History

In the 1997 redesign that reduced their number of provinces from 12 to 6 the Turku ja Pori province, Vaasa province, Central-Finland province and the northern parts of Häme province formed the new province of Western Finland.

Administration

The Western Finland State Provincial Office is a joint regional administrative authority of seven ministries. The State Provincial Office serves at five localities; the main office is in Turku, regional service offices are located in Jyväskylä, Tampere and Vaasa, and finally there is an office in Pori. The State Provincial Office is led by Governor Rauno Saari. Approximately 350 persons work at the State Provincial Office. The agency is divided into eight departments.

Regions

Western Finland is divided into seven regions:Southern Ostrobothnia (Etelä-Pohjanmaa/ Södra Österbotten) ;Ostrobothnia (Pohjanmaa/ Österbotten) ;Pirkanmaa (Pirkanmaa/ Birkaland) ;Satakunta (Satakunta/ Satakunda);Central Ostrobothnia (Keski-Pohjanmaa/ Mellersta Österbotten) ;Central Finland (Keski-Suomi/ Mellersta Finland) ;

Finland Proper (Varsinais-Suomi/ Egentliga Finland) ;

The regions in Western Finland are divided into 204 municipalities.