The State Provincial Office on the Åland Islands ({{Lang, sv, Länsstyrelsen på Åland) represented the central government 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, ...

within the

Åland Islands 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 ...

region. It operated from 1918 until 2009.

Unique Functions Due to Autonomy

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 ...

possesses

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

, which means it has self-governing powers. As a result, the functions of the State Provincial Office on Åland differed from those of similar offices in mainland Finland. Typically, a State Provincial Office in mainland Finland served as a joint regional authority for seven different government ministries. On Åland, however, the State Provincial Office also represented other central government authorities that maintained separate agencies on the mainland. Conversely, certain responsibilities handled by provincial offices on the mainland were managed directly by the autonomous government of Åland, not the State Provincial Office.

Abolition and Replacement

In 2009,

abolished all its

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

and their corresponding State Provincial Offices. Consequently, the State Provincial Office on the Åland Islands was dissolved and replaced by a new entity, the State Department of Åland.

Governors (1918–2009)

The following individuals served as governors of the State Provincial Office during its existence: * William Isaksson (1918–1922) * Wilhelm Fagerlund (1922–1938) * Torsten Rothberg (1938) * Walter Johansson (acting, 1938) * Ruben Österberg (1938–1945) * Herman Koroleff (1945–1954) * Tor Brenning (1954–1972) *

Martin Isaksson Martin Isaksson (1921–2001), was Governor of Åland from 1972 to 1982. He had previously served as Lantråd of Åland from 1967 to 1972. Later, he served as Finnish Ambassador to Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island count ...

(1972–1982) * Henrik Gustafsson (1982–1999) * Peter Lindbäck (1999–2009) Politics of Åland Political history of Finland