View source for Kingdom of Finland (1918)

{{Short description|Historical unrecognized state}}
{{For|the earlier attempt at monarchy|Kingdom of Finland (1742)}}{{Multiple issues|{{More citations needed|date=January 2011}}
{{Expand Finnish|topic=hist|date=November 2011}}}}{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Finland
| native_name            = {{ubl|{{native name|fi|Suomen kuningaskunta}}|{{native name|sv|Konungariket Finland}}}}
| status                 = 
| p1                     = Grand Duchy of Finland
| border_p1              = no
| flag_p1                = Grand Duchy of Finland Arms.svg
| p2                     = Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic
| image_p3               = 
| p3                     = Whites (Finland)
| flag_p2                = Socialist red flag.svg
| s1                     = Finland
| flag_s1                = Flag of Finland.svg
| today                  = [[Finland]]<br/>[[Russia]]
| image_flag             = Flag_of_Finland (1918-1920).svg
| flag                   = Flag of Finland
| flag_type              = Flag
| image_coat             = Coat of Arms of Kingdom of Finland (1918-1919).svg
| coa_size               = 60px
| symbol                 = Coat of arms of Finland
| symbol_type            = Coat of arms
| image_map              = Finlandduchy.jpg
| image_map_caption      = Map of the [[Grand Duchy of Finland]], which had the same borders as independent Finland from 1917 until 1920
| capital                = [[Helsinki]]
| national_motto         = 
| national_anthem        = <br />{{native name|fi|[[Maamme]]|nolink=yes}}<br />{{native name|sv|[[Maamme|Vårt land]]|nolink=yes}}<br />({{Langx|en|"Our Land"}})<br /><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:United States Navy Band - Maamme.ogg|center]]</div>
| common_languages       = {{ubl|[[Finnish language|Finnish]]|[[Swedish language|Swedish]]|[[Sami languages|Saami]]|[[Karelian language|Karelian]]}}
| religion               = [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland|Evangelical Lutheranism]]<br />[[Finnish Orthodox Church|Finnish Orthodoxy]]
| government_type        = [[Provisional government|Provisional]] [[Unitary state|unitary]] [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[constitutional monarchy]] under a [[Regent|regency]]
| title_leader           = King-elect
| leader1                = [[Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse|Friedrich Karl]]
| year_leader1           = 1918
| title_representative   = [[List of regents#Finland|Regent]]
| representative1        = [[Pehr Evind Svinhufvud|P.E. Svinhufvud]]
| year_representative1   = 1918
| representative2        = [[Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim|C.G.E. Mannerheim]]
| year_representative2   = 1918&ndash;1919
| title_deputy           = [[Prime Minister of Finland|Prime Minister]]
| deputy1                = [[Juho Kusti Paasikivi]]
| year_deputy1           = 1918
| deputy2                = [[Lauri Ingman]]
| year_deputy2           = 1918&ndash;1919
| deputy3                = [[Kaarlo Castrén]]
| year_deputy3           = 1919
| legislature            = [[Parliament of Finland|Parliament]]
| era                    = {{nowrap|[[World War I]]{{\}}[[Interwar period]]}}
| event_pre              = [[Finnish Declaration of Independence|Independence declared]] (as a republic)
| date_pre               = 6 December 1917
| event_start            = Supreme authority given to regent
| date_start             = 18 May
| year_start             = 1918
| event1                 = King elected
| date_event1            = 9 October 1918
| event2                 = [[1919 Finnish parliamentary election|Parliamentary election]]
| date_event2            = 3 March 1919
| event_end              = [[Constitution of Finland|Republican constitution adopted]]
| date_end               = 17 July
| year_end               = 1919
| stat_year1             = 
| stat_area1             = 
| stat_pop1              = 
| currency               = [[Finnish markka]]
| footnotes              = a. Friedrich Karl was elected King of Finland on 9 October 1918 and renounced the throne on 14 December 1918.
| demonym                = [[Finns|Finnish]], [[Finns|Finn]]
}}

The '''Kingdom of Finland''' ({{langx|fi|Suomen kuningaskunta}}; {{langx|sv|Konungariket Finland}}; 1918{{Endash}}1919) was a failed attempt to establish a [[Monarchy of Finland|monarchy]] in [[Finland]] in the aftermath of the [[Finnish Declaration of Independence]] from [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russia]] in December 1917 and the [[Finnish Civil War]] from January to May 1918. The victorious [[Whites (Finland)|Whites]] in the [[Parliament of Finland]] began the process of turning Finland into a kingdom and creating a monarchy. Although the country was legally a kingdom headed by a [[regent]] for over a year, the king-elect [[Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse|Friedrich Karl]] never reigned nor came to Finland following [[German Empire|Germany]]'s defeat in [[World War I]]. Republican victories in [[1919 Finnish parliamentary election|subsequent elections]] resulted in the country becoming a republic.

During the Finnish Civil War of 1918, [[Red Guards (Finland)|Finnish Reds]] on friendly terms with Soviet Russia fought [[White Army of Finland|Finnish Whites]] who allied with the [[German Empire]]. Direct aid from the German [[Baltic Sea Division]] aided the Whites who won the war. The provisional government established after the [[Grand Duchy of Finland]]'s declaration of independence leaned heavily toward the Finnish right and included a number of monarchists. The parliament drew up plans to create a Finnish monarchy on the legal theory that the [[Instrument of Government (1772)|Swedish Constitution of 1772]] was still in effect, but there had been an extended [[interregnum]] with no monarch on the throne. [[Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse|Prince Friedrich Karl of Hesse]] was elected to the throne of Finland on 9 October 1918 by the Finnish parliament, but he never took the position nor traveled to Finland. Soon after the election, Finnish leaders as well as the population belatedly came to understand the grave situation their German allies were in, and the wisdom of electing a German prince their new leader as Germany was about to lose World War I was called into question. [[German Revolution of 1918–1919|Germany itself became a republic]] and deposed [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]], and signed [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|an armistice with the Allies in November]]. The victorious Western powers informed the Finnish government that the independence of Finland would only be recognized if it abandoned its alliance with Germany. As a result, in December 1918 Friedrich Karl renounced the throne and the Baltic Sea Division withdrew from Finland. In the [[1919 Finnish parliamentary election|March 1919 election]], with the Finnish left and socialists able to vote, republicans won a crushing victory. Finland's status as a [[republic]] was confirmed in the [[Constitution of Finland|Finnish Constitution of 1919]].

== History ==
{{see also|History of Finland}}

Finland had declared independence from what was the [[Russian Empire]], at that time embroiled in the [[Russian Civil War]], on 6 December 1917. At the time of the declaration of independence, monarchists were a minority in the [[Parliament of Finland|Finnish Parliament]], and Finland was declared a republic. A [[Finnish Civil War|civil war]] followed, and afterwards, while the pro-republican [[Social Democratic Party of Finland|Social Democratic Party]] was excluded from the Parliament and before a new constitution was adopted, Frederick was elected to the throne of Finland on 9 October 1918.

[[File:Friedrich Karl HK 02.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Prince Friedrich Karl of Hesse, the king-elect of Finland]]
[[File:King of Finland's crown2.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Replica of the Crown designed for the Finnish monarch. The actual crown was never crafted; however, this replica was made from original drawings in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visitkemi.fi/en/terms-and-conditions/10-pääsivut/99-jalokivigalleria-en |title=Gemstone Gallery |website=visit Kemi |access-date=5 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529120502/http://www.visitkemi.fi/en/terms-and-conditions/10-p%C3%A4%C3%A4sivut/99-jalokivigalleria-en |archive-date=29 May 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>]]
[[Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)|Lithuania]] had already taken a similar step in July 1918, electing Wilhelm Karl, [[Duke of Urach]] and [[Count]] of [[Württemberg]], as [[Mindaugas II of Lithuania|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 of Germany|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 [[power (international)|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 ''[[wikt:vis-a-vis|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/finland/16.htm  |title=The Establishment of Finnish Democracy |editor-first1=Eric |editor-last1=Solsten |editor-first2=Sandra W. |editor-last2=Meditz |date=1988 |website=Finland: A Country Study |via=Country Studies US  |publisher=GPO for the Library of Congress |access-date= 5 February 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170811143453/http://countrystudies.us/finland/16.htm |archive-date= Aug 11, 2017 }}</ref>

The adoption of a new monarchist constitution had been delayed because it did not get the required [[Supermajority|qualified majority]]. The legitimacy of the royal election was based upon the [[Swedish Constitution of 1772|Instrument of Government]] of 1772, adopted under [[Gustav III of Sweden|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 [[List of Russian rulers|Russian Emperors]], as [[List of Finnish monarchs|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 (Finland)|Lapland]], Lord of [[Kalevala|Kaleva]] and the [[Pohjola|North]]" ({{langx|fi|Kaarle I, Suomen ja Karjalan kuningas, Ahvenanmaan herttua, Lapinmaan suuriruhtinas, Kalevan ja Pohjolan isäntä}}; {{langx|sv|Karl I, Kung av Finland och Karelen, hertig av Åland, storhertig av Lappland, herre över Kaleva och Pohjola}}).<ref>Ohto Manninen (päätoim.), Pertti Haapala, Juhani Piilonen, Jukka-Pekka Pietiäinen: ''Itsenäistymisen vuodet 1917–1920: 3. Katse tulevaisuuteen. Helsinki: Valtionarkisto'', 1992. {{ISBN|951-37-0729-6}}. pp. 188–189</ref>

By 9 November 1918 the German Emperor [[Wilhelm II]] [[Abdication of Wilhelm II|had abdicated]] and [[Proclamation of the republic in Germany|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 Ingman]]{{spaced ndash}}a monarchist himself{{spaced ndash}}to 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 Emil Mannerheim|Carl Gustaf Mannerheim]], the leader of the Whites during the [[Finnish Civil War]], was appointed as Regent of Finland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MANNERHEIM - Regent |url=https://mannerheim.fi/07_vhoit/e_valtho.htm |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=mannerheim.fi}}</ref> Republican parties won three-quarters of the parliament's seats in the [[1919 Finnish parliamentary election|election of 1919]] and Finland adopted [[Constitution of Finland|a republican constitution]]. In July 1919, Finland's first president [[Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg]] replaced Mannerheim as the first President of the Republic.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://finlandpolitics.org/2015/12/05/why-finland-deserves-to-celebrate-its-independence-day/  |title=Why Finland deserves to celebrate its independence |date= 5 December 2015 |website=Finland Politics |access-date= 20 April 2020 }}</ref>

== See also ==<!-- PLEASE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER -->
{{portal|Finland|Monarchy}}
* [[Finnish Civil War]]
* [[Crown jewels#Finland|Finnish crown jewels]]
* [[Grand Duchy of Finland]]
* [[House of Hesse]]
* [[Kingdom of Finland (1742)]]
* [[Monarchy of Finland]]
* [[Prince Wolfgang of Hesse]]
* [[United Baltic Duchy]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
* Nash, Michael L  (2012) The last King of Finland. ''Royalty Digest Quarterly'', 2012 : 1

== External links ==
* [http://formin.finland.fi/public/default.aspx?contentid=153726&contentlan=2&culture=en-US Foreign Ministry maker of a King in 1918] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107060349/http://formin.finland.fi/public/default.aspx?contentid=153726&contentlan=2&culture=en-US |date=2017-11-07 }} Foreign Ministry 
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20171107014735/http://history.info/on-this-day/1918-the-first-and-only-finnish-king-was-german-and-never-set-foot-in-finland/ 1918: The First and Only Finnish King was German and Never Set Foot in Finland] History Info

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{{Finland topics}}
{{Monarchies}}
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[[Category:1918 in Finland]]
[[Category:Monarchy of Finland]]
[[Category:Political history of Finland]]
[[Category:Post–Russian Empire states|Finland]]
[[Category:Finland–Germany relations]]
[[Category:Former unrecognized countries|Finland (1918)]]
[[Category:Former monarchies|Finland (1918)]]
[[Category:Former client states|Finland (1918)]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1919]]