Count Robert Henrik Rehbinder (15 July 1777 – 8 March 1841) served as the Secretary of State for the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecess ...

between 1811 and 1841. One of the highest officials in the Grand Duchy, he played a significant part in establishing the autonomous role of Finland at the

Diet of Porvoo The Diet of Porvoo ( fi, Porvoon maapäivät, or unhistorically ; sv, Borgå lantdag; russian: Боргоский сейм), was the summoned legislative assembly to establish the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809 and the heir of the powers of the ...

in 1809.

Biography

Born in

Paimio Paimio (; sv, Pemar) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The pop ...

, Rehbinder was given the title count in 1826, and in 1834 he was given the title

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

. He was also awarded with the second highest

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

honor and given an honorary doctorship in philosophy at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

in 1840, at the 200 year jubilee of the University (originally

Royal Academy of Turku The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo ( sv, Kungliga Akademin i Åbo or ; la, Regia Academia Aboensis; fi, Turun akatemia) was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country ...

). He also owned the ''Viksberg castle'' in Paimio. He died in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Three streets in Helsinki have been named after him: ''Stora Robertsgatan'' ('' Iso Roobertinkatu'') in

Punavuori Punavuori ( sv, Rödbergen) is a neighbourhood in the center of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The name Punavuori (English: Red mountain) refers to red cliffs located between Sepänkatu and Punavuorenkatu. They were still visible in the 19th ce ...

, ''Lilla Robertsgatan'' (''Pieni Roobertinkatu'') in Kaartinkaupunki and ''Rehbindersvägen'' (''Rehbinderintie'') in

Eira Eira is a neighborhood in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. History The district dates back to the early 20th century and received its name after Eira Hospital in the neighboring district of Ullanlinna, which in turn took its name from Eira ...

. Furthermore, the current southern part of the ''

Mannerheimintie Mannerheimintie ( sv, Mannerheimvägen), named after the Finnish military leader and statesman Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, is the main street and boulevard of Helsinki, Finland. It was originally named Heikinkatu ( sv, Henriksgatan), after Rob ...

'' street was until 1942 named after him (''Heikinkatu'' or ''Henriksgatan'' in Swedish). He was portrayed on a stamp in Finland in 1936.

References

External links

Rehbinder, Robert Henrik
in ''Biografiskt lexikon för Finland''. * ''Helsingin Sanomat'', 18 December 2005.
Ylioppilasmatrikkeli
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rehbinder, Robert Henrik 1777 births 1841 deaths 19th-century Finnish nobility People from Paimio Robert Henrik Finnish people of Baltic German descent