Leo Mechelin enrolled at the University of Helsinki immediately after completing his matriculation examination. He was interested in the humanities, particularly aesthetics and literature, but decided on the same course that J.K. Paasikivi and P.E: Svhinhufvud were to take slightly later: after his first degree he changed to law in the hope of a career in the civil service. To a large degree, his studies in legal science formed the basis of the stances he adopted in later life. Mechelin enjoyed a good reputation at the university. He had a military academy upbringing, was well-mannered and left a strong impression on those he met. In addition he was a talented actor, writer and singer.

During Mechelin’s time at the University, the atmosphere in Finland was rather politicised, with the change in the Tsar and the convening, in 1863, of the Diet of Finland for the first time in 50 years. Mechelin had already converted to the liberal cause during his study days, and participated, along with the likes of C.G. Estlander, in the establishment of the liberal mouthpiece Helsingfors Dagbladet. Mechelin actively contributed to the newspaper’s content and sent reports from his foreign travels to Finland for publication. He was also involved in the founding of later liberal newspapers, such as Finsk Tidning.

After a decade-long break, Mechelin once more entered the world of academia with his successful application for the post of professor at the University of Helsinki. He had only completed a lower degree in the discipline, but he succeeded, in the space of two years, in completing two further degrees, which qualified him as an applicant. In his professorial dissertation he ignored the politics of the day and with his work Om statsförbund och statsunioner (1873) took the first steps towards the liberal agenda that was later to emerge.

During his time as a professor, Mechelin even more firmly established his stamp on the political map. He had become the leading figure in the Liberal Party, as a result of which he entered the Senate at the same time as the leading light of the Fennoman movement, Yrjö Sakari Yrjö-Koskisen. Whereas the Fennoman movement, in the manner of J.V. Snellman, viewed Finland’s future as resting on the cornerstones of national unity and the rise of a spirit of national identity, Mechelin saw legislative clauses and carefully phrased agreements with the Imperial motherland as the means of ensuring Finnish independence and growth.

Mechelin’s political strength was partly derived from his broad international connections, through which he received fresh information on such things as developments in St. Petersburg. Through his connections he was able to disseminate news of Finland to the world at large and consequently influence the way foreign powers viewed Finland’s situation.

With his work Finland in the Nineteenth Century, Mechelin attempted to make Finland known as a state in its own right. Among the contributors to the work were many of the famous writers and artists of the day, including Zacharias Topelius and Albert Edelfelt. The book was translated into several languages.

Mechelin’s candour and intractability also tarnished his name in Russia. At the turn of the century, a wave of nationalism had also broken over Russia, which in turn spelled difficulties for Finnish autonomy and the country’s unique position within the Russian empire. Vocal separatists like Mechelin were the focus of particular scrutiny. Mechelin had already left the Senate in the 1890s, but this was no obstacle to his political activism. Ultimately, Mechelin, who had joined the Constitutional Party, was banished, along with others viewed as separatists, by Governer-General Bobrikov. Mechelin’s exile lasted just a year, however, and he returned surrounded by a large throng of supporters. He was widely admired as a defender of Finnish rights.

In the years following his return from exile, Mechelin actively participated in politics and was elected to the first Finnish Parliament as a member of the Swedish People’s Party, which had arisen from the Constitutional Party’s fragmentation into several smaller entities. Mechelin also entered the Senate, where he worked in a role similar to that of a modern-day prime minister. He resigned his post as member of parliament in 1931, just before his death.

Mechelin’s significance to Finnish history is aptly portrayed by the poem Eino Leino wrote for Mechelin’s funeral, in which Mechelin is described as the “leader of an oppressed nation.”

Sources:

• Tapio Helen, Mechelin, Leo. Kansallisbiografia-verkkojulkaisu (‘National Biography web publication’). Accessed August 4, 2015. Available free of charge from Nelli-portal.
• Leo Mechelin, Wikipedia. Accessed August 4, 2015.