Finnish presidential election, 1919

Finnish presidential election, 1919

25 July 1919

Nominee Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Party National Progressive Independent Electoral vote 143 50

Elected President Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg National Progressive

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Indirect presidential elections were held for the first time in Finland in 1919.^[1] Although the country had declared Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse King on 9 October 1918, he renounced the throne on 14 December. The President was elected by Parliament, with Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg of the National Progressive Party receiving 71.5% of the 200 votes.^[1] Ståhlberg, a moderate, liberal and reformist politician, who favoured improving the material well-being of workers and other economically poor Finns, received the votes of Social Democrats, Agrarians and Progressives. He also firmly supported the new Finnish Republic, and a parliamentary form of government with a strong President as a mediator and a political reserve for politically troubled times. Mannerheim, an independent right-winger and monarchist, suspected the democratic, republican and parliamentary form of government of producing too partisan political leaders, and of working ineffectively during crises. Ståhlberg favoured the signing of peace treaty between Finland and the Soviet Russia, while Mannerheim in the summer of 1919 strongly considered ordering the Finnish army to invade St. Petersburg to help the Russian Whites in that country's civil war. Only the National Coalitioners and Swedish People's Party voted for Mannerheim in this presidential election (see, for example, Raimo Salokangas, "An Independent Republic" (Itsenäinen tasavalta) in Seppo Zetterberg et al., eds., A Small Giant of the Finnish History / Suomen historian pikkujättiläinen. Helsinki: WSOY, 2003, pgs. 611-613; Pentti Virrankoski, A History of Finland / Suomen historia. Volumes 1&2. Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society (Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seura), 2009, pgs. 766-773; Sakari Virkkunen, Finland's Presidents I / Suomen presidentit I. Helsinki: Otava Ltd., 1994, pgs. 11-22; Sakari Virkkunen, Finland's Presidents II / Suomen presidentit II. Helsinki: Otava Ltd., 1994; Stig Jägerskiöld, Mannerheim 1867-1951. Helsinki: Otava Ltd., pgs. 115-121, 123-124, 128).

Results

References

Elections and referendums in Finland
Parliamentary elections	1863 1867 1872 1877 1882 1885 1888 1891 1894 1900 1901 1905 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1913 1916 1917 1919 1922 1924 1927 1929 1930 1933 1936 1939 1945 1948 1951 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1972 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019
Municipal elections	1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1928 1930 1933 1936 1945 1947 1950 1953 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2017
Presidential elections	1919 1925 1931 1937 1940 1943 1944 1946 1950 1956 1962 1968 1973 1978 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 2012 2018
European elections	1996 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019
Referendums	1931 1994
Elections in brackets were not public elections