Turku and Pori Province, or Åbo and Björnborg County, was an administrative province (Finnish: lääni, Swedish: län) in Finland. It existed as part of the Kingdom of Sweden from 1634 to 1809, the Grand Duchy of Finland under the Russian Empire from 1809 to 1917, and the Republic of Finland from 1917 until the province was abolished in 1997.
The province was first established in the 1634 Instrument of Government as the Province of North and South Finland, with its seat in Turku (Åbo). It was formed by uniting the slottsläns corresponding to Finland Proper, Satakunta and the Åland Islands. In 1641, Satakunta was briefly separated to form Pori Province with the seat in Pori (Björneborg), but the division proved short-lived, and in 1646 the areas were reunited as Turku and Pori Province.
During the 18th century, administrative adjustments reduced the size of the province. In Gustav III's great provincial reform of 1775, most of Upper Satakunta was transferred to the newly established Vaasa Province.
When Finland was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1809 and reorganized as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, the provincial administration remained largely unchanged, and Turku and Pori Province continued under Russian rule. Under Swedish rule, the governor's title had been landshövding, but in 1837 it was changed to guvernör.
In 1918, after Finland’s independence, Åland was separated from the province and made into a distinct autonomous territory, while some municipalities of Satakunta were transferred to Häme Province. Proposals to divide Turku and Pori Province into separate provinces of Finland Proper and Satakunta were considered in the early 1980s but never realized.
In 1997, Turku and Pori Province was merged with the northern part of the Häme Province and with the provinces of Vaasa and Central Finland to form the new Western Finland Province. All Finnish provinces were abolished on 1 January 2010.
Contents
Governors
Swedish realm
Broder Andersson Rålamb 1634–1637
Melchior von Falkenberg 1637–1641
Melchior von Falkenberg 1641–1642
Knut Lilliehöök 1642–1646
Two governors were appointed, but neither assumed the post.
Knut Lilliehöök 1647–1648
Lorentz Creutz the Elder 1649–1655
Erik von der Linde 1655–1666
Ernest Johann Creutz 1666
Harald Oxe 1666–1682
Lorenz Creutz the Younger 1682–1698
Jakob Bure 1698–1706
Justus von Palmberg 1706–1714
Johan Stiernstedt 1714–1722 (acting 1711–1713)
Otto Reinhold Yxkull 1722–1746
Lars Johan Ehrenmalm 1747–1749 (acting 1744–1747)
Johan Georg Lillienberg 1749–1757
Jeremias Wallén 1757–1769
Christoffer Johan Rappe 1769–1776
Fredrik Ulrik von Rosen 1776–1781
Magnus Wilhelm Armfelt 1782–1790
Joakim von Glan (acting 1789–1790)
Grand Duchy of Finland
Knut von Troil 1809–1816
Otto Herman Lode (acting 1811–1813)
Carl Erik Mannerheim 1816–1826
Lars Gabriel von Haartman (acting 1820–1822)
Eric Wallenius 1826–1828 (acting 1822–1826)
Adolf Broberg 1828–1831
Lars Gabriel von Haartman 1831–1842 (acting 1820–1822)
Gabriel Anton Cronstedt 1842–1856 (acting 1840–1842)
Samuel Werner von Troil (acting 1856)
Carl Fabian Langenskiöld 1856–1858
Selim Mohamed Ekbom (acting 1857–1858)
Johan Axel Cedercreutz 1863 (acting 1858–1863)
Carl Magnus Creutz 1866–1889 (acting 1864–1866)
Axel Gustaf Samuel von Troil 1889–1891
Wilhelm Theodor von Kraemer 1891–1903
Theodor Hjalmar Lang 1903–1905
Knut Gustaf Nikolai Borgenström 1905–1911
Eliel Ilmari Wuorinen 1911–1917
Independent Finland
Albert Alexander von Hellens (acting 1917)
Kaarlo Collan 1918–1922 (acting 1917–1918)
Ilmari Helenius 1922–1932
Wilho Kyttä 1932–1949
Erkki Härmä 1949–1957
Esko Kulovaara 1957–1971
Sylvi Siltanen 1972–1977
Paavo Aitio 1977–1985
Pirkko Työläjärvi 1985–1997