Senate of Finland
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The Senate of Finland (Template:Langx; Template:Langx) combined the functions of cabinet and supreme court in the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1816 to 1917 and in independent Finland from 1917 to 1918.<ref name="eskoff">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="valtioneuvosto">Template:Cite web</ref>
The body that would become the Senate was established on August 18, 1809, when Tsar Alexander I of Russia summoned the Diet of Porvoo and directed the Diet to draw up regulations for a Government Council.<ref name="Page 162">Jutikkala, Eino and Pirinen, Kauko. A History of Finland. Dorset Press, 1988 p. 162. Template:ISBN </ref><ref>Titus Hjelm & George Maude: Historical Dictionary of Finland, p. 296.</ref> In 1816, Alexander renamed this body the Senate to demonstrate that it was equal to rather than inferior to its Russian equivalent.<ref>Jutikkala, Eino and Pirinen, Kauko. A History of Finland. Dorset Press, 1988 p. 163. Template:ISBN </ref>
The highest authority of the state administration of the Grand Duchy of Finland was the Grand Duke of Finland, that is, the Emperor of Russia. The Grand Duke of Finland was an autocrat. The Governor-General of Finland acted as the representative of the Grand Duke of Finland in Finland.<ref name=":0">Jussila, Osmo. "Kenraalikuvernööri, ministerivaltiosihteeri ja senaatti." In Suomen keskushallinnon historia 1809–1996, edited by Raimo Savolainen et al. Helsinki: Hallintohistoriakomitea, 1996.</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref>
The Senate of Finland was composed of the Economic and Judicial Departments. Each department had vice chairmen and members, who were called senators. The members of the Senate were called senators starting from 1858. The members of the Finnish Senate were required to be Finnish citizens.<ref name=":0" />
The vice chairman of the Economic Department effectively served as the Prime Minister of Finland. The office of Vice Chairman was created in 1822. The first Vice Chairman was baron Carl Erik Mannerheim.<ref name=":0" />
The Governor-General, the Tsar’s representative in Finland, had the right to act as chairman of both departments, although this was rarely exercised. In practice, the departments were led by their vice chairmen. The role of the Governor-General was to supervise the general activities of the Finnish Senate. The Senate of Finland was responsible solely to the Grand Duke of Finland.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Page 162" />
In the Senate of Finland there also served a Procurator.<ref name=":0" />
The Committee for Finnish Affairs, founded in 1811, and led by count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt, operated in Saint Petersburg. In the early years of the Grand Duchy of Finland, the Committee for Finnish Affairs held more influence than the Senate, because Armfelt handled Finnish matters directly with Alexander I. After the death of the influential Armfelt, the committee lost its power. It was abolished by decision of Nicholas I in 1826 but reinstated during the reign of Alexander II in 1857. Alexander III abolished the committee in 1891.<ref name=":1" />
In Saint Petersburg there also served the Secretary of State of Finland, who acted between the Finnish Senate and the Russian administration. The title of Secretary of State was later changed to Minister-Secretary of State for Finland. The Minister-Secretary of State presented Finnish affairs to the Russian Council of Ministers and to the Tsar. In practice, the Minister-Secretary of State stood below the Emperor, but above the Governor-General and the Finnish Senate.<ref name=":0" />
The Finnish Senate had the right to overrule the decisions of the Diet of Estates. The Parliament of Finland was established in 1907, but it was not the highest decision-making body, as the Finnish Senate retained its position. The Grand Duke of Finland still held the right to approve or reject proposals.<ref name=":0" />
The Finnish Senate functioned as an advisory body, which required the ruler’s decision on the most important issues. On smaller matters, the Senate was allowed to act at its own discretion.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
The Grand Duke of Finland appointed the vice chairmen of the Finnish Senate, the Procurator, the senators, the members of the Committee for Finnish Affairs, the Governor-General, and the Minister-Secretary of State.<ref name=":0" />
After the February Revolution in Russia the Vice Chairman of the Economic Division became the Chairman of the Senate. Due to the Civil War in 1918 the Senate was relocated to the town of Vaasa from January 29 to May 3.
In 1918 the economic division became the Cabinet and the judicial division became the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court of the independent Finland. The vice chairman of the economic division became the Prime Minister of Finland, and the other senators became ministers. Finland became a republic in 1919.
Vice Chairman of the Economic Division (1822–1917)
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- Carl Erik Mannerheim, (1822–1826)
- Template:Ill (acting), (1826–1828)
- Anders Henrik Falck, (1828–1833)
- Template:Ill, (1833–1841)
- Lars Gabriel von Haartman, (1841–1858)
- Johan Mauritz Nordenstam, (1858–1882)
- Template:Ill, (1882–1885)
- Template:Ill, (1885–1891)
- Template:Ill, (1891–1900)
- Template:Ill, (1900–1905)
- Template:Ill, (1905)
- Leopold Henrik Stanislaus Mechelin, (1905–1908)
- Edvard Immanuel Hjelt, (1908–1909)
- August Johannes Hjelt, (1909)
- Anders Wirenius, (1909)
- Vladimir Ivanovich Markov, (1909–1913)
- Mikhail Borovitinov, (1913–1917)
- Anders Wirenius (acting), (1917)
Chairmen of the Senate (1917–1918)
- Antti Oskari Tokoi, Social Democratic Party (1917)
- Eemil Nestor Setälä, Young Finnish Party (1917)
- Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, Young Finnish Party (1917–1918)
- Juho Kusti Paasikivi, Finnish Party (1918)