Governor-General of Finland

The governor-general of Finland^[a] 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 between 1809 and 1917.

Governor-General of Finland
Nikolai Vissarionovich Nekrasov, the last governor-general of Finland
Appointer	King of Sweden, later Emperor of Russia
Formation	1623
First holder	Nils Turesson Bielke[1]
Final holder	Nikolai Vissarionovich Nekrasov
Abolished	1917

Swedish realm

Coat of arms of Finland under Swedish rule

After the final abolition of the Duchy of Finland and related feudal privileges in the late 16th century, the king of Sweden 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.^{[citation needed]}

The best-known of these officials is Count Per Brahe the Younger, who served as Governor-General of Finland in the 17th century. His tenure, remembered as a period of reforms and progress in both economy and education, is referred to in Finnish as "kreivin aika" ("the count's era"). Over the centuries, the phrase has taken on a new meaning and is now commonly used to describe something happening just in time, as in the expression "Tulit kreivin aikaan" ("You arrived at the perfect moment").^[2]

List of Swedish governors-general of Finland

Translation in Swedish: Generalguvernör av Finland

Governor-general		In office
	Nils Turesson Bielke	1623–1631[3]
	Gabriel Bengtsson Oxenstierna	1631–1634[4]
	Per Brahe the Younger	1637–1640 and 1648–1654[5]
	Gustaf Evertsson Horn	1657[6]
	Herman Fleming [fi; sv]	1664–1669[7]
	Carl Nieroth	1710–1712[8]
	Gustaf Otto Douglas (during the Russian occupation in Great Northern War)	1717–1721[9]
	Johan Balthasar von Campenhausen [fi; sv] (during the Russian occupation in the War of 1741–1743)	1742–1743[10]
	Gustaf Fredrik von Rosen [fi; sv]	1747–1752[11]

Grand Duchy of Finland

Coat of arms of Finland under Russian rule

During the time when Finland was ruled by the Russian Empire as a grand duchy, the governor-general's position was permanent. He was viceroy of the emperor, who was not personally present in Helsinki, but resided in St Petersburg, just outside of 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 Rokassovski [fi; ru], however were also made Finnish subjects, by granting them a Finnish nobility rank.

Many of the governors-general were disliked by the Finnish population. The first man on the post, Georg Magnus Sprengtporten, resigned after only a year. Another, Nikolai Bobrikov, was assassinated in 1904 by the Finnish nationalist Eugen Schauman. 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, 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 Alexander Amatus Thesleff [fi; ru].

List of Russian governors-general of Finland

Translation in Russian: Генерал-губернатор Финляндии, romanized: general-gubernator Finlyandii

Governor-general		In office
	Göran Magnus Sprengtporten	1808–1809[12]
	Michael Barclay de Tolly	1809–1810[13]
	Fabian Steinheil	1810–1823 (acting until spring 1824)[14]
	Arseny Zakrevsky	1823 (active from March 1824) – 1831[15]
	Alexander Menshikov	1831–1855[16]
	Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg	1855–1861[17]
	Platon Rokassovsky [fi; ru]	1861–1866[18]
	Nikolay Adlerberg	1866–1881[19]
	Feodor Logginovich Heiden	1881–1897[20]
	Stepan Goncharov [fi; ru]	1897–1898 (acting)[citation needed]
	Nikolai Bobrikov	1898–1904[21]
	Ivan Obolensky	1904–1905[22]
	Nikolai Gerard	1905–1908[23]
	Vladimir Aleksandrovich Böckmann	1908–1909[24]
	Franz Albert Seyn	1909–1917[25]
	Adam Lipsky [fi; ru]	1917 (acting)[citation needed]
	Mikhail Aleksandrovich Stakhovich	1917[26]
	Nikolai Vissarionovich Nekrasov	1917[27]

See also

• Grand Duke of Finland
• Duke of Finland
• Diet of Finland
• Governor-General in the Swedish Realm
• Monarchy of Finland
• Finnish Minister Secretary of State
• List of Finnish rulers

Notes

1. Finnish: Suomen kenraalikuvernööri; Swedish: generalguvernör över Finland; Russian: генерал-губернатор Финляндии

References

1. Karonen, Petri (2008). "Bielke, Nils". Biografiskt lexikon för Finland. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
2. "Kreivin aikaan". Kotimaisten kielten keskus (in Finnish). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
3. Karonen, Petri (30 November 2001). "Bielke, Nils (1569-1639)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
4. Karonen, Petri (6 September 2001). "Oxenstierna, Gabriel Bengtinpoika (1586-1656)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
5. Teerijoki, Ilkka (4 May 2001). "Oxenstierna, Gabriel Bengtinpoika (1586-1656)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
6. Virrankoski, Pentti (24 March 2000). "Horn, Gustaf Evertinpoika (1614-1666)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-11-01.
7. Saloheimo, Veijo (4 March 2008). "Fleming, Herman (1619-1673)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
8. Syrjö, Veli-Matti (3 April 2006). "Nieroth, Carl (noin 1650 - 1712)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
9. Syrjö, Veli-Matti (24 March 2000). "Douglas, Gustaf Otto (1687-1771)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
10. Paaskoski, Jyrki (4 May 2001). "Campenhausen, Balthasar von (1689-1758)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
11. Teerijoki, Ilkka (4 May 2001). "Rosen, Gustaf Fredrik von (1688-1769)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
12. Syrjö, Veli-Matti (1 February 2000). "Sprengtporten, Georg Magnus (1740-1819)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
13. Syrjö, Veli-Matti (16 March 2009). "Barclay de Tolly, Mihail (1761-1818)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
14. Kalleinen, Kristiina (23 March 2007). "Steinheil, Fabian (1762-1831)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
15. Kalleinen, Kristiina (6 September 2001). "Zakrewsky, Arseni Andrejevitsh (1786-1865)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
16. Kalleinen, Kristiina (11 October 2005). "Menschikoff, Alexander Sergejevitsh (1787-1869)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
17. Kalleinen, Kristiina (23 February 2024). "Berg, Fredrik Wilhelm Rembert (1794-1874)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
18. Luntinen, Pertti (6 September 2001). "Rokassowskij, Platon Ivanovitsh (1800-1869)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
19. Schweitzer, Robert (17 September 2003). "Adlerberg, Nikolai Vladimirovitsh (1819-1892)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Translated by Litzen, Aulikki. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
20. Tyynilä, Markku (8 June 2004). "Heiden, Feodor Logginovitsh (1821-1900)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
21. Polvinen, Tuomo (11 October 2000). "Bobrikov, Nikolai Ivanovitsh (1839-1904)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
22. Kalleinen, Kristiina (6 September 2001). "Obolenski, Ivan Mihailovitsh (1853-1910)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
23. Kalleinen, Kristiina (20 November 2017). "Gerard, Nikolai Nikolajevitsh (1838-1929)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-11-01.
24. Kalleinen, Kristiina (6 September 2001). "Böckmann, Vladimir Aleksandrovitsh (1848-1923)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-11-01.
25. Luntinen, Pertti (18 June 1999). "Seyn, Franz Albert (1862-1918)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-11-01.
26. Luntinen, Pertti (6 September 2001). "Stahovitsh, Mihail Aleksandrovitsh (1861-1923)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-11-01.
27. Luntinen, Pertti (6 September 2001). "Nekrasov, Nikolai Vissarionovitsh (1879-1940)". Finnish National Biography (via Biografiasampo). Retrieved 2024-11-01.