Grand Duke of Finland

The Grand Duke of Finland,^[a] alternatively the Grand Prince of Finland, was a title used by most Swedish monarchs from 1580 to 1720. The title was first adopted by King Johan III of Sweden, who had been the duke of Finland in 1556–1563. It was briefly revived in 1802–1805 for Prince Carl Gustav, who died in childhood.

In 1809, after Finland was ceded to Russia, it became an autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. Between 1809 and 1917, the emperor of Russia held the title Grand Duke of Finland as the ruler of the grand duchy.

Swedish rule

Around 1580, King Johan III of Sweden, who had previously (1556–63) been the duke of Finland (a royal duke), assumed the subsidiary title Grand Duke of Finland (Swedish: Storfurste, Finnish: Suomen suuriruhtinas) to the titles of the king of Sweden, first appearing in sources in 1581 (though first used by Johan III in 1577).^[1] In those years, Johan was and had been in a quarrel with his eastern neighbour, Tsar Ivan IV of Russia ("the Terrible"), who had a long list of subsidiary titles as the grand duke of several ancient Russian principalities and provinces. The use of the title of grand duke on Johan's behalf was a countermeasure to signify his mighty position as sovereign of Sweden, also a multinational or multi-country realm, and equal to a tsardom. Not only was Finland added, but Karelia, Ingria, and Livonia, all of which were along the Swedish–Russian border. It is said that the first use of the new title was in an occasion to contact Tsar Ivan.

During the next 140 years, the title was used by Johan's successors on the Swedish throne, with the exception of Charles IX,^[2] who listed Finns as one of the many nations over which he was the king during 1607–1611. As the title had only subsidiary nature without any concrete meaning, it was mainly used at formal occasions along with a long list of additional royal titles. The last Swedish monarch to use the title was Queen Ulrika Eleonora, who abdicated in 1720.^[3] In 1802, King Gustav IV Adolf gave the title to his new-born son, Prince Carl Gustaf, who died three years later.^[1]

Russian rule

Coat of arms of the Grand Duke of Finland in the Russian Empire.

During the Finnish War between Sweden and Russia, the four estates of occupied Finland were assembled at the Diet of Porvoo on 29 March 1809. There they pledged allegiance to Emperor Alexander I of Russia, who had already earlier in the war added Grand Duke of Finland to his long imperial title. Following the Sweden's defeat and the signing of the Treaty of Fredrikshamn on 17 September 1809, Finland was formally ceded to Russia. The territory became the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland under the Russian emperor, who personally held the grand ducal title.^[4]

From mid-19th century onwards, Finnish officials increasingly interpreted this arrangement as a personal union between two separate states, Russia and Finland, linked only by a common monarch. They considered the grand duke to be a constitutional monarch bound by the Swedish constitutional laws of 1772 and 1789, which they understood to remain in force in Finland. Russian officials and legal scholars generally rejected this view, regarding the emperor as an autocrat over the entire Empire, not constrained by such laws.^[5]

In practice, the emperor ruled Finland through his governor-general and the Finnish senate, both appointed by him.^[6] Although no emperor ever explicitly recognised Finland as a separate state in its own right, the country nevertheless enjoyed a high degree of autonomy,^[7] maintaining its own laws, currency, and substantial self-administration until its independence in 1917.

List of grand dukes

Grand Duke (Birth–Death)		Reign
	Alexander I (1777–1825)	1809–1825
	Nicholas I (1796–1855)	1825–1855
	Alexander II (1818–1881)	1855–1881
	Alexander III (1845–1894)	1881–1894
	Nicholas II (1868–1918)	1894–1917

Since independence

Finland was declared an independent nation state on 6 December 1917. After the Civil War in 1918, there was a brief attempt to make Finland a kingdom from 9 October to 14 December 1918.

In 1919, Finland adopted a republican constitution. Since then, all titles of monarchs are obsolete in the country.

See also

• Anjala conspiracy
• Dukes of Swedish Provinces
• Finnish Declaration of Independence
• Governor-General of Finland
• History of Finland
• List of Finnish monarchs
• Monarchy of Finland

Notes

1. Finnish: Suomen suuriruhtinas, Swedish: Storfurste av Finland, Russian: Великий князь Финляндский, romanized: Velikiy knyaz' Finlyandskiy, IPA: [vʲɪˈlʲikɪj knʲæsʲ fʲɪnˈlʲan(t)skʲɪj]