Finland declared independence from the
Russian Empire on 6 December 1917, during the
Russian Civil War. While a minority of Members of Parliament (MPs) were inclined towards monarchy, this issue was deferred in favor of achieving national sovereignty as quickly as possible, and the
Parliament unanimously declared Finland a republic. The declaration of independence was followed by the
Finnish Civil War (JanuaryMay 1918). The war was a brutal conflict between the socialist
Reds and the conservative, non-socialist
Whites. The victorious Whites subsequently excluded the
Social Democratic Party from the Parliament, with the exception of a single representative,
Matti Paasivuori. Before the Civil War, the social democrats had held 92 out of 200 seats in the Parliament, and this exclusion radically altered the political balance. The monarchists now began to question the initial declaration of Finland as a republic, arguing that the Civil War had demonstrated the inherent instability of an unconstrained, democratically elected Parliament. They contended that the new nation needed a king who would stand above factional disputes and guarantee the continuity and order of the state.
Lithuania had already taken a similar step in July 1918, electing Wilhelm Karl,
Duke of Urach and
Count of
Württemberg, as
King Mindaugas II of Lithuania. In
Latvia and
Estonia, a "General Provincial Assembly" consisting of
Baltic-German aristocrats had called upon the German Emperor,
Wilhelm II, to recognize the Baltic provinces as a joint monarchy and a German
protectorate.
Adolf Friedrich, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, was nominated Duke of "the
United Baltic Duchy" by the Germans. At independence, Finland, like the Baltic provinces, had close ties with the
German Empire. Germany was the only
international power that had supported the preparations for independence, not least by training volunteers as
Finnish Jäger troops. Germany had also intervened in the
Finnish Civil War, despite its own precarious situation. Finland's position
vis-a-vis Germany was already evolving towards that of a protectorate by spring 1918, and the election of Prince Frederick, brother-in-law of Wilhelm II, was viewed as a confirmation of the close relations between the two nations. The strongly pro-German prime minister,
Juho Kusti Paasikivi, and his government offered the crown to Prince Frederick in October 1918, while
Pehr Evind Svinhufvud was declared Regent. The adoption of a new monarchist constitution had been delayed because it did not get the required
qualified majority. The legitimacy of the royal election was based upon the
Instrument of Government of 1772, adopted under
King Gustav III of Sweden, when Finland had been a part of the
Kingdom of Sweden. The same constitutional document had also served as the basis for the rule of the
Russian Emperors, as
Grand Dukes of Finland, during the 19th century. Member of parliament
Gustaf Arokallio suggested the monarchical designation "Karl I, King of Finland and
Karelia, Duke of
Åland, Grand Duke of
Lapland, Lord of
Kaleva and the
North" (; ). By 9 November 1918 the German Emperor
Wilhelm II had abdicated and
Germany was declared a republic. Two days later, on 11 November 1918, the armistice between the belligerents of
World War I was signed. Little is known of the Allied powers' view regarding the possibility of a German-born prince as the King of Finland. However, warnings received from the West convinced the Finnish government of Prime Minister
Lauri Ingmana monarchist himselfto ask Prince Friedrich Karl to give up the crown, which he had not yet come to wear in Finland. The king-elect Friedrich Karl renounced the throne on 14 December 1918. Svinhufvud resigned and Lieutenant General
Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, the leader of the Whites during the
Finnish Civil War, was appointed as Regent of Finland. Republican parties won three-quarters of the parliament's seats in the
election of 1919 and Finland adopted
a republican constitution. In July 1919, Finland's first president
Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg replaced Mannerheim as the first President of the Republic. == See also == •
Empress Elizabeth's Manifesto of 1742 •
Finnish crown jewels •
House of Hesse •
Monarchy of Finland •
Prince Wolfgang of Hesse •
United Baltic Duchy == References ==