PREFACE . . 8 

The Grand Duchy of Finland . . 10

BIRTH IN A POSITIVE MOOD . . 10 
Short war and long peace at Porvoo in 1809 . . 12 
Administrative institutions are established . . 14 
Finland's financial system finds form in Porvoo . . 18 
European finances under reform in the push of Enlightenment . . 20
Porvoo in a European intellectual context . . 24 
Traditions from Sweden . . 25
Finland's first heads of finance and leading civil servants . . 29  
The machinery . . 32 
The machinery at work . . 35 
The budgeting and accounting system . . 38 

NICHOLAS I STALLS THE REFORMS . . 40 
Leading personnel and administrative structures . . 42
Financial system and taxation . . 46 

ALEXANDER II OPENS WINDOWS TO REFORMS . . 40 
Economic development and economic policies . . 51 
Political leadership of finances . . 55 
Monetary reforms . . 56 
Budgetary reforms . . 58 
Reforms in financial administration . . 65 

POLITICAL REACTION AND ECONOMIC VITALITY . . 68 
Political backlash . . 71
Liberal economic reforms continue . . 72
New winds in nominations . . 74 
Minor reforms in budgeting and taxation . . 76 
Finance and economic policies are separated into different departments . . 80 

FINANCES IN STATE-BUILDING AND NATION-BUILDING . . 83 

Independent Finland . . 89

EARLY YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE 1917-1939 . . 89 
Independence, suddenly . . 92 
Principles of governance are defined . . 95 
Economy recovers amid political crisis and international economic depressions . . 99 
Brevity and turbulence in political leadership . . 103 
Money and monetary policy dominates the economy and economic policies . . 106 
Planning boards and committees . . 108 
Incremental reforms in the financial management system . . 110
Structure and functions of the Ministry . . 114 

NEW START DURING THE WAR . . 116 
Centralization of power . . 118
Controlled war economy . . 122 
Economic planning, a new task for the Ministry of Finance . . 124 
More control to budgetary appropriations . . 128 
Need for rationalization of administration . . 130 
Structural reform of the Ministry . . 131 

GROWING EMPHASIS ON ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL MATTERS . . 133 
Politics takes a left turn . . 136 
Short-lived governments and political turmoil . . 138 
Discontinuity in the political leadership of the Ministry . . 140 
From rationing to regulation of the economy and towards ever deeper economic integration . . 141 
Towards rational economic policies and planning . . 146 
Post-war economic planning . . 148 
Control of expenditure dominates budgetary policies and reforms . . 153 
From rationalization towards administrative modernization . . 160 
Slow reforms inside the Ministry of Finance . . 163 
 Top management 163 
 Personnel . . 165 
A way towards a general coordinator of the government . . 166 

General Coordinator of the Public Sector . . 168 

Towards stable political leadership . . 171
Firm management team at the top . . 176
Growth-oriented economic policies . . 178 
Birth of a new welfare state . . 181
Planning becomes the magic word . . 185
Reforming the financial management system . . 187 
 Annual budgeting . . 188 
 Medium-term planning . . 189 
 ex ante finance control . . 190 
From rationalization to steering of administrative modernization . . 191 
 Personnel policies . . 194 
Reforming the Ministry to support its growing responsibilities . . 195 

From Management of Depression to National European Economic Policy Coordination . . 197 
Continuity in governments in spite of changing political constellations . . 199 
Minister of Finance becomes Number Two in the Government . . 200 
From closed economy to open markets and market liberalization . . 205 
The 1980s and new economic doctrines . . 206 
Profound financial management reforms . . 213 
 Reforms start from constitution and legislation... . . 214 
 ...continue in annual budgeting and medium-term frame budgeting... . . 214 
 ...adaptation of performance management... . . 217
 ...use of market mechanisms... . . 218 
 ...and reforms in the system of local government financing . . 220
From traditional public administration to new public management . . 221 
 Personnel policies . . 224 
Internal structural turmoil in the Ministry of Finance . . 225 

The Many Roles of the Ministry . . 229 

Notes . . 234 
Bibliography . . 240 
Index . . 249 
Appendix 1. Heads of the Departments . . 252
Appendix 2. Ministers of Finance . . 254 
Illustrations . . 262