The predisposition of Hugo Suolahti, the new professor of Germanic philology, for administrative tasks was soon noticed. In addition to the administrative duties entailed by a professorship, two years later he acquired the venerable post of inspector (supervisor) of the Hämäläis-Osakunta student nation.

Suolahti’s administrative career quickly went from strength to strength. In 1917 he was appointed vice rector, directly followed by a term as rector in 1923–26. While working as vice rector, Suolahti was also the chairman of the committee drafting a new university act in 1919. New statutes on the organisational form of the University of Helsinki were enacted in 1923. The committee led by Suolahti had initially aimed for a completely monolingual university. Ultimately the act obliged universities to provide teaching in Finnish and Swedish, roughly in proportion to the number of students who spoke these languages as their mother tongue. The University of Helsinki’s new statutes entered into force in 1924.

The university act and the university statutes set out, among others, the tasks of the university chancellor. During Swedish rule, the university’s chancellors had been aristocratic Swedish state councillors, representatives of state power at the university. They only occasionally visited the academy, as it was then known. In practice, the duties of the chancellor were performed by the vice-chancellor, the Bishop of Turku. For the majority of the period of Russian rule, the Russian Crown Prince had been the university’s chancellor. Then too, the vice-chancellor (from 1821 the surrogate chancellor) and Finland’s ministerial state secretary in practice performed the duties of the post, in other words they represented state interests at the university.

After Finland became independent, the post of surrogate chancellor was abandoned, and the chancellor began to perform the duties of the post. In the new statutes of 1924, the chancellor gained the right, among others, to participate in cabinet meetings when matters pertaining to the university were being discussed. The post of chancellor changed its form. Where the chancellor was previously a representative of the state, in accordance with the statutes of 1924, he was now a representative of the university vis-à-vis the state and society.

The first chancellor appointed in accordance with the new university act and statutes was Suolahti in 1926. The vote had been very close. Suolahti’s opponent had been Professor Yrjö Hirn. Hirn won by a single vote in the first round, while Hirn won in the second round by half a vote. The matter was ultimately settled by differences in the two men’s political views. For President Lauri Kristian Relander, it was natural to appoint a supporter a Finnish patriot like Suolahti over a liberal like Hirn.

Suolahti remained in the post of chancellor until his death in 1944. He was chosen as chancellor time and time again. Finnish nationalists attempted on many occasions to sway Suolahti to their cause in their attempt to make the university more Finnish. For example, in 1935, a procession of undergraduates marched to the chancellor to demand that the university exclusively use Finnish. As an adroit political tactician, Suolahti repelled numerous similar attempts, as he did efforts to arrange a referendum on the university language question. His moderate Finnish nationalism is probably part of the reason why Suolahti was able to remain chancellor for almost 20 years.

Sources:

• Vesa Vares & Anto Leikola, Suolahti, Hugo, National Biography online publication. Available for free on the Nelli portal. Accessed December 2, 2015
• Yliopiston statuutit (‘The university statutes’), University of Helsinki online publication. Accessed December 5, 2015
• Helsingin yliopisto (‘University of Helsinki’) Helsinki University Museum online publication. Accessed December 5, 2015
• Yliopiston kanslerit (‘The university’s chancellors’). University of Helsinki online publication. Accessed December 5, 2015
• Hugo Suolahti, Wikipedia, accessed December 2, 2015