List of heads of state of Finland

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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.

Contents

Kingdom of Sweden (until 1809)

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

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 Birger jarl (Forssen).jpg
Birger Jarl

House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Kalmar Union monarchs and Swedish regents

Karl Knutsson Bonde Carl II of Sweden, Carl I of Norway.jpg
Karl Knutsson Bonde

House of Vasa

Juhana III John III of Sweden.jpg
Juhana III

House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken

Kaarle X Kustaa Portratt av Karl X Gustav av Sverige - Skoklosters slott - 91437.tif
Kaarle X Kustaa

House of Hesse

House of Holstein-Gottorp

Kustaa III Gustav III by Alexander Roslin - no frame (Nationalmuseum, 15330).png
Kustaa III

Russian Empire (1809–1917)

Grand Duke
(Birth–Death)		Reign
Alexander I of Russia by G.Dawe (1826, Peterhof).jpg Alexander I
(1777–1825)		1809–1825
Franz Kruger - Portrait of Emperor Nicholas I - WGA12289.jpg Nicholas I
(1796–1855)		1825–1855
Zar Alexander II (cropped).jpg Alexander II
(1818–1881)		1855–1881
Alexander III, Emperor of Russia (1845-94).png Alexander III
(1845–1894)		1881–1894
Imperator Nikolai II.jpg 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". [1]

Regents appointed by parliament

House of Hesse

List of presidents (1919–present)

   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 Stahlberg 1919.jpg 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.jpg Lauri Kristian Relander
(1883–1942)		 1925 2 March 19252 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. President of Finland Pehr Evind Svinhufvud.jpg 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. Kyosti Kallio.jpg 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. Presidentti Risto Ryti (cropped).jpg 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 Emil Mannerheim 1940.jpg 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. J.K. Paasikivi 1945 portrait (cropped).jpg Juho Kusti Paasikivi
(1870–1956)		 1946
1950 		11 March 19461 March 1956National 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-1975 (cropped).jpg 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. President Ronald Reagan with President Mauno Koivisto of Finland in the Rose Garden (cropped).jpg Mauno Koivisto
(1923–2017)		 1982
1988 		27 January 19821 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 Mantyniemessa (cropped).jpg Martti Ahtisaari
(1937–2023)		 1994 1 March 19941 March 2000Social 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 1c389 8827-2.jpg Tarja Halonen
(b. 1943)		 2000
2006 		1 March 20001 March 2012Social 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 Niinistio (52074997569).jpg Sauli Niinistö
(b. 1948)		 2012
2018 		1 March 20121 March 2024National 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. Tasavallan presidentti Alexander Stubbin kauden ensimmainen tasavallan presidentin esittely 8.3.2024 -- 5 Rajattu.jpg Alexander Stubb
(b. 1968)		 2024 1 March 2024Incumbent
(term have possibility to expires in March 2030)		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 SwedenList of heads of state of Finland

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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