Diet of Finland
Encyclopedia
The Diet of Finland was the legislative assembly
Diet (assembly)
In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...

 of the Grand Duchy of Finland
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed 1809–1917 as part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian czar as Grand Prince.- History :...

 from 1809 to 1906 and the recipient of the powers of the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates
Riksdag of the Estates
The Riksdag of the Estates , was the name used for the Estates of the Swedish realm when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the King...

.

Åbo Lantdag

The first States
The States
The States or the Estates signifies the assembly of the representatives of the estates of the realm, called together for purposes of legislation or deliberation...

 of Finland were held in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

 in 1616. Other assemblies (Åbo lantdag
Landtag
A Landtag is a representative assembly or parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority.- Name :...

)
where held in Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...

  for example in 1676. The assembly was called together by Axel Julius De la Gardie
Axel Julius De la Gardie
Axel Julius de la Gardie was a Swedish Field Marshal and was appointed Governor-General over Estonia.Axel Julius was the son of military commander Jacob De la Gardie and Ebba Brahe. He became colonel of an infantry regiment and a cavalry regiment and in 1684 he attained the rank of major general...

. The estate of peasants was chaired by Heikki Heikinpoika Vaanila
Heikki Heikinpoika Vaanila
Heikki Heikinpoika Vaanila was a Finnish farmer and parliamentarian from Vaanila village in Lohja, Uusimaa. He was chairman of the Estate of Swedish Peasants at the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates in 1680, that established absolute monarchy in Sweden and reduced the privileges of the Swedish...

.

The Porvoo Diet

During the Finnish War
Finnish War
The Finnish War was fought between Sweden and the Russian Empire from February 1808 to September 1809. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire...

 between Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, the four Estates
Estates of the realm
The Estates of the realm were the broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in Christian Europe; they are sometimes distinguished as the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and commoners, and are often referred to by...

 of occupied Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 (Nobility, Clergy, Burghers and Peasants) were assembled at Porvoo
Porvoo
Porvoo is a city and a municipality situated on the southern coast of Finland approximately east of Helsinki. Porvoo is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from 14th century...

 (Borgå) by Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...

 Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....

, the new Grand Duke of Finland, between March 25 and July 19, 1809. The central event at Porvoo was the sovereign pledge
Oath of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before undertaking the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations...

 and the oaths of the Estates in Porvoo Cathedral
Porvoo Cathedral
Porvoo cathedral is a cathedral in Porvoo, Finland. It was built in the 15th century, although the oldest parts date from the 13th century. It is used by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and is the seat of the Diocese of Borgå, Finland's Swedish-speaking diocese...

 on March 29. Each of the Estates swore their oaths of allegiance
Oath of allegiance
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to monarch or country. In republics, modern oaths specify allegiance to the country's constitution. For example, officials in the United States, a republic, take an oath of office that...

, committing themselves to accepting the Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...

 and Grand Duke
Grand Duke
The title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...

 of Finland as the true authority, and to keeping the constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...

 and the form of government unchanged. Alexander I subsequently promised to govern Finland in accordance with its laws. This was thought to essentially mean that the emperor confirmed the Swedish Instrument of Government from 1772 as the constitution of Finland, although it was also interpreted to mean respecting the existing codes and statutes. The diet had required that it would be convened again after the Finnish War, which separated Finland from Sweden, had been concluded. On September 17 of the same year, the conflict was settled by the Treaty of Fredrikshamn, but it would be another five decades until the Finnish Estates would be called again.

The Estates convene again

Not until June 1863, after the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

 had taken place, did Alexander II
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...

 call the Estates again. On September 18 the opening ceremony was held and the Emperor made his declaration where he promised to introduce changes to the constitution. The changes included making the diet a regularly convening body, a promise which was kept by the Emperor when the diet convened again in January 1867, where it established an act on the working order of the diet. The diet was to convene at least every fifth year but in practice it would come to convene every third year. The act on Freedom of the Press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...

 was seen to have been rejected by the diet in 1867, and as a consequence censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...

 was introduced. The diets of the 1860s created a working and regularly convening Finnish parliament, but it also spelled an end to further promised constitutional reforms.

In the elections for the diet of 1872, members of the two language-based parties
Finland's language strife
The language strife was one of the major conflicts of Finland's national history and domestic politics. It revolved around the question of what status Swedish—the language which since the Middle Ages had been the main language of administration and high culture in Finland—and, on the other hand,...

, the Fennoman
Fennoman
The Fennomans were the most important political movement in the 19th century Grand Principality of Finland. They succeeded the fennophile interests of the 18th and early 19th century.-History:...

s and Svecoman
Svecoman
The Svecoman movement was a Swedish nationalist movement that arose in the Grand Duchy of Finland at the end of the 19th century chiefly as a reaction to the demands for increased use of Finnish vigorously presented by the Fennoman movement...

s, gained more ground at the expense of the liberals. After the assassination
Church of the Savior on Blood
The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood Khram Spasa na Krovi is one of the main sights of St. Petersburg, Russia. It is also variously called the Church on Spilt Blood and the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ , its official name....

 of Alexander II the special position of Finland in the Russian empire was in danger. Alexander III
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...

 announced that the Finnish monetary, customs and postal
Posti
Itella Corporation is a national mail enterprise owned by the Finnish state, headquartered in Pohjois-Pasila, Helsinki. Besides domestic operations, it operates in twelve other European countries...

 systems were to be incorporated into their imperial counterparts. At the diet of 1882 the Governor-General
Governor-General of Finland
Governor-General of Finland ; 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 1808 and 1917.-Swedish rule:...

 gave the Emperors announcement that the diet would have the right to submit bills, but he would be the only one to initiate changes regarding the constitution and military
Military of the Grand Duchy of Finland
Between 1809 and 1917 Finland was an autonomous part of the Russian Empire as the Grand Duchy of Finland. Between 1881 and 1901 the Grand Duchy had its own army. Before that several other military units had also been formed....

 issues.

The first period of oppression

In 1899 Grand Duke Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...

 signed what came to be known as the February Manifesto. The powers of the diet regarding Finland's internal affairs were weakened and transferred to the Russian ministers. The legal committee of the diet of 1899 adopted the opinion that the manifesto was not legally valid in Finland.

Reform

The unrest during the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...

 resulted in a general strike in Finland in October 1905. The most immediate result was the Emperor's manifesto that cancelled all illegal regulations. A parliament based on universal and equal suffrage was also promised. An extraordinary session of the diet in December 1905 was called to implement the parliamentary reforms. The proposal was presented to the Emperor on 15 March 1906 and after his approval it was submitted to the estates on 9 May. The reforms came to force on 1 October 1906. The diet was reformed from a legislative assembly of four Estates into a unicameral parliament of 200 members. At the same time universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...

 was introduced, which gave all men and women, 24 years or older, the right to vote and stand for election. Acts on the right of parliament to monitor members of the government, on the Freedom of Speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...

, Assembly
Freedom of assembly
Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests...

 and Association
Freedom of association
Freedom of association is the individual right to come together with other individuals and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests....

, and Freedom of the Press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...

 were also introduced. These reforms established the hallmarks of today's Parliament of Finland
Parliament of Finland
The Eduskunta , is the parliament of Finland. The unicameral parliament has 200 members and meets in the Parliament House in Helsinki. The latest election to the parliament took place on April 17, 2011.- Constitution :...

. The first election
Finnish parliamentary election, 1907
The Finnish parliamentary election in 1907, in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, was the first parliamentary election in which members of parliament were elected to the new Parliament of Finland by universal suffrage....

 to the new parliament was arranged in 1907.

Composition in 1869–1906

From 1869 to 1906 the Diet of Finland was composed as follows:
  • Nobility: 201 seats; the heads of noble families had the right to sit in person or name a family member as a representative.
  • Clergy: 40 seats; included priests, university personnel and other senior teachers who elected their representatives.
  • Burghers: 30–70 seats; these were the representatives of the people living in cities, only men with taxable wealth were eligible to vote. The number of seats rose when the population of the cities grew.
  • Peasants: 70 seats; elected through indirect election in which only peasants that owned their own land (4.5% of the rural population in early 1900s) could vote.


All chambers debated separately and there were no joint sessions. Three chambers had to pass the bill before it could be approved by the Emperor.

Sessions and meeting places of the Diet

List of sessions of the Finnish diet.
  • 1809 (January to July);
  • 1863–1864 (September 1863 to April 1864);
  • 1867 (January to May);
  • 1872 (February to June);
  • 1877–1878; (January 1877 to January 1878);
  • 1882 (January to June);
  • 1885 (January to May);
  • 1888 (January to May);
  • 1891 (January to May);
  • 1894 (January to June);
  • 1897 (January to June);
  • 1899 (January to May);
  • 1900 (January to June);
  • 1904–1905 (December 1904 to April 1905);
  • 1906 (January to September);


The Diet of Finland, and the four estates of which it was composed, met in a number of different locations during its existence. In the 1860s, all the estates met in the Finnish House of Nobility. Whilst the Nobility of Finland continued to meet there until 1906, the three commoner estates later met in other locations, such as in 1888, when they met in the new building of the Ateneum Art Museum. From 1891 until the parliamentary reform of 1906 the three commoner estates of Clergy, Burghers and Peasants met in the newly-built House of the Estates (Finnish Säätytalo
Säätytalo
The House of the Estates is a historical building in Helsinki, Finland. From 1891, when it was built, it housed the three commoner estates of the four estates of the realm of Finland . The estates were superseded at the 1906 parliamentary reform by the foundation of the unicameral parliament of...

, Swedish Ständerhuset). However, the meeting rooms of the house were too small for the 200-member unicameral parliament. The house has since seen sporadic use by the state and regular use by scientific and scholarly organizations.

See also

  • Lantmarskalks of the Finnish House of Nobility
  • Parliament of Finland
    Parliament of Finland
    The Eduskunta , is the parliament of Finland. The unicameral parliament has 200 members and meets in the Parliament House in Helsinki. The latest election to the parliament took place on April 17, 2011.- Constitution :...

  • Senate of Finland
    Senate of Finland
    The Senate of Finland combined the functions of cabinet and supreme court in the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1816 to 1917 and in the independent Republic of Finland from 1917 to 1918....

  • Governor-General of Finland
    Governor-General of Finland
    Governor-General of Finland ; 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 1808 and 1917.-Swedish rule:...

  • Finnish nobility
    Finnish nobility
    The Finnish nobility 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 today, but except for the titles themselves, no longer retain any specific or...

  • Finnish House of Nobility

External links

  • History of the Finnish Parliament - Official site
  • Kejsarens tal vid lantdagens avslutande den 19 juli 1809 - in Swedish at Wikisource (Originally in French
    French language
    French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

    )
  • Comparison between Diet of Finland and Parliament of Finland (in Finnish
    Finnish language
    Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...

    )
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