Diet of Porvoo

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The Porvoo Diet is opened by Alexander I

The Porvoo Diet (Finnish Porvoon maapäivät, also (somewhat erroneously Porvoon valtiopäivät; Swedish Borgå Landtdag), was the summoned legislative assembly to establish the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809 and the heir of the powers of the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates.

The sovereign's pledge, printed in Finnish

During the Finnish War between Sweden and Russia, the four Estates of occupied Finland (Nobility, Clergy, Burghers and Peasants) were assembled at Porvoo (Borgå) by Tsar Alexander I, the new Grand Duke of Finland, between March 25 and July 19, 1809. The central event at Porvoo was the sovereign pledge and the oaths of the Estates in Porvoo Cathedral on March 29. Each of the Estates swore their oaths of allegiance, committing themselves to accepting the Emperor and Grand Duke of Finland as the true authority, and to keeping the constitution and the form of government unchanged. Alexander I subsequently promised to govern Finland in accordance with its laws. This was thought to essentially mean that the emperor confirmed the Swedish Instrument of Government from 1772 as the constitution of Finland, although it was also interpreted to mean respecting the existing codes and statutes. The diet had required that it would be convened again after the Finnish War, which separated Finland from Sweden, had been concluded. On September 17 of the same year, the conflict was settled by the Treaty of Fredrikshamn, but it would be another five decades until the Finnish Estates would be called again.

Session of the Diet: 1809 (January to July)

List of participants at the Diet of Porvoo

• Count Robert De Geer was "maamarsalkka", leader of the Noble estate.
• Baron Carl Erik Mannerheim, later count, was an important participant

See also

• Diet of Finland
• Parliament of Finland
• Senate of Finland
• Governor-General of Finland
• Finnish nobility
• Finnish House of Knights and Nobility

External links

• [History of the Finnish Parliament] - Official site
• [Kejsarens tal vid lantdagens avslutande den 19 juli 1809] - in Swedish at Wikisource (Originally in French)

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