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Län (Swedish,IPA:[ˈlɛːn]ⓘ),len (Danish,IPA:[leːn]),lääni (Finnish,IPA:[ˈlæːni]) andlen (Norwegian,IPA:[leːn]) refer to the administrative divisions used inSweden and previously inDenmark,Finland andNorway. The provinces of Finland were abolished on 1 January 2010.[1] In Norway, the term was in usefrom 1308 and in Denmark from the beginning of the 13th century. As of 19 February 1662 the len ofDenmark-Norway were converted intoamt.
They are also sometimes used in other countries, especially as a translation of theRussian wordvolost. During the period whenFinland was a part of theRussian Empire (1809–1917), whenRussian was made an official language alongside Swedish, it was synonymous with the wordguberniya.
The word literally means "fief" and is cognate with Englishloan. The usualEnglish language terms used are separate for the two countries, where Sweden has chosen to translate the term as "county" while Finland prefers "province". With a shared administrative tradition spanning centuries, ending only in 1809, this is a separation by convention, rather than by distinction.
The term matches reasonably well the British term "county", but not so well the American term "county" which is usually much smaller in population, akin to a Swedish "kommun" (and nor does the concept of an Americanstate compare well to län).
Before län were adopted, the historical provinces were defined as either "hertigdöme" (duchy) or "grevskap" (county), which adds further confusion. Later all historical provinces have been given "hertigdöme" (duchy) as honorary title.
In Sweden alän is but an arm of the executive power of the national government, and has no autonomy nor legislative power. Thelän subdivision does not always match the traditional provinces, which are calledlandskap (singular and plural) inSwedish (including Swedish-speaking Finland) andmaakunnat (singularmaakunta) inFinnish. The same situation existed in Finland untillän/lääni were abolished in 2010.
Historically the termguberniya (Russian:губе́рния) was used for the län/lääni in theGrand Duchy of Finland as a part of Russia from 1809 to 1917. SeeGovernorates of the Grand Duchy of Finland.
In every Swedish län (except Gotland) there was alandsting. This was a locally elected assembly, which collected tax and had responsibility for a number of services to the population. The main responsibilities were health care, public transport and culture. As of 2020, the landsting have been replaced by regions.
The governor has the titlelandshövding (Swedish) (previouslymaaherra in Finnish). The governor is appointed by the government, and presides over thelänsstyrelse (Swedish; previouslylääninhallitus in Finnish) – translated as"County Administrative Board". The governor's office is administrative by nature, which is also hinted at by the now obsolete titleKonungens befallningshavande – "the King's Deputy" – and traditionally used as an honourable post for politicians to conclude their careers. In Finland, the office of governor was abolished in 2010. However, the office still exists in the autonomous province ofÅland. The governor of a Swedish county is appointed to represent the central government, rather than elected by the people.
