Finland

a republic with a representative democracy governed according to the principles of parliamentarism

Helsinki Vantaa International Airport (HEL)

The War of Finland in 1808-09 brought the transfer of Finland from Swedish rule to become an autonomous grand duchy of the Russian empire. In 1809 the new Grand Duchy of Finland received its own central administration under the leadership of a Governing Council, from 1816 the Imperial Finnish Senate. This was the direct predecessor of what was later to become the Government of Finland following independence in 1917. The Senate was responsible for the general administration of the Grand Duchy. It contained an Economic Division and a Judicial Division, each under the formal chairmanship of the Russian Governor-General. Both were provided with a Finnish Vice-Chairman in 1822.

The Economic Division was divided into a number of administrative departments, each headed by a member of the Senate. From 1858, members of the Senate were formally recognized as senators. The number of administrative departments under the Grand Duchy varied from five to nine. Some members of the Economic Division did not have specific responsibility for an individual department. The Judicial Division contained no subordinate administrative departments. The Economic Division acted as the supreme administrative and judicial authority for civil administration and economic affairs, while the Judicial Division was responsible for the administration of justice. Supreme authority for overseeing the legality of government was vested in the hands of the new office of Procurator.