Oulu Province

Oulu
Oulun lääni
Uleåborgs län

Coat of arms
Country Finland
Established 1775
Abolished January 1, 2010
Capital Oulu
Government
 • Governor Eino Siuruainen
Area
 • Total 57,000 km2 (22,007.8 sq mi)
Population (2004)
 • Total 461,000
 • Density 8.1/km2 (20.9/sq mi)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
ISO 3166 code OL
NUTS code {{{nutscode}}}

Oulu was a province of Finland from 1775 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Lapland, Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia and Russia.

Contents

Historical Province

For History, Geography and Culture see: Ostrobothnia

The province of Oulu was first introduced in 1775 in Sweden–Finland.

As a consequence of the tumultuous conflicts of the Napoleonic Wars, Sweden had allied itself with the Russian Empire, United Kingdom and the other parties of the Fourth Coalition against Napoleonic France. However, following the treaty of Treaty of Tilsit in 1807, Russia made peace with France and left the coalition. This enabled Russia in 1808 to challenge Sweden in the Finnish War, over the control of Finland. In the Treaty of Fredrikshamn on September 17, 1809 Sweden was obliged to cede all its territory in Finland, to Russia.

The ceded territories became a part of the Russian Empire and was reconstituted into the Grand Duchy of Finland, with the Russian Tsar as Grand Duke. The Governorate of Uleåborg was established in 1809 from the Oulu County and the parts of the Västerbotten located east of the Torne River, which had been the administrative divisions as a part of Sweden.

In 1936 the northern part would be split off and established as a separate province, the Lapland 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.

Regions

Main article: Regions of Oulu

The province of Oulu was divided into 2 regions:

The regions in Oulu Province were divided into 47 municipalities, including the city of Oulu.

Notes

  1. ^ "New regional administration model abolishes provinces in 2010". Helsingin Sanomat International Edition. Sanoma Corporation. 31 December 2009. http://www.hs.fi/english/article/New+regional+administration+model+abolishes+provinces+in+2010/1135251815296. Retrieved 1 January 2010. 

External links