Herman Gummerus

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Herman Gregorius Gummerus (born 1877 in Russia- died July 18, 1948 in Helsinki) was a leading Finnish historian and one of the founders of the Patriotic People's Movement (IKL).

Born in Saint Petersburg into a Swedish speaking family, Gummerus became an expert on the economy and society of Ancient Rome, and lectured at the University of Helsinki from 1911 to 1920 and again from 1926 to 1947.^[1] His studies on Rome were particularly concerned with rural life in the later period of the empire, a subject upon which he wrote widely.^[2]

An early advocate of Finnish independence, Gummerus was imprisoned for this in 1904, spending time in Peter and Paul Fortress.^[3] He went on to edit the journal Framtid and before forming the anti-Russification Wetterhof Bureau (later Finnish Bureau) in Germany in 1915.^[4] After independence had been achieved Gummerus was appointed to posts in Stockholm and Kiev, where he had exteneded his anti-Russian activity and where he helped set up a legation during Ukraine's brief independence.^[5] He became Ambassador to Rome in 1920 (a post he held until 1925)and developed an admiration for the growing fascist movement whilst in Italy.^[6]

On his return to Finland, and with the leaders of the Lapua Movement mostly imprisoned, he joined with Erkki Räikkönen, a fellow Swedish-speaker, to form IKL as a slightly more moderate continuation. Driven by an inherent conservatism, Gummerus desired an electoral alliance with the National Coalition Party but soon found that the rank and file of IKL had no interest in this.^[7] IKL also adopted a strong position on the importance of the Finnish language, following the lead of the Academic Karelia Society and further isolating the Swedish-speaking Gummerus. He finally left the movement in 1934 and took no further role in active politics.^[8]

Despite his linguistic identity Gummerus went on to criticize Sweden, attacking the Blue Book of former Swedish foreign minister Johannes Hellner, which claimed that Sweden had only been interested in cultivating Finland as a good neighbour in the Åland crisis. Gummerus argued that, whilst this may have been the case, Swedish attitudes towards the newly independent country where such that a state of mistrust and suspicion was engendered between the two countires.^[9]

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