Finland's Constitution Act 1919
The first foundations for Finland's constitution and general administration were laid during the Swedish and Russian rules. Until 1919, Finland’s constitution and general administration were based on the 1772 Constitution and the 1789 Union and Security Act, which dated from the period of Swedish rule. The most significant additions made during autonomy under Russian rule were the Parliament Acts of 1863 and 1906.
Finland's long democratic traditions – universal and equal suffrage which was enacted in 1906, the unicameral parliament that was elected in 1907, decision-making by local government, and the improvement of citizens’ basic rights – all paved the way for the enactment of the 1919 Constitution Act.
In the early 20th century, a republican form of government was an exception, for most European countries were still monarchies. The decision to adopt a republican form of government for Finland was preceded by a period of nearly two years, during which supreme authority in the newly independent state was alternately held by various public entities while different solutions were repeatedly debated in Parliament. One of the adopted options was in favour of a constitutional monarchy, but that decision was discarded in late 1918.
The father of the 1919 Constitution was statesman K.J. Ståhlberg, who already in 1917 proposed a constitution along the lines of the one finally reconfirmed on 17 July 1919.
From the declaration of independence to a republican constitution
31 March 1917 | The Constitutional Committee starts preparing constitutional reforms
- As a result of the February Revolution in Russia, the Emperor of Russia abdicates. Finland begins to explore the possibility of expanding the country's autonomy. The Finnish Parliament sets up a Constitutional Committee, chaired by Professor K.J. Ståhlberg, to prepare far-reaching constitutional reforms.
3 October 1917 | The Constitutional Committee proposes a republican system of government for Finland, for the first time in the country's history.
- The memorandum submitted to the Senate of Finland by the Constitutional Committee proposes a republican constitution.
7 November 1917 | Finland's secession from Russia
- In November 1917, the Bolsheviks, led by V.I. Lenin, seize power in St Petersburg, Russia. The Senate of Finland decided not to acknowledge Russia's new government as the holder of supreme authority in Finland and considered the union between the two at an end.
15 November 1917 | The Finnish Parliament declares itself the holder of supreme authority in Finland
- As an interim solution, the Parliament accepted that three regents be elected as holders of supreme authority in Finland. Failing this, Parliament declared itself the holder of supreme authority in Finland for the time being.
6 December 1917 | Parliament adopts Finland's Declaration of Independence.
- Parliament adopts the Declaration of Independence that the Senate declared to the nation and announced to Parliament on 4 December 1917. It states that the highest powers of the State are vested in Parliament and the Senate.
31 December 1917 | Russia acknowledges Finland's independence
- Finland's Declaration of Independence was acknowledged by the government of Soviet Russia
- On 4 January 1918, Russia, France, Sweden and Germany formally acknowledged Finland's independence.
From 27 January to 15 May 1918 | The Finnish civil war
- During the war, the role of supreme authority was assumed by a number of actors. In the “Red Finland”, led from Helsinki, the supreme decision-making body was officially the Workers' General Council, with the Finnish People's Delegation as its governing body. The “Senate in Vaasa” sat in the city of Vaasa from 29 January to 3 May 1918, first under the leadership of Heikki Renvall, followed by P.E. Svinhufvud who had now returned to Finland. Towards the end of the civil war, a parallel Senate sat in Helsinki for a couple weeks in May 1918, first chaired by Kyösti Kallio and then by E.N. Setälä. Parliament does not sit during the civil war, although supreme authority is formally vested in it.
18 May 1918 | Parliament elects the Speaker of the Senate, Svinhufvud, as regent or holder of supreme authority
- Parliament convenes for the first time in May, but is short-numbered, due to the absence of leftist members. This incomplete parliamentary setup was, at most, made up of only 111 members of all those elected in the 1917 parliamentary elections. Parliament appoints the Speaker of the Senate P.E. Svinhufvud as the holder of supreme authority. The new Senate, i.e. the new government, is formed by J.K. Paasikivi.
9 October 1918 | Parliament elects a King for Finland
- Under the 1772 Constitution, a German Prince, Frederick Charles of Hesse, is elected by Parliament as the King of Finland. When Germany loses the First World War in November 1918, the monarchy idea, promoted by Svinhufvud and Paasikivi, expires and Prince Frederick Charles refuses the crown.
4 December 1918 | The first local elections are held
- Parliament ratifies democratic local elections laws on 16 November 1917. In December 1918, the newly independent Finland is finally ready to organise its first elections based on universal and equal suffrage. They lay the foundations for a democratic society and contribute to more stable social conditions in the country.
12 December 1918 | Marshal Mannerheim becomes the Regent
- Following Svinhufvud's resignation, Parliament elects Carl Gustaf Mannerheim as Finland's new Regent. In December, the Senate, chaired by Regent Mannerheim, decides that general elections will be held in spring 1919 in order to have a parliament with a full complement of members.
1 and 3 March 1919 | Parliamentary elections
- The first general election of independent Finland is held.
4 April 1919 | Parliament begins its work
- Parliament takes up its work in full composition for the first time since January 1918.
6 and 7 May 1919 | Finland's independence is acknowledged by Great Britain and the United States
- Obtained in the margins of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War, these acknowledgements of Finland's independence were instrumental in shaping the country's international image.
21 June 1919 | Parliament adopts a republican constitution
- The new Constitution Act replaces the 1772 Constitution and the 1789 Union and Security Act dating from the period of Swedish rule. Together with the 1906 Parliament Act, the new Constitution Act lays a solid foundation for democracy.
17 July 1919 | Regent Mannerheim ratifies the Constitution Act in 1919
- Finland's new republican Constitution enters into force following ratification by Regent C.G. Mannerheim. The function of regent expires, as a new President is elected for the Republic.
25 July 1919 | Election of the first President of the Republic of Finland
- Under the new Constitution, Parliament elects K.J. Ståhlberg as the first President of the Republic of Finland. The election result was: 143 votes for K.J. Ståhlberg and 50 for C.G. Mannerheim.
6 December 1919 | Independence Day celebrations
- Two years after the Declaration of Independence, Finland's central administration is becoming established and Finland celebrates, for the first time, its Independence Day as a republican nation. The Government chooses the 6th of December as the anniversary day for the country's independence, and the first official Independence Day reception is held at the Presidential Palace.
11 December 1919 | Parliament adopts a state budget for the next year
- For the first time in Finland's history, Parliament discusses and adopts a new state budget for the next year. The new Constitution Act vested strong powers in Parliament concerning the state budget, taxation and government borrowing.
The Treaty of Tartu was signed between Finland and Soviet Russia in October 1920. This peace treaty delineated the border between the two countries, ending the state of war that was brought about by the Finnish civil war.
As Finland joins the League of Nations in December 1920, its independence has already been acknowledged by 35 countries representing over half of all the nations in the world. Thirteen foreign states had representations in Helsinki at the time. Finland had also set up thirteen representations, two of them outside Europe: in Washington DC and Tokyo.