Finnish Nobility

The Finnish nobility (Fi. Aateli, Sw. Adel) was historically a privileged class in Finland, deriving from its period as part of Sweden and the Russian Empire. Noble families and their descendants are still a part of Finnish republican society today, but except for the titles themselves, no longer retain any specific or granted privileges. A majority of Finnish nobles have traditionally been Swedish-speakers using their titles mostly in Swedish. The Finnish nobility today has some 6,000 male and female members.

The Finnish nobility is organized into classes according to a scheme introduced in the Act on the Organisation of the House of Nobility (Fi. Ritarihuonejärjestys, Sw. Riddarhusordningen). The ranks (compare with Royal and noble ranks) granted were (Swedish / Finnish):

• furste / ruhtinas (corresponding approximately to crowned or Sovereign Prince in the German sense. Compare Charles, crowned Prince of Wales and Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco)
• greve / kreivi (corresponding to Count)
• friherre / vapaaherra (corresponding approximately to baron)
• riddare / ritari (knights) a higher class of untitled nobility, which was originally formed for descendants of members of the Royal Council of Sweden and in 1778 came to include the eldest families and the families of knight commanders of royal chivalric orders; this class encompassed 73 families in Finland. The class was merged with the untitled nobility in 1863.
• herr (svenneklassen) / herra (asemiesluokka), untitled nobility.

Under the above Act on the Organisation of the House of Nobility, the head of each family had a seat in the House. There also existed a proxy system according to which the head of the family could be represented by another male member of the same family or even by a male member of another family by proxy.

Finnish Dukes after the Middle Ages were always princes of the reigning family, and counted as such.

Following elevation into nobility by the monarch, the key concept was that of "introduction" to ones peers at the House of Nobility (Fi. Ritarihuone / Sw. Riddarhuset), which formerly was a chamber in the Diet of Finland (1809–1906), the then Parliament, and in the Riksdag of the Estates of Sweden to which Finland belonged until 1809. The House of Nobility served as an official representation for the nobility regulated by the Finnish government, but regulation has decreased in step with the privileges. Virtually all noble families have been introduced (with the exception of some members of foreign nobility that, while having been naturalized to the royal court, have never been introduced; and some grantees of nobility who had no heirs and did not bother), and their members are listed in a calendar published regularly (usually every three years).

In Finland, the nobility was generally sparser in resources than, and not as powerful as, its brethren in Sweden.