Western Finland Province

Western Finland (

On September 1, 1997 the Province of Turku and Pori, the Province of Vaasa, the Province of Central Finland, the northern parts of the Province of Häme and the western parts of the Mikkeli Province were joined to form the then 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 [fi] 1997–2003
• Rauno Saari [fi] 2003–2009

Heraldry

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

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Western Finland.

• Western Finland State Provincial Office – Official site (archived copy)