Åland Post is the company responsible for

postal service The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sy ...

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

. Åland Post has operated separately from the mainland postal service of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

since 1993. Åland Post is a logistics enterprise with 170 employees. Turnover in 2023 was 36.9 million euro. Since 1 January 2009, Åland Post has been a limited company owned solely by the Åland Landskapsregering, the

Government of Åland The Government of Åland () is the executive authority of Åland, an autonomous region of Finland. It is led by the Premier of Åland (), who is elected by the Parliament of Åland (). Åland Premiers * Carl Björkman (politician), Carl Björ ...

. Åland Post is organised in four business areas: Logistics, Postal services, Print and distribution and Axla Logistics, Åland Post's brand for e-commerce logistics service run out of

Vantaa Vantaa (; , ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the north of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population of Vantaa is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Vantaa is part of the Helsinki Metropoli ...

, Finland.

Åland stamps

When the first Åland stamps were issued on 1 March 1984, it was the result of a longterm process that started already in the 1950s when Åland got its own flag in 1954. Attempts intensified in the 1970s when the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

got their own stamps, but all applications to the postal authorities in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

were rejected. The turning point came in 1979 when the Ålanders turned to the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, justifying the request for their own stamps by saying they would be an important symbol of the autonomy. Finnish Minister of Justice at the time, Christoffer Taxell, took the issue further and, in 1982, President

Mauno Koivisto Mauno Henrik Koivisto (, 25 November 1923 – 12 May 2017) was a Finnish politician who served as the ninth president of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as the country's prime minister twice, from 1968 to 1970 and again from 1979 to 19 ...

approved the Åland Stamp Ordinance. The stamps were issued by the Posts and Telecommunications of Finland and were only valid for mail posted in Åland. From 1984 to 1992, the Posts and Telecommunications of Finland was responsible for the stamp production, while the motifs were produced in collaboration with the Åland provincial government and its stamp delegation. Great emphasis was placed on the connection of the motifs to Åland autonomy and history. On 1 January 1993, a new Autonomy Act came into force, giving Åland the right to establish its own postal administration. The Åland Post then took over the production and sale of Åland stamps.

References

Communications in Åland Companies of Åland Aland 1993 establishments in Finland {{Finland-company-stub