Prime Minister's Office (Finland)
The Senate of Finland was founded on 18 August 1809 in the Grand Duchy of Finland when Emperor Alexander I of Russia signed a standing order on its establishment at Peterhof Palace. The Senate was initially called the Governing Council until it was renamed as the Senate in 1816. The Senate of Finland was divided into the Economic and Judicial Divisions; the Economic Division was further divided into departments, such as the Office Administrative Department (; ). On 1 October 1892, the Office Administrative Department was disbanded and the modern equivalent position of Prime Minister in the Senate, the Vice-Chairman of the Economic Division, was granted a support office in its place. The new unit was called the Office of the Economic Division (; ). Following Finnish independence in 1917, the unit was renamed as the Prime Minister's Office on 27 November 1918 with the operations and staff remaining intact.
Finland–Sweden relations
Finland and Sweden share a long historical, religious, and legal system as well as an economic and social model. Finland was part of Sweden for almost 700 years from around 1150 until the Finnish War of 1809 that saw Finland becoming an autonomous part of the Russian Empire as the Grand Duchy of Finland. Since Finland gained its full independence from Russia in 1917, the two countries have been close partners enjoying a special relationship. The number of Finnish-Swedish connections and the quality of cooperation in most areas of the government is unique when compared to other international relations in both countries. Swedish language has an official status in Finland whilst Finns form the largest ethnic minority in Sweden, estimated to be about 675 000.