Southern Finland Province

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

Southern Finland Province
Etelä-Suomen lääni
Södra Finlands län
Coat of arms of Southern Finland Province
Coat of arms
Location of Southern Finland Province
CountryFinland
EstablishedSeptember 1, 1997
AbolishedJanuary 1, 2010
CapitalHämeenlinna
Largest cityHelsinki
Government
 • GovernorAnneli Taina
Area
 • Total34,378 km2 (13,273 sq mi)
Population
 (December 31, 2009)
 • Total2,209,677
 • Density64/km2 (170/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
ISO 3166 codeES
NUTS code18

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

On September 1, 1997 the Uusimaa Province, the Kymi Province and the southern parts of the Häme Province were joined to form the new Southern 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. The State Provincial Office of Southern Finland employed about 380 persons. Its service offices were located in the cities of Hämeenlinna, Helsinki, and Kouvola. The administrative seat was placed at Hämeenlinna.

Regions
Main article: Regions of Southern Finland

Southern Finland was divided into six regions:

Municipalities in 2009 (cities in bold)

Southern Finland was divided into 72 municipalities in 2009.

Former municipalities (disestablished before 2009)

Governors

Heraldry

The coat of arms of Southern Finland was composed of the arms of Tavastia, Karelia and Uusimaa.

Notes
  1. "New regional administration model abolishes provinces in 2010". Helsingin Sanomat International Edition. Sanoma Corporation. 31 December 2009. Archived from the original on 2010-01-03. Retrieved 1 January 2010.

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