Leopold (Leo) Henrik Stanislaus Mechelin (24 November 1839 in

Hamina Hamina (; sv, Fredrikshamn, , Sweden ) is a List of cities in Finland, town and a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately east of the country's capital Helsinki, in the Kymenlaakso Regions of Finland, reg ...

, Finland – 26 January 1914 in Helsinki, Finland) was a Finnish politician, professor, liberal reformer and businessman. A leading defender of the

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

of the Grand Duchy of Finland, and of the rights of women and minorities, Mechelin's 1905–1908 government ("Mechelin's Senate") made Finland the first nation in the world with the universal right to vote and to be elected. During his period in office the freedom of expression, the press, and of assembly were introduced.

Career

He also founded the Liberal Party of Finland (1880–1885), wrote its program, was one of the founders of the Union Bank of Finland 1862 (now part of Nordea Bank) and co-founded the Nokia Company (1871) with Fredrik Idestam, was the first chairman of the town council of Helsinki (1875–1876 and 1892–1899) and an internationally respected expert on politology and member of peace movement. Emperor Alexander II ennobled Mechelin 1876. Mechelin led the passive resistance in Finland during the first period of oppression (1899–1905) until and even after his banishment (1903), from which officials had to let him return as a member of parliament (House of Nobles) 1904, welcomed by a celebrating crowd of 10,000 people. In a secret meeting of the

Kagaali In the history of Finland, the Kagal was a resistance movement that existed before the 1905 Russian Revolution and founded under the period of Russian oppression, in resistance to the oppressive government of Governor-General Nikolai Bobrikov whi ...

, Mechelin had written a petition against the draft of Finns to the Russian army, which collected almost 500,000 signatures. His coalition, the Constitutionals, managed to end the draft through boycott.

Biography

Born in

in 1839, the son of Gustaf Johan Mechelin and Amanda Gustava Costiander, Leo Mechelin studied at the University of Helsinki, gaining his

bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

and master's degrees in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

in 1860, a bachelor's degree in law in 1864, and a

license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

and doctorate in 1873. As professor of jurisdiction and politology 1874–82, Mechelin had argued that the tsars were bound by the old constitutional laws from the time of the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

rule of Finland (before 1809), and hence affirmed that Finland was a separate, constitutional state, which the tsar could only rule by law, whereas in Russia he had absolute power. During the periods of oppression, the tsar tried to impose unconstitutional laws, which Mechelin opposed. The unrests in Russia and Finland (1905) finally compelled the tsar to comply with the

November Manifesto November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modif ...

written by Mechelin. This allowed Mechelin to form a government (1905–1908) and to transform Finland into what was in many respects the first liberal democracy (e.g., in New Zealand women already had the right to vote but not to be voted; in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

only white people had those rights) in 1906. In 1907, the first universal elections to the one-chamber parliament ("eduskunta") were held, and 19 of its 200 first members were women. However, the constitutionals of all parties did not obtain the majority of seats, and the tsar realised that he could carry on with the oppression, starting the second period of oppression (1908–1917). After Mechelin's death (in 1914), the two revolutions in Russia allowed Finland to declare its independence (1917) and Mechelin's younger co-workers were able to complete his work. Nokia, once a world-leading mobile phone corporation, was founded by Mechelin and his student days' roommate Fredrik Idestam as a forestry company. Later Mechelin's wish to expand into the electricity business was at first thwarted by Idestam's opposition, but Mechelin managed to convince most shareholders of his plans and became the company chairman (1898–1914), thus being able to realise his visions. Mechelin was also active in civil society and President of the current University of Art and Design Helsinki and of the

Finnish Art Society The Academy of Fine Arts ( fi, Kuvataideakatemia; sv, Bildkonstakademin) in Helsinki, Finland is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and provides the highest university-level theoretical and practical training in the country in fine arts ...

. As a politician he was always highly respected among all parties and citizens, although after the dissolution of the Liberal Party (1885) he never joined any other party. Mechelin demanded peaceful

nonviolent resistance Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, cons ...

and did not bend even during hard times. Leo Mechelin has received several accolades and honorary dedications following the Russian revolutions and the

Finnish Declaration of Independence The Finnish Declaration of Independence ( fi, Suomen itsenäisyysjulistus; sv, Finlands självständighetsförklaring; russian: Провозглашение независимости Финляндии) was adopted by the Parliament of Finl ...

, including several streets named after him such as Mechelininkatu in Helsinki and Mechelinintie in Hamina. Finnish sculptor

Walter Runeberg Walter Magnus Runeberg (29 December 1838 – 23 December 1920) was a Finnish neo-classical sculptor. He was the son of Finnish national epic poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg. Biography Runeberg was born in Porvoo as the eldest son of J. L. Runeberg ...

made a sculpture of Mechelin's bust for his 70th birthday. Today the statue sits on the steps to the

House of the Estates The House of the Estates ( fi, Säätytalo, links=no, sv, Ständerhuset, links=no) is a historical building in Helsinki, Finland. It is located opposite of the Bank of Finland building, immediately northeast of Helsinki Cathedral. Description ...

, which is a major governmental building in central Helsinki. One of his siblings was the opera singer Emilie Mechelin.

References

Eduskunta - edustajamatrikkeli
;Specific

Career

Biography

References

Further reading