Provinces of Finland
Between 1634 and 2009, Finland was administered as several provinces, or counties. Finland had always been a unitary state: the provincial authorities were part of the central government's executive branch and apart from Åland, the provinces had little autonomy. There were never any elected provincial parliaments in continental Finland.
The system was initially created by the Instrument of Government of 1634 when Finland was a part of Sweden. When Finland was annexed by the Russian Empire and made into the Grand Duchy of Finland, the regional administration remained the same. The Vyborg Governorate was initially not part of the Grand Duchy, but in 1812, it was transferred from Russia proper to Finland. The provinces continued also under the independent Finland after 1917.
The makeup of the provinces changed drastically on 1 September 1997, when the number of the provinces was reduced from twelve to six. This effectively made them purely administrative units, as linguistic and cultural boundaries no longer followed the borders of the provinces.
The provinces were eventually abolished at the end of 2009. Consequently, different ministries may subdivide their areal organization differently. Besides the former provinces, the municipalities of Finland form the fundamental subdivisions of the country. In current use are the regions of Finland, a smaller subdivision where some pre-1997 läänis are split into multiple regions. Åland retains its special autonomous status and its own regional parliament.
Duties
Each province was led by a governor appointed by the president on the recommendation of the cabinet. The governor was the head of the State Provincial Office, which acted as the joint regional authority for seven ministries in the following domains:- social services and health care
- education and culture
- police administration
- rescue services
- traffic administration
- competition and consumer affairs
- judicial administration
Provinces governed only state offices, such as the police. Most services, such as healthcare and maintenance of local streets, were and remain today the responsibility of municipalities of Finland. Many municipalities are too small for a hospital and some other services, so they cooperate in municipality groups, e.g. health care districts, using borders that vary depending on the type of service. Often Swedish-language municipalities cooperate even if they do not share a border.
History
In 1634, administratives provinces were formed in Sweden, and therefore in Finland, which was a part of Sweden until 1809. Five of the provinces covered what is now Finland; some of these also covered parts of what are now Russia. The exact division of the country into provinces has fluctuated over time.The Vyborg Governorate was established in territories ceded by the Swedish Empire in the Great Northern War. By the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, Sweden formally ceded control of the parts of the Viborg and Nyslott County and the Kexholm County located on the Karelian Isthmus to Russia. The governorate was extended in 1743 when Sweden ceded control of the rest of Viborg and Nyslott, now called the Kymmenegård and Nyslott County, by the Treaty of Åbo. In the Swedish kingdom the ceded territories was also known as Old Finland, and between 1802 and 1812 it was named the "Finland Governorate".
During the Napoleonic Wars, the Kingdom of Sweden had allied itself with the Russian Empire, United [Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom] and the other parties against Napoleonic France. However, following the treaty of Treaty of Tilsit in 1807, Russia made peace with France. In 1808, and supported by France, Russia successfully challenged the Swedish control over Finland in the Finnish War. In the Treaty of Fredrikshamn on September 17, 1809 Sweden was obliged to cede all its territory in Finland, east of the Torne River, to Russia. The ceded territories became a part of the Russian Empire and was reconstituted into the Grand Duchy of Finland, with the Russian Tsar as Grand Duke.
In 1812 the Vyborg Governorate was transferred from Russia proper to the Grand Duchy. The transfer, announced by Tsar Alexander I just before Christmas, on December 23, 1811 O.S., can be seen as a symbolic gesture and an attempt to appease the sentiment of the Finnish population, which had just experienced Russian conquest of their country by force in the Finnish War.
In 1831 the Nyland-Tavastehus Governorate was divided into the Nyland Governorate and the Tavastehus Governorate.
Upon the death of Tsar Nicholas I in 1855, the official name of the city of Vasa was changed to Nikolaistad. However, the name of the Vasa Governorate was not changed correspondingly.
When Finland declared itself independent on December 6, 1917, the provinces continued as subdivisions of an independent Republic of Finland.
After abolition
The provinces were abolished altogether effective 1 January 2010. Since then, the regional administration of the Finnish state has two parallel top-level organs in the hierarchy: the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment on the one hand, and the Regional State Administrative Agencies on the other.Six Regional State Administrative Agencies - in addition to the State Department of Åland - are primarily responsible for law enforcement. Among these, South-Western Finland and Western and Central Finland cover the former province of Western Finland, and the former province of Oulu was revamped as Northern Finland; other old provincial boundaries remain much the same in the new disposition.
In parallel, there are 15 Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, which are responsible for other state administration: employment, road and transport infrastructure, and environmental monitoring. They are each responsible for one or more of regions of Finland, and include offices of the Ministries of Employment and the Economy, Transport and Communications (Finland)|Transport and Communications] and Environment.
The boundaries of the old provinces partly survive in telephone area codes and electoral districts.
List of provinces
| English name | Finnish name | Swedish name | Residence city | Dates of existence | Notes |
| Province of [Turku and Pori] | Turun ja Porin lääni | Åbo och Björneborgs län | Turku | 1634-1997 | • one of the original provinces formed in 1634, though parts were split off since then • merged into the Province of Western Finland |
| Province of Nyland and Tavastehus | Uudenmaan ja Hämeen lääni | Nylands och Tavastehus län | Helsinki/Hämeenlinna | 1634-1831 | • one of the original provinces formed in 1634 |
| Province of Ostrobothnia | Pohjanmaan lääni | Österbottens län | Oulu/Vaasa | 1634-1775 | • one of the original provinces formed in 1634 |
| Province of Viborg and Nyslott | Viipurin ja Savonlinnan lääni | Viborgs och Nyslotts län | Vyborg | 1634-1721 | • one of the original provinces formed in 1634 |
| Province of Kexholm | Käkisalmen lääni | Kexholms län | Kexholm | 1634-1721 | • one of the original provinces formed in 1634 |
| Province of Kymmenegård and Nyslott | Savonlinnan ja Kymenkartanon lääni | Kymmenegårds och Nyslotts län | Lappeenranta | 1721-1747 | • former Province of Viborg and Nyslott |
| Province of Savolax and Kymmenegård | Kymenkartanon ja Savon lääni | Savolax och Kymmenegårds län | Loviisa | 1747-1775 | • former Province of Kymmenegård and Nyslott |
| Province of Vaasa | Vaasan lääni | Vasa län | Vaasa | 1775-1997 | • split off from the Province of Ostrobothnia • merged into the Province of Western Finland |
| Province of Oulu | Oulun lääni | Uleåborgs län | Oulu | 1775-2009 | • split off from the Province of Ostrobothnia |
| Province of Kymmenegård | Kymenkartanon lääni | Kymmenegårds län | Heinola | 1775-1831 | • split off from the Province of Savolax and Kymmenegård |
| Province of Savolax and Karelia | Savon ja Karjalan lääni | Savolax och Karelens län | Kuopio | 1775-1831 | • split off from the Province of Savolax and Kymmenegård |
| Province of Viipuri | Viipurin lääni | Viborgs län | Vyborg | 1812-1947 | • Russian Vyborg Governorate 1744-1812; transferred as Province of Viipuri to autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland in 1812 • most of its area was lost to the Soviet Union in World War II, and the remainder became the Province of Kymi |
| Province of Uusimaa | Uudenmaan lääni | Nylands län | Helsinki | 1831-1997 | • produced by splitting the Province of Nyland and Tavastehus • merged into the Province of Southern Finland |
| Province of Häme | Hämeen lääni | Tavastehus län | Hämeenlinna | 1831-1997 | • produced by splitting the Province of Nyland and Tavastehus • merged into the Provinces of Southern Finland and Western Finland |
| Province of Mikkeli | Mikkelin lääni | St. Michels län | Mikkeli | 1831-1997 | • former Province of Kymmenegård • merged into the Provinces of Eastern Finland and Southern Finland |
| Province of Kuopio | Kuopion lääni | Kuopio län | Kuopio | 1831-1997 | • former Province of Savolax and Karelia • merged into the Province of Eastern Finland |
| Province of Åland | Ahvenanmaan lääni | Ålands län | Mariehamn | 1918-2009 | • had a special status: even though the province was discontinued at the end of 2009 along with the others, there was a coextensive "maakunta" that is semi-autonomous and demilitarized by international treaties |
| Province of Petsamo | Petsamon lääni | Petsamo län | Pechenga | 1921-1921 | • gained from Soviet Russia • merged into the Province of Oulu • the entire area of the former Province of Pechenga was lost to the Soviet Union in World War II |
| Province of Lapland | Lapin lääni | Lapplands län | Rovaniemi | 1938-2009 | • split off from the Province of Oulu |
| Province of Kymi | Kymen lääni | Kymmene län | Kouvola | 1945-1997 | • formed from the part of the Province of Viipuri that remained on the Finnish side of the border with Russia • merged into the Province of Southern Finland |
| Province of Central Finland | Keski-Suomen lääni | Mellersta Finlands län | Jyväskylä | 1960-1997 | • split off from the Provinces of Vaasa, Häme, Mikkeli and Kuopio • merged into the Province of Western Finland |
| Province of Northern Karelia | Pohjois-Karjalan lääni | Norra Karelens län | Joensuu | 1960-1997 | • split off from the Province of Kuopio • merged into the Province of Eastern Finland |
| Province of Southern Finland | Etelä-Suomen lääni | Södra Finlands län | Hämeenlinna | 1997-2009 | • merged from Provinces of Uusimaa, Kymi, Häme and Mikkeli |
| Province of Western Finland | Länsi-Suomen lääni | Västra Finlands län | Turku | 1997-2009 | • merged from Provinces of Turku and Pori, Vaasa, Central Finland and Häme |
| Province of Eastern Finland | Itä-Suomen lääni | Östra Finlands län | Mikkeli | 1997-2009 | • merged from Provinces of Kuopio, Northern Karelia and Michelle |