Eastern Finland Province

Eastern Finland Itä-Suomen lääni Östra Finlands län
Coat of arms
Country	Finland
Established	September 1, 1997
Abolished	January 1, 2010
Capital	Mikkeli
Government
• Governor	Pirjo Ala-Kapee
Area
• Total	48,726 km2 (18,813 sq mi)
Population (December 31, 2009)
• Total	569,832
• Density	12/km2 (30/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
ISO 3166 code	IS
NUTS code	13

Eastern Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered Russia to the east.

History

On September 1, 1997, the Mikkeli Province, the Kuopio Province and Northern Karelia Province were joined to form the new Eastern 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. Eastern Finland State Provincial Office had branch offices in Mikkeli, Joensuu, and Kuopio.

Regions

Eastern Finland was divided into three regions:

• North Karelia (Pohjois-Karjala / Norra Karelen)
• Northern Savonia (Pohjois-Savo / Norra Savolax)
• Southern Savonia (Etelä-Savo / Södra Savolax)

Municipalities in 2009 (cities in bold)

Eastern Finland was divided into 54 municipalities in 2009.

Former municipalities (disestablished before 2009)

Governors

• Pirjo Ala-Kapee 1997-2009

Heraldry

The coat of arms of Eastern Finland was composed of the arms of Savonia and Karelia.

Notes

1. ↑ "New regional administration model abolishes provinces in 2010". Helsingin Sanomat International Edition. Sanoma Corporation. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2010. 

External links

• Eastern Finland State Provincial Office - Official site
• Video about travelling in Koli area
• Pielis.ru — По Восточной Финляндии и дальше ... (Russian)

Former provinces of Finland
In parentheses are years when provinces were established and disestablished.
1634–1775	Turku and Pori (1634) Nyland and Tavastehus (1634) Ostrobothnia (1634–1775) Viborg and Nyslott (1634–1721) Kexholm (1634–1721) Kymmenegård and Nyslott (1721–1747) Savolax and Kymmenegård (1747–1775)
1775–1831	Turku and Pori (1634) Nyland and Tavastehus (1634–1831) Vaasa (1775) Oulu (1775) Kymmenegård (1775–1831) Savolax and Karelia (1775–1831) Viipuri (1812)
1831–1918	Turku and Pori (1634) Vaasa (1775) Oulu (1775) Viipuri (1812) Häme (1831) Uusimaa (1831) Mikkeli (1831) Kuopio (1831)
1918–1997	Turku and Pori (1634–1997) Vaasa (1775–1997) Oulu (1775) Viipuri (1812–1945) Häme (1831–1997) Uusimaa (1831–1997) Mikkeli (1831–1997) Kuopio (1831–1997) Åland (1918) Petsamo (1921–1921) Lapland (1938) Kymi (1945–1997) Central Finland (1960–1997) Northern Karelia (1960–1997)
1997–2009	Oulu (1775–2009) Åland (1918–2009) Lapland (1938–2009) Southern Finland (1997–2009) Western Finland (1997–2009) Eastern Finland (1997–2009)

Coordinates: 62°N 28°E / 62°N 28°E / 62; 28