Northern Province ( rw, Intara y'Amajyaruguru; french: Province du Nord; nl, Noordelijke Provincie) is one of

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

's five

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

. It was created in early January 2006 as part of a government decentralization program that re-organized the country's local government structures. Northern Province comprises most of the former provinces of

Ruhengeri Ruhengeri, also known as Musanze or Muhoza, is a city and capital of Musanze District in the Northern Province of Rwanda. Some sources now refer to the city itself as Musanze, after the district in which it lies within. This has to do with the a ...

and

Byumba Byumba is a city in northern Rwanda, and is the capital of Gicumbi District. It is home to an SOS Children's Village. The city lies about , north of the capital Kigali. This location lies approximately , south of the International border with U ...

, along with northern portions of Kigali Rural. It is divided into the districts of

Burera Burera is a district (''Akarere'') in Northern Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Cyeru. Geography and tourism The district lies in the northern part of Rwanda, adjacent to the Ugandan border, and between the cities of Ruhengeri and Byumba. It ...

Gicumbi Gicumbi is a district (''akarere'') in Northern Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Byumba, which is also the provincial capital. Geography The district lies due-north of Kigali, straddling the major road from Kigali to Kampala. It is a hilly dis ...

Gakenke Gakenke district is one among thirty district made of Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southe ...

Musanze Musanze is a district in the Northern Province of Rwanda. Its capital city is Ruhengeri. Geography and tourism Musanze is Rwanda's most mountainous district, containing the largest part of the Volcanoes National Park, and its head office at K ...

, and

Rulindo Rulindo is a district (''akarere'') in Northern Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Tare (also known as Bushoki). Geography The district lies roughly halfway between Kigali and Ruhengeri, and is very mountainous, containing Mount Kabuye. Its pr ...

. The capital city of Northern Province is

. The province's official languages are English, French and

Kinyarwanda Kinyarwanda, Rwandan or Rwanda, officially known as Ikinyarwanda, is a Bantu language and a dialect of the Rwanda-Rundi language that is spoken in Rwanda and adjacent parts of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda (where there ...

. The governor, appointed by presidential decree, is currently Hon.

Dancilla Nyirarugero Dancilla Nyirarugero is a Rwandan politician. She is the current governor of the Northern Province of Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Afri ...

. The preceding governors of Northern province were Gatabazi Jean Marie Vianney, Claude Musabyimana, Bosenibamwe Aimée, Boniface Rucagu, formerly governor of Ruhengeri Province.Gatabazi becomes local govt minister as Hakuziyaremye moves to Central Bank

References

External links

* {{Coord, 1, 34, 5, S, 29, 54, 37, E, type:adm1st_region:RW_source:nlwiki, display=title Provinces of Rwanda States and territories established in 2006