Western Finland Länsi-Suomen lääni (Finnish) Västra Finlands län (Swedish) | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Map of Western Finland Province (2000) | |
| Coordinates:62°N24°E / 62°N 24°E /62; 24 | |
| Country | Finland |
| Established | September 1, 1997 |
| Abolished | January 1, 2010 |
| Capital | Turku |
| Largest city | Tampere |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Rauno Saari [fi] |
| Area | |
• Total | 74,185 km2 (28,643 sq mi) |
| Population (December 31, 2009) | |
• Total | 1,889,542 |
| • Density | 25.471/km2 (65.969/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | LS |
| NUTS code | 19 |
Western Finland (Finnish:Länsi-Suomen lääni,Swedish:Västra Finlands län) was aprovince ofFinland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces ofOulu,Eastern Finland andSouthern Finland. It also bordered theGulf of Bothnia towardsÅland.Tampere was the largest city of the province.
On September 1, 1997 theProvince of Turku and Pori, theProvince of Vaasa, theProvince of Central Finland, the northern parts of theProvince of Häme and the western parts of theMikkeli Province were joined to form the then new Province of Western Finland.
All the provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010.[1]
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 inTurku, and regional service offices were located inJyväskylä,Tampere,Vaasa, andPori. Approximately 350 persons worked at the State Provincial Office. The agency was divided into eight departments.
Western Finland was divided into seven regions:
Western Finland was divided into 142municipalities in 2009.
The coat of arms of Western Finland was composed of the arms ofFinland Proper,Satakunta andOstrobothnia.
Formerprovinces of Finland | ||
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In parentheses are years when provinces were established and disestablished. | ||
| 1634–1775 |
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| 1775–1831 |
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| 1831–1918 | ||
| 1918–1997 |
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| 1997–2009 |
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| Related | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
