On his return to Finland in 1847, Nordenstam was appointed governor of Uusimaa Province and vice chancellor of the University of Helsinki. He was also appointed a member of the Senate and head of the supreme censorship council in 1848. He prioritised his position at the university at first, aiming to prevent the spread of ideologies associated with the Revolutions of 1848 among Finnish students. While widespread radicalisation did not occur, his strict policies led to students staging some acts of protest, notably boycotting a ball Nordenstam held in honour of Tsesarevich Alexander Nikolayevich in 1851; the crown prince accepted Nordenstam's appeal to pardon the dissenters. After Alexander's accession to the throne as Alexander II in 1855, Nordenstam had to step down from the university in favour of a more liberal replacement.[2]
He was appointed as Vice Chairman of the Economic Division of the Senate of Finland in 1858, succeeding Lars Gabriel von Haartman. This position corresponded to the later office of Prime Minister. A high rank in its own right, it additionally entitled him to serve as acting Governor-General of Finland, the highest authority in the land and representative of the Emperor, which he did on several occasions; for months at a time, he was responsible for the duties of Governor-Generals Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg (1861), Platon Rokassovsky (1864) and Nikolay Adlerberg (1868, 1870, 1872–73).[2]
Nordenstam also had an active role in bringing regular legislative assemblies to Finland. He influenced Alexander II's decision to call the Diet of Finland in 1863 for the first time since 1809; from this point onward, the Diet convened regularly until its replacement with the current Parliament of Finland in 1906, and Nordenstam served as its Lord Marshal (speaker) at three consecutive sessions: 1863–64, 1867 and 1872. He led a committee which prepared constitutional reforms that came into effect in 1869. He also presided over the construction of the Helsinki–Riihimäki and Riihimäki–Saint Petersburg railway lines and the renovation of the Imperial Palace of Helsinki, which is now the Presidential Palace. In his last years, he supported the introduction of conscription in Finland, which began in 1878.[2]
Despite his long tenure as "Prime Minister", Nordenstam remains a relatively obscure figure in Finnish history.[1] Study of him is made more difficult by the fact that he destroyed a large part of his personal archive before his death.[2]
References
Nordenstam, Johan MauritzSuomalaiset kenraalit ja amiraalit Venäjän sotavoimissa 1809–1917. Biografiakeskus, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. (in Finnish)
12345678Nordenstam, Johan MauritzSuomalaiset kenraalit ja amiraalit Venäjän sotavoimissa 1809–1917. Biografiakeskus, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. (in Finnish)
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