Western Finland Province

Western Finland Länsi-Suomen lääni Västra Finlands län
Coat of arms
Country	Finland
Established	September 1, 1997
Abolished	January 1, 2010
Capital	Turku
Government
• Governor	Rauno Saari
Area
• Total	74,185 km2 (28,643 sq mi)
Population (December 31, 2009)
• Total	1,889,542
• Density	25/km2 (66/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
ISO 3166 code	LS
NUTS code	19

Western Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland.

History

On September 1, 1997 the Province of Turku and Pori, the Province of Vaasa, the Province of Central Finland and the northern parts of the Province of Häme were joined to form the new Province of Western Finland.

All the provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010.^[1]

Administration

The State Provincial Office was a joint regional administrative authority of seven ministries. The State Provincial Office served at five localities; the main office was placed in Turku, and regional service offices were located in Jyväskylä, Tampere, Vaasa, and Pori. Approximately 350 persons worked at the State Provincial Office. The agency was divided into eight departments.

Regions

Western Finland was divided into seven regions:

• Southern Ostrobothnia (Etelä-Pohjanmaa / Södra Österbotten)
• Ostrobothnia (Pohjanmaa / Österbotten)
• Pirkanmaa (Pirkanmaa / Birkaland)
• Satakunta (Satakunta / Satakunda)
• Central Ostrobothnia (Keski-Pohjanmaa / Mellersta Österbotten)
• Central Finland (Keski-Suomi / Mellersta Finland)
• Finland Proper (Varsinais-Suomi / Egentliga Finland)

Municipalities in 2009 (cities in bold)

Western Finland was divided into 142 municipalities in 2009.

Former municipalities (disestablished before 2009)

Governors

• Heikki Koski 1997-2003
• Rauno Saari 2003-2009

Heraldry

The coat of arms of Western Finland was composed of the arms of Finland Proper, Satakunta and Ostrobothnia.

Notes

1. ↑ "New regional administration model abolishes provinces in 2010". Helsingin Sanomat International Edition. Sanoma Corporation. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2010. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Western Finland.

• Western Finland State Provincial Office - Official site

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: 62°N 24°E / 62°N 24°E / 62; 24