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

Young Finnish Party The Young Finnish Party or Constitutional-Fennoman Party ( 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 political party in 1894. ...

(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 Grand Duchy of Finland, which was at that time an autonomous s ...

, Young Finnish Party (1917–1918) *

Juho Kusti Paasikivi Juho Kusti Paasikivi (, 27 November 1870 – 14 December 1956) was a Finnish politician who served as the seventh president of Finland from 1946 to 1956. Representing the Finnish Party until its dissolution in 1918 and then the National Coaliti ...

Finnish Party The Finnish Party () was a Fennoman conservative political party in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland and independent Finland. Born out of Finland's language strife in the 1860s, the party sought to improve the position of the Finnish langu ...

(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