The governor-general of Finland ( fi, Suomen kenraalikuvernööri; sv, generalguvernör över Finland; russian: генерал-губернатор Финляндии) was the military commander and the highest administrator of Finland sporadically under Swedish rule in the 17th and 18th centuries and continuously in the autonomous

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 1809 and 1917.

Swedish realm

After the final abolition of the Duchy of Finland and related feudal privileges in the late 16th century, the

king of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument ...

sporadically granted most or all of Finland under a specially appointed governor-general, who took care of the matters in the eastern part of the country more or less according to his own best judgement. Best known of these officials is count Per Brahe whose reign is still referred to in Finland as the "count's days" (''kreivin aikaan''), meaning something positive that happens just in time.

List of Swedish governors-general of Finland

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Grand Duchy of Finland

During the time when Finland was a part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, the governor-general's position was permanent. He was viceroy of the emperor, who was not personally present in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

, but resided in St Petersburg, just outside Finnish borders. The governor-general was constitutionally the chairman of the Senate of Finland, the government in the autonomous grand duchy. The chairmanship he represented, with two votes in the Senate, belonged to the grand duke of Finland, a title held by the emperor of Russia. The governor-general was the highest representative of the emperor and received his instructions directly from the imperial government in Saint Petersburg. Finnish citizenship was not required of the governor-general, contrary to all other highest positions such as senators and the minister-secretary of state. Most governors-general were Russians, men whom the emperor trusted as counterparts of potential Finnish separatism. Many of them, up to Baron , however were also made

Finnish subject Citizenship of Finland can be obtained on the basis of birth, marriage of parents, adoption, or the place of birth. In addition, it may be acquired by application or by declaration to authorities. Finnish citizenship acquisition is based prima ...

s, by granting them a

Finnish nobility The Finnish nobility ( fi, Aateli; sv, Adel) was historically a privileged class in Finland, deriving from its period as part of Sweden and the Russian Empire. Noble families and their descendants are still a part of Finnish republican society, bu ...

rank. Many of the governors-general were disliked by the Finnish population. The first man on the post,

Georg Magnus Sprengtporten Count Georg Magnus Sprengtporten (russian: Егор Максимович Шпренгпортен, translit=Egor Maksimovič Šprengporten, ; sv, Göran Magnus Sprengtporten; fi, Yrjö Maunu Sprengtporten, ; 16 December 1740 – 13 October 1819) ...

, resigned after only a year. Another, Nikolai Bobrikov, was assassinated in 1904 by the Finnish nationalist

Eugen Schauman Eugen Waldemar Schauman (russian: Евгений Владимирович Шауман, ''Evgeny Vladimirovich Shauman''); ( – ) was a Swedish speaking Finnish nationalist and nobleman. Schauman assassinated the Imperial Russian Governor-Gene ...

. On the other hand, several governors-general worked in a way that guaranteed the Finnish autonomy in face of the interests of ministers of the imperial court. The governor-general between 1831 and 1855,

Prince Menshikov Prince Aleksander Danilovich Menshikov (russian: Алекса́ндр Дани́лович Ме́ншиков, tr. ; – ) was a Russian statesman, whose official titles included Generalissimo, Prince of the Russian Empire and Duke of Izhora ...

, sojourned his entire term in St Petersburg, being simultaneously the Russian minister of navy. Gubernatorial duties in Helsinki were cared for by the deputy governor-general. For most of the term, in that position was general .

List of Russian governors-general of Finland

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Governor-General Of Finland Political history of Finland Gubernatorial titles Governor-General 1595 establishments in Europe 16th-century establishments in Finland

Swedish realm

List of Swedish governors-general of Finland

Grand Duchy of Finland

List of Russian governors-general of Finland

See also

References