Pre-Presidential Heads of State
From the date of Finland's independence on 6 December 1917 until the end of the Finnish Civil War in May 1918, Per Evind Svinhufvud was the head of state of White Finland in his capacity as Chairman of the Senate. His counterpart in the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic was Otto Ville Kuusinen. Between May 1918 and July 1919, Finland had two Regents (Finnish: valtionhoitaja, Swedish: stathållare, lit. Care-taker of State) and, for a time, an elected King, although the latter renounced the throne:
- Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, Regent (18 May 1918 – 12 December 1918)
- Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse, elected as King of Finland on 7 October 1918 but never took office and renounced the throne on 4 December after Germany's defeat in World War I – he had not time enough to arrive in Finland before the political climate changed following the end of the war. It is said that his regnal name was to be Väinö I of Finland ('Väinö' obviously referring to Väinämöinen, one of the main characters in the Finnish national epic Kalevala), but due to there not being contemporary records of this name it is widely considered a popular misbelief, probably created by columnist Väinö Nuorteva.
- Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Regent (12 December 1918 – 27 July 1919)
Read more about this topic: President Of Finland
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