Provinces of Finland

Provinces Of Finland

The state of Finland comprised six provinces (Finnish: läänit, Swedish: län) between the years 1997 and 2009. The provincial authority was part of the central government's executive branch, not directly elected. The system was created in 1634, and its makeup was changed drastically in 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 did not follow the borders of the provinces.

The provinces were abolished altogether on January 1, 2010. State administration has two local hierarchies, ely-keskus and aluehallintovirasto. Six Regional State Administrative Agencies (aluehallintovirasto, regionförvaltningsverk, abbr. avi) – in addition to the Government of Åland – are primarily responsible for law enforcement: Etelä-Suomi, Itä-Suomi, Lounais-Suomi, Länsi- ja Sisä-Suomi, Pohjois-Suomi, Lappi. Among these, Lounais-Suomi and Länsi- ja Sisä-Suomi cover the old province of Länsi-Suomi, and the old province of Oulu was renamed as Pohjois-Suomi; other old provincial boundaries remain much the same in the new disposition. There are 15 elinkeino-, liikenne- ja ympäristökeskus, which are responsible for other state administration: employment, road and transport infrastructure, and environmental monitoring.