Åland (former province of Finland)

Province of Åland Ahvenanmaan lääni Ålands län
Province of Finland
← 1918–2009
Coat of arms
Capital		Mariehamn
History
•	Established	1918
•	Disestablished	2009
Area
•	1 January 1993	1,552 km2 (599 sq mi)
Population
•	1 January 1993	24,993
	Density	16.1 /km2  (41.7 /sq mi)
•	31 December 2009	27,732
	Density	17.9 /km2  (46.3 /sq mi)

The Province of Åland (Finnish: Ahvenanmaan lääni, Swedish: Ålands län) was a province of Finland from 1918 to 2009.

The State Provincial Office on the Åland Islands (Länsstyrelsen på Åland) represented the Finnish central government on the Åland Islands between 1918 and 2009. Due to its autonomy, it had somewhat different functions than similar offices in other Provinces of Finland. Generally a State Provincial Office was a joint regional authority of seven different ministries of the Government of Finland. In Åland the State Provincial Office also represented a set of other authorities of the central government, which in mainland-Finland has separate bureaucracies. On the other hand duties, which on mainland-Finland were handled by the provincial offices, were transferred to the autonomous government of Åland.

Along with the abolition of all provinces of Finland, the Åland State Provincial Office was replaced by the State Department of Åland in 2009.

Provinces of Finland 1831: 1: Turku and Pori, 2: Uusimaa, 3: Häme, 4: Vaasa, 6: Mikkeli, 8: Kuopio, 10: Oulu, 13: Viipuri Provinces of Finland 1921: 1: Turku and Pori, 2: Uusimaa, 3: Häme, 4: Vaasa, 6: Mikkeli, 8: Kuopio, 10: Oulu, 12: Åland, 13: Viipuri, 25: Petsamo

Provinces of Finland 1996: 1: Turku and Pori, 2: Uusimaa, 3: Häme, 4: Vaasa, 5: Kymi, 6: Mikkeli, 7: Central Finland, 8: Kuopio, 9: Northern Karelia, 10: Oulu, 11: Lapland, 12: Åland

Provinces of Finland 1997: 10: Oulu, 11: Lapland, 12: Åland, 22: Southern Finland, 23: Western Finland, 24: Eastern Finland

Municipalities in 2009 (cities in bold)

Governors

• Hjalmar von Bonsdorff 1918
• William Isaksson 1918–1922
• Lars Wilhelm Fagerlund 1922–1937
• Torsten Rothberg 1938
• Ruben Österberg 1939–1945
• Herman Koroleff 1945–1953
• Tor Brenning 1954–1972
• Martin Isaksson 1972–1982
• Henrik Gustavsson 1982–1999
• Peter Lindbäck 1999–2009

Former provinces of Finland
In parentheses are years when provinces were established and disestablished.
1634–1775	Turku and Pori (1634) Nyland and Tavastehus (1634) Ostrobothnia (1634–1775) Viborg and Nyslott (1634–1721) Kexholm (1634–1721) Kymmenegård and Nyslott (1721–1747) Savolax and Kymmenegård (1747–1775)
1775–1831	Turku and Pori (1634) Nyland and Tavastehus (1634–1831) Vaasa (1775) Oulu (1775) Kymmenegård (1775–1831) Savolax and Karelia (1775–1831) Viipuri (1812)
1831–1918	Turku and Pori (1634) Vaasa (1775) Oulu (1775) Viipuri (1812) Häme (1831) Uusimaa (1831) Mikkeli (1831) Kuopio (1831)
1918–1997	Turku and Pori (1634–1997) Vaasa (1775–1997) Oulu (1775) Viipuri (1812–1945) Häme (1831–1997) Uusimaa (1831–1997) Mikkeli (1831–1997) Kuopio (1831–1997) Åland (1918) Petsamo (1921–1921) Lapland (1938) Kymi (1945–1997) Central Finland (1960–1997) Northern Karelia (1960–1997)
1997–2009	Oulu (1775–2009) Åland (1918–2009) Lapland (1938–2009) Southern Finland (1997–2009) Western Finland (1997–2009) Eastern Finland (1997–2009)

Coordinates: 60°15′N 20°00′E / 60.250°N 20.000°E / 60.250; 20.000