The Grand Duke of Finland, alternatively the Grand Prince of Finland after 1802, was, from around 1580 to 1809, a title in use by most

Swedish monarchs This list records the Monarchy of Sweden, monarchs of Sweden, from the late Viking Age to the present day. Sweden has continuously been a monarchy since the country's consolidation in the Viking Age and early Middle Ages, for over a thousand year ...

. Between 1809 and 1917, it was included in the title of the

emperor of Russia The emperor and autocrat of all Russia (, ), also translated as emperor and autocrat of all the Russias, was the official title of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarch from 1721 to 1917. The title originated in connection with Russia's ...

, who was also the ruler of 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 ...

Swedish rule

Around 1580, King Johan III of Sweden, who had previously (1556–63) been the duke of Finland (a

royal duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...

), assumed the subsidiary title ''

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...

of Finland'' (, to the titles of the king of Sweden, first appearing in sources in 1581 (though first used by Johan III in 1577).Nordisk Familjebok
In those years, Johan was and had been in a quarrel with his eastern neighbour, Tsar

Ivan IV of Russia Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584. ...

("the Terrible"), who had a long list of subsidiary titles as the grand duke of several ancient Russian principalities and provinces. The use of the title of grand duke on Johan's behalf was a countermeasure to signify his mighty position as sovereign of Sweden, also a multinational or multi-country realm, and equal to a

tsardom 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 Europ ...

. Not only was Finland added, but

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

, Ingria, and Livonia, all of which were along the Swedish–Russian border. It is said that the first use of the new title was in an occasion to contact Tsar Ivan. During the next 140 years, the title was used by Johan's successors on the Swedish throne, with the exception of Charles IX, who listed Finns as one of the many nations over which he was the king during 1607–1611. Titles of European hereditary rulers, here Sweden
As the title had only subsidiary nature without any concrete meaning, it was mainly used at formal occasions along with a long list of additional royal titles. The last Swedish monarch to use the title was Queen Ulrika Eleonora, who abdicated in 1720. In 1802, King Gustav IV Adolf gave the title to his new-born son, Prince Carl Gustaf, who died three years later.

Russian rule

Coats of arms of the Grand Duchy of Finland

During the

Finnish War The Finnish War (; ; ) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established a ...

between Sweden and Russia, the four estates of occupied Finland were assembled at the Diet of Porvoo on 29 March 1809 to pledge allegiance to Emperor

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 ...

, who had already earlier during the war adopted the title of grand duke (also translated as grand prince) of Finland to his long list of titles. Following the Swedish defeat in the war and the signing of the

Treaty of Fredrikshamn The Treaty of Fredrikshamn, or the Treaty of Hamina, was a peace treaty concluded between Sweden and Imperial Russia on 17 September 1809. The treaty concluded the Finnish War and was signed in the Finnish town of Fredrikshamn ( Hamina). Russia ...

on 17 September 1809, Finland became in some aspects an autonomous grand duchy, as in an informal

real union Real union is a union of two or more states, which share some state institutions in contrast to personal unions; however, they are not as unified as states in a political union. It is a development from personal union and has historically been ...

with the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. The grand duke ruled Finland through his

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

and a national senate appointed by him. Although no grand duke ever explicitly recognised Finland as a separate state in its own right, the country nevertheless enjoyed a high degree of autonomy even before its independence in 1917.

List of grand dukes

Since independence

Finland was declared an independent

nation state A nation state, or nation-state, is a political entity in which the State (polity), state (a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory) and the nation (a community based on a common identity) are (broadly ...

on 6 December 1917. After 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, there was a brief attempt to make Finland a kingdom from 9 October to 14 December 1918. In 1919, Finland was declared a republic. Since then, all titles of monarchs are obsolete in the country.

Notes

References