Eastern Finland Province

Place in Finland

Eastern Finland Itä-Suomen lääni Östra Finlands län
Coat of arms

Country	Finland
Established	September 1, 1997
Abolished	January 1, 2010
Capital	Mikkeli
Largest city	Kuopio
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	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
ISO 3166 code	IS
NUTS code	13

Eastern Finland (Finnish: Itä-Suomen lääni, Swedish: Östra Finlands län) 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.^[1]

All the provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010.^[2]

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^[3]^[4]

Heraldry

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

References

^ Law, Gwillim (2015). Administrative Subdivisions of Countries: A Comprehensive World Reference, 1900 through 1998. McFarland. p. 127. ISBN 9781476604473. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
^ "New regional administration model abolishes provinces in 2010". Helsingin Sanomat International Edition. Sanoma Corporation. 31 December 2009. Archived from the original on 13 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
^ "II VALTIONHALLINNOSTA MAAKUNTAHALLINTOON". Savon historia (in Finnish). Edita Publishing Oy. Archived from the original on 2019-11-22. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
^ "Ala-Kapee jää eläkkeelle". Yleisradio Oy (in Finnish). 3 December 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2021.

External links

Eastern Finland State Provincial Office Archived 2003-04-04 at the Wayback Machine - Official site
Video about travelling in Koli area^{[permanent dead link]}
Pielis.ru — По Восточной Финляндии и дальше ... (in Russian)