The Minister–Secretary of State for Finland (in Finnish ministerivaltiosihteeri; in Swedish ministerstatssekreterare) represented interests of the Grand Duchy of Finland in the Imperial Court in Saint Petersburg from 1809 to 1917. Before 1834 the title was secretary of state. The Russian Tsar was represented in Helsinki by the Governor General.Osmo Jussila: ”Kenraalikuvernööri, ministerivaltiosihteeri ja senaatti”, Suomen keskushallinnon historia 1809–1996 (toim. Raimo Savolainen). Hallintohistoriakomitea/Edita, Helsinki 1996.
The first secretary of state was Alexander I's Russian advisor Mikhail Speransky from 1809 to 1811.
This secretary of state was an official who, and whose office (there were deputy and assistants) had the monopoly to present Finnish affairs to the Emperor. All acts of the emperor concerning the grand duchy, were to be countersigned by this state secretary, or deputized officials. When the Finnish autonomy was establishing, other Finnish-related officials generally supported, and helped to build this monopoly (to mention, Governor-General Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov was a supporter of this particularism and although he resided in St Petersburg and was in close contact with the emperor as simultaneous Russian Minister of Navy, he consistently had Finnish affairs to go through the Minister State Secretary). The tradition, endorsed by conservative emperors such as Nicholas I, created a strong precedent. Russian general government was effectively kept out of Finnish affairs, this minister having the benefit of the channel, and many possibilities to stall Russian ministers. Only in last two decades of the grand duchy, those periods of russification, the system was attempted to be broken in some regards, but it created counteroffensives based on illegality arguments. Vyacheslav von Plehve's appointment in 1900 was criticized as illegal, because he was not a Finnish citizen. Afterwards, russified Finnish citizens were occasionally used in this office and as members of the senate in Helsinki.
State Secretary State Secretary In Officecount Mikhail Speransky 1809–1811 baron, later count Robert Henrik Rehbinder 1811–1834 Minister–Secretary of State Minister–Secretary of StateIn Officebaron Robert Henrik Rehbinder 1834–1841 count Alexander Armfelt 1842–1876 baron Emil Stjernvall-Walleen 1876–1881baron Theodor Bruun 1881–1888Johann Casimir Ehrnrooth 1888–1891Woldemar von Daehn1891–1898 Victor Procopé (acting) 1898–1899 Vyacheslav von Plehve 1900–1904 Edvard Oerstroem (Andreievich) (acting) 1904–1905 Constantin Linder 1905 Edvard Oerstroem (Andreievich) (acting) 1905–1906August Langhoff (later baron) 1906–1913 Vladimir Ivanovich Markov 1913–1917
Finland's representative Representative In OfficeFyodor Rodichev 1917
Minister–Secretary of State Minister–Secretary of State In Office Carl Enckell1917
References
Osmo Jussila, Seppo Hentilä and Jukka Nevakivi. From Grand Duchy to a modern state: a political history of Finland since 1809.