Eastern Finland Province

Eastern Finland (Finnish: Itä-Suomen lääni, Swedish: Östra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered Russia to the east.

Eastern Finland

Itä-Suomen lääni

Östra Finlands län
Coat of arms
CountryFinland
EstablishedSeptember 1, 1997
AbolishedJanuary 1, 2010
CapitalMikkeli
Government
 • GovernorPirjo Ala-Kapee
Area
 • Total48,726 km2 (18,813 sq mi)
Population
 (December 31, 2009)
 • Total569,832
 • Density12/km2 (30/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
ISO 3166 codeIS
NUTS code13

History
For history, geography, and culture, see Savonia (historical province) and Karelia (historical province of Finland).

On September 1, 1997, the Mikkeli Province, the Kuopio Province and Northern Karelia Province were joined to form the new Eastern Finland Province.

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

Administration

The State Provincial Office was a joint regional authority of seven different ministries. It promoted national and regional objectives of the State central administration. Eastern Finland State Provincial Office had branch offices in Mikkeli, Joensuu, and Kuopio.

Regions
Main article: Regions of Eastern Finland

Eastern Finland was divided into three regions:

  • North Karelia (Pohjois-Karjala / Norra Karelen)
  • Northern Savonia (Pohjois-Savo / Norra Savolax)
  • Southern Savonia (Etelä-Savo / Södra Savolax)

Municipalities in 2009 (cities in bold)

Eastern Finland was divided into 54 municipalities in 2009.

Former municipalities (disestablished before 2009)

Governors
  • Pirjo Ala-Kapee 1997-2009

Heraldry

The coat of arms of Eastern Finland was composed of the arms of Savonia and Karelia.

Notes
  1. "New regional administration model abolishes provinces in 2010". Helsingin Sanomat International Edition. Sanoma Corporation. 31 December 2009. Archived from the original on 13 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2010.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.