August Julius Sundblom (22 June 1865 – 23 August 1945) was an editor and politician in
Åland
Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...
,
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 B ...
.
Sundblom was born in
Jomala, Åland. He founded ''
Tidningen Åland'' in 1891, and was its editor-in-chief during 1891–1896 and 1921–1945. He was also editor-in-chief of ''
Västra Nyland
''Västra Nyland'' is a regional Swedish-language newspaper in Finland. The name of the newspaper translates into "The western part of the Nyland region (of Finland)", this region also being the area where the newspaper is circulated. The newspap ...
'' from 1895 until 1900, during which time he lived in
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
. He was a member of the
Parliament of Finland
The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...
from 1907 to 1919, representing the
Swedish People's Party of Finland
The Swedish People's Party of Finland ( sv, Svenska folkpartiet i Finland (SFP); fi, Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue (RKP)) is a political party in Finland aiming to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finland ...
(SFP).
Following
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 B ...
's
declaration of independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...
in 1917, Sundblom became one of the leading figures of the
Åland movement. The movement's goal of returning Åland to Sweden resulted in the
Åland Crisis
Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populati ...
. Before the resolution of the crisis, Sundblom, along with
Carl Björkman, was arrested by Finnish police and spent a few days in prison, accused of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
. On 2 September 1920, he was given a prison sentence of a year and a half, but he was pardoned by President
Ståhlberg in October 1920.
In 1922, Sundblom became the first
Speaker of the Landstinget
Landstinget was the upper house of the Rigsdag (the parliament of Denmark), from 1849 until 1953, when the bicameral system was abolished in favour of unicameralism. Landstinget had powers equal to the Folketing, which made the two houses of parl ...
(later called ), which had been instituted in accordance with the Finnish Autonomy Act of 1920 as part of the solution to the Åland Crisis.
References
External links
Julius Sundblom biography
1865 births
1945 deaths
People from Jomala
People from Turku and Pori Province (Grand Duchy of Finland)
Swedish-speaking Finns
Swedish People's Party of Finland politicians
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1907–08)
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1908–09)
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1909–10)
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1910–11)
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1911–13)
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1913–16)
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1916–17)
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1917–19)
Speakers of the Parliament of Åland
Members of the Parliament of Åland
Politicians from Åland
Prisoners and detainees of Finland
Recipients of Finnish presidential pardons
{{Åland-bio-stub