Finland: Chairman of the Senate/Council of State: 1917-1918 |
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| Suomen Senaatin puheenjohtaja = Ordförande i Finlands Senat | Chairman of the Senate of Finland [1] | |
| 14/27 Nov 1917 - 27 Nov 1918 | Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad [2] |
| Valtioneuvoston puheenjohtaja = Statsrådets ordförande | Chairman of the Council of State | |
| 27 Nov 1918 - 12 Dec 1918 | Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad (x) |
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| [1] | Svinhufvud was authorised to exercise supreme authority by the Eduskunta (18 May 1918) but formally held the offices of Chairman of the Senate (14/27 Nov 1917 - 27 Nov 1918) and Chairman of the Council of State (27 Nov 1918 - 12 Dec 1918). It was common to refer to him as Valtionhoitja and Riksföreståndare (Lieutenant of the Realm or Regent) in the press, but he was never officially designated to hold this office. Some legal acts during his tenure as head of state were issued in the name of Korkeimman vallan haltija = Innehavarens av högsta makten (Holder of the Supreme Authority), but were invariably signed by Svinhufvud as Valtioneuvoston puheenjohtaja = Statsrådets ordförande (Chairman of the Senate). In the notices published in Official Gazette he was also referred to as Suomen Senaatin Puheenjohtaja, maan korkeimman vallan (President of the Senate of Finland, holding the supreme authority). The resignation of Svinhufvud from the position of holder of the supreme authority was accepted by the Eduskunta 12 Dec 1918 and Mannerheim was officially approved as Valtionhoitja / Riksföreståndare the same day. |
| [2] | From 9 Oct 1918 nominally for Friedrich Karl Ludwig Konstantin, Prinz und Landgraf zu Hessen, who was elected King of Finland by the Eduskunta (9 Oct 1918), but declined to accept the crown. His decision was communicated by a letter (14 Dec 1918) addressed to the Finnish ambassador in Berlin. The Council of State of Finland published the letter in Official Gazette, No. 232, 28 Dec 1918, p. 1. |
Last update: 29 Nov 2023