The Committee for Finnish Affairs (Finnish: Suomen asiain komitea; Swedish: Kommittén för finska ärenden) was a committee in the Grand Duchy of Finland that assisted the Minister-Secretary of State for Finland with various issues regarding Finland for the years from 1811 to 1826 and then from 1857 to 1891.[1]
The Committee for Finnish Affairs was founded in 1811 by the approval of the Emperor of Russia Alexander I.[1] The idea for creating the committee came from State Secretary, Count Mikhail Speransky.[1] The committee was based in Imperial Russia's capital Saint Petersburg.[1] The committee supported the work of State Secretary of Finland, and then Minister-Secretary of Finland.[1]
The Grand Duchy of Finland was formed in 1809.[1] The committee had a crucial role in strengthening Finland's autonomy in Imperial Russia.[1] Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland Alexander I supported the committee's work.[1]
The founding chairman was General, Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt.[1] Members of the committee were Count Johan Fredrik Aminoff, Baron Carl Johan Walleen, and Active State Councillor Jacob Wilhelm Hisinger.[1]
Count Armfelt fought in the Napoleonic Wars, and he was adjutant to Emperor Alexander I.[1] Count Aminoff acted as Chairman when Armfelt was away from Saint Petersburg.[1] Armfelt passed away in 1814.[1] Count Aminoff acted again as chairman for a short period.[1]
The committee was highly influential during Armfelt's time.[1] After 1814 the committee was less influential.[1] In 1825, Emperor Nicholas I rose to power. Nicholas I decided to dismantle the committee.[1]
The committee was re-formed again when Alexander II was Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland.[1] The committee was dismantled again in 1891 by Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland Alexander III.[1]
Literature
- Schweitzer, Robert (1996). The Rise and Fall of the Russo-Finnish Consensus: The History of the "Second" Committee on Finnish Affairs in St. Petersburg (1857–1891). Hallintohistoriallisia tutkimuksia, 23. Helsinki: Commission on the History of Central Administration in Finland & Edita. ISBN 951-37-1878-6. ISSN 0786-7700.
References