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List of heads of state of Finland

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For the Swedish & Russian names where applicable, see List of Swedish monarchs and List of Russian monarchs.

This is a list of heads of state of Finland; that is, the kings of Sweden with regents and viceroys of the Kalmar Union, the grand dukes of Finland, a title used by most Swedish monarchs and Russian emperors, up to the two-year regency following the independence in 1917, with a brief flirtation with a truly domestic monarchy.

Kingdom of Sweden (until 1809)

Finland as an integral part of Sweden under the King of Sweden

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Some texts suggest the Swedish rule of Finland started as early as during the Houses of Sverker and Eric (Sverker I of Sweden 1130–1156 and Eric the Saint 1156–1160). But the first historic documents suggesting rule by Swedish kings in Finland not limited to sparse crusades and conquests are dated at around 1249.

House of Bjälbo

Birger Jarl

House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Kalmar Union monarchs and Swedish regents

Karl Knutsson Bonde

House of Vasa

Juhana III

House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken

Kaarle X Kustaa
  • 1654–1660 : Charles X Gustav (Kaarle X Kustaa), also titled Grand Prince of Finland
  • 1660–1697 : Charles XI (Kaarle XI), also titled Grand Prince of Finland
  • 1697–1718 : Charles XII (Kaarle XII), also titled Grand Prince of Finland
  • 1719–1720 : Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden (Ulriika Eleonoora), also titled Grand Princess of Finland

House of Hesse

House of Holstein-Gottorp

Kustaa III

Russian Empire (1809–1917)

This section is transcluded from Grand Duke of Finland. (edit | history)
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

Interim period (1917–1919)

During the interregnum from the fall of Nicholas II to the end of the Finnish Civil War in spring 1918, sovereignty in Finland was exercised by the Finnish Parliament and, until the October Revolution and the declaration of independence, the Russian interim government. After the civil war, regents (valtionhoitaja) were appointed by the parliament and a new king elected.

In May 1918, President Woodrow Wilson stated that the U.S. “shall be willing to recognize the Republic of Finland only when she shows that she is not controlled by Germany, as she now seems to be".

Regents appointed by parliament

House of Hesse

Name Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death Claim
Fredrik Kaarle
9 October 1918
–
14 December 1918
(67 days) 		Frederik Kaarle 1868
Prussia
Son of Frederick William, Landgrave of Hesse
and Princess Anna of Prussia 		Princess Margaret of Prussia
1893
6 children 		28 May 1940
Kassel
Aged 72 		King-elect of Finland

List of presidents (1919–present)

This section is transcluded from List of presidents of Finland. (edit | history)   National Progressive Party   Agrarian League   National Coalition Party/National Coalition   Social Democratic Party of Finland   independent
№.



 Portrait



 President
(birth year –
death year)

 Elected



 Took office



 Left office



 Political party
(until election)


 Birth day,
place
Death day,
place
1. Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg
(1865–1952) 		1919 26 July 1919 2 March 1925 National Progressive Party * 28 January 1865,
Suomussalmi
† 22 September 1952,
Helsinki
Member of parliament (1908–1910, 1914–1918 and 1930–1933). Speaker of parliament (1914–1917). President of the Supreme Administrative Court (1918–1919). Elected as president by the parliament in 1919.
2. Lauri Kristian Relander
(1883–1942) 		1925 2 March 1925 2 March 1931 Agrarian League * 31 May 1883,
Kurkijoki
† 9 February 1942,
Helsinki
Member of parliament (1910–1914 and 1917–1920). Speaker of parliament (1919–1920). Governor of Viipuri Province (1920–1925). Elected as president by an electoral college in 1925.
3. Pehr Evind Svinhufvud
(1861–1944) 		1931 2 March 1931 1 March 1937 National Coalition Party * 15 December 1861,
Sääksmäki
† 29 February 1944,
Luumäki
Member of the Estate of Nobles in the Diet of Finland (1894 and 1899–1906). Member of parliament (1907–1917 and 1930–1931). Speaker of parliament (1907–1913). Regent (interim head of state) of Finland (1918). Prime Minister (1917–1918 and 1930–1931). Elected as president by an electoral college in 1931.
4. Kyösti Kallio
(1873–1940) 		1937 1 March 1937 19 December 1940
(died) 		Agrarian League * 10 April 1873,
Ylivieska
† 19 December 1940,
Helsinki
Member of parliament (1907–1937). Chairman of the Agrarian League (1909–1917). Minister of Agriculture (1919–1920 and 1921–1922). Speaker of parliament (1920–1921, 1922, 1924–1925, 1927–1928, 1929 and 1930–1936). Prime Minister (1922–1924, 1925–1926, 1929–1930 and 1936–1937). Elected as president by an electoral college in 1937. Announced resignation in 1940 because of poor health, but died in office.
5. Risto Ryti
(1889–1956) 		1940
1943 		19 December 1940 4 August 1944
(resigned) 		National Progressive Party * 3 February 1889,
Huittinen
† 25 October 1956,
Helsinki
Member of parliament (1919–1924 and 1927–1929). Minister of Finance (1921–1922 and 1922–1924). Governor of the Bank of Finland (1923–1940 and 1944–1945). Prime Minister (1939–1940). Elected as president by the electoral college from 1937 in 1940 and re-elected in 1943 also by the electoral college from 1937. Resigned in 1944 due to the Ryti–Ribbentrop Agreement.
6. Carl Gustaf Mannerheim
(1867–1951) 		1944 [fi] 4 August 1944 11 March 1946
(resigned) 		independent * 4 June 1867,
Askainen
† 27 January 1951,
Lausanne, Switzerland
Regent (interim head of state) of Finland (1918–1919). Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces (1939–1945). The only Field Marshal and Marshal of Finland. Decreed as president in 1944 by an exception law. Resigned in 1946 because of poor health. Finland's only non-partisan president and the only president to die outside Finland.
7. Juho Kusti Paasikivi
(1870–1956) 		1946
1950 		11 March 1946 1 March 1956 National Coalition Party * 27 November 1870,
Koski Hl.
† 14 December 1956,
Helsinki
Member of parliament (1907–1909 and 1910–1914). Prime Minister (1918 and 1944–1946). Elected as president by the parliament in 1946 and re-elected by an electoral college in 1950.
8. Urho Kekkonen
(1900–1986) 		1956
1962
1968
1978 		1 March 1956 27 January 1982
(resigned) 		Agrarian League * 3 September 1900,
Pielavesi
† 31 August 1986,
Helsinki
Member of parliament (1936–1956). Minister of Justice (1936–1937 and 1944–1946). Minister of the Interior (1937–1939 and 1950–1951). Speaker of parliament (1948–1950). Prime Minister (1950–1953 and 1954–1956). Elected as president by an electoral college in 1956 and re-elected in 1962, 1968 and 1978. In 1973, the term that started in 1968 was extended by four years by an exception law. Resigned in 1982 because of poor health. Served in the Finnish Civil War.
9. Mauno Koivisto
(1923–2017) 		1982
1988 		27 January 1982 1 March 1994 Social Democratic Party of Finland * 25 November 1923,
Turku
† 12 May 2017,
Helsinki
Minister of Finance (1966–1967 and 1972). Governor of the Bank of Finland (1968–1982). Prime Minister (1968–1970 and 1979–1982). Elected as president by an electoral college in 1982 and re-elected in 1988. The first president born in independent Finland. Served in the Continuation War of the Second World War.
10. Martti Ahtisaari
(1937–2023) 		1994 1 March 1994 1 March 2000 Social Democratic Party of Finland * 23 June 1937,
Viipuri
† 16 October 2023,
Helsinki
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (1987–1991). Elected as president in 1994. The first president elected by direct popular vote. Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2008. Member of The Elders.
11. Tarja Halonen
(b. 1943) 		2000
2006 		1 March 2000 1 March 2012 Social Democratic Party of Finland * 24 December 1943,
Helsinki
Member of parliament (1979–2000). Minister of Justice (1990–1991). Minister for Foreign Affairs (1995–2000). Elected as president in 2000 and re-elected in 2006. Finland's first female president.
12. Sauli Niinistö
(b. 1948) 		2012
2018 		1 March 2012 1 March 2024 National Coalition * 24 August 1948,
Salo
Member of parliament (1987–2003 and 2007–2011). Chairman of the National Coalition Party (1994–2001). Minister of Justice (1995–1996). Minister of Finance (1996–2003). Speaker of parliament (2007–2011). Elected as president in 2012 and re-elected in 2018.
13. Alexander Stubb
(b. 1968) 		2024 1 March 2024 Incumbent National Coalition * 1 April 1968,
Helsinki
Member of the European Parliament (2004–2008). Member of parliament (2011–2017). Minister for Foreign Affairs (2008–2011). Minister for European Affairs and Trade (2011–2014). Prime Minister (2014–2015). Chairman of the National Coalition Party (2014–2016). Minister of Finance (2015–2016). Elected as president in 2024.

Timeline

Alexander StubbSauli NiinistöTarja HalonenMartti AhtisaariMauno KoivistoUrho KekkonenJuho Kusti PaasikiviRisto RytiKyösti KallioLauri Kristian RelanderKaarlo Juho StåhlbergCarl Gustaf Emil MannerheimPrince Frederick Charles of HessePehr Evind SvinhufvudNicholas II of RussiaAlexander III of RussiaAlexander II of RussiaNicholas I of RussiaAlexander I of RussiaGustav IV Adolph of SwedenGustav IIIAdolph Frederick of SwedenFrederick I of SwedenUlrika Eleonora of SwedenCharles XII of SwedenCharles XI of SwedenCharles X GustavChristina of SwedenGustavus AdolphusSigismund III VasaJohn III of SwedenEric XIV of SwedenGustav VasaChristian II of SwedenSten Sture the youngerErik TrolleSvante Nilsson (regent of Sweden)John, King of DenmarkSten Sture the elederChristian I of SwedenChristopher of BaveriaCharles VIII of SwedenEric of PmeraniaMargaret I of DenmarkAlbert, King of SwedenHaakon VIMangus IV of SwedenEric XII of SwedenBenedict, Duke of HallandIngeborg, Duchess of OlandValdemar, Duke of FinlandBirger, King of SwedenBenedict, Duke of FinlandMangus II of SwedenValdemar, King of Sweden

See also

References

  1. "Centennial Story of Finland Part 2: First Years of Independence 1917–1927".
  2. During Svinhufvud's regency, Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse was elected as the King of Finland on 9 October 1918. He never took office and renounced the throne on 14 December 1918.
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