Aland Islands
Aland Islands
Aland Islands
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The islands consist of the main island Fasta land (literally "Firm land"), where 90% of the population resides, and an archipelago to the east that consists of over 6,500 skerries and islands. Fasta land is separated from the coast of Sweden by 40 kilometres (25 mi) of open water to the west. In the east, the land archipelago is virtually contiguous with the Finnish Archipelago Sea. Åland's only land border is located on the uninhabited skerry of Market, which it shares with Sweden.
Due to land's autonomous status, the powers exercised at the provincial level by representatives of the central state administration in the rest of Finland are largely exercised by the Government of land in land.
Flag
Coat of arms
History
The land Islands were part of the territory ceded to Russia by Sweden under the Treaty
of Fredrikshamn in September 1809. As a result, along with all other parts of Finland, they became part of the semi-autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland.
During this process, Sweden was unable to secure a provision that the islands not be fortified. The issue was important not only for Sweden but also for the United Kingdom,
which was concerned that a military presence on the islands could threaten Britain's security and commercial interests.
In 1832, Russia started to fortify the islands with the great fortress of Bomarsund. This
was captured and destroyed by a combined British and French force of warships and marines in 1854 as part of the campaign in the Baltic during the Crimean War. In the Treaty of Paris (1856), the entire Åland Islands were demilitarized.
During the Finnish Civil War, in 1918, Swedish troops intervened as a peacekeeping force between the Russian troops stationed on
the islands and "White" and "Red" Finnish troops that came from Finland over the frozen sea. Historians, however, point out that
Sweden may have in reality planned to occupy the islands. Within weeks, the Swedish troops gave way to German troops that occupied Åland by request of the "White" (conservative) Finnish Senate.
land with historical and modern provinces of Finland juxtaposed.After 1917, the residents of the islands worked towards having the
islands ceded to Sweden. A petition for secession from Finland was signed by 96.2% of Åland's native adults (those working or
living abroad excluded), although serious questions were later raised regarding this extraordinarily high figure. Swedish nationalist
sentiments had grown strong particularly due to the following issues: anti-Swedish tendencies in Finland, Finnish nationalism fuelled
by Finland's struggle to retain its autonomy, and the Finnish resistance against Russification. In addition, the conflict between the
Swedish-speaking minority and the Finnish-speaking majority (on the mainland), which since the 1840s had been prominent in Finland's political life, contributed to the land population's apprehension about its future in Finland.
Finland was, however, not willing to cede the islands and instead offered them an autonomous status. Nevertheless the residents did
not approve the offer, and the dispute over the islands was submitted to the League of Nations. The latter decided that Finland
should retain sovereignty over the province but that the Åland Islands should be made an autonomous territory. Thus Finland was
obliged to ensure the residents of the land Islands the right to maintain the Swedish language, as well as their own culture and local
traditions. At the same time, an international treaty established the neutral status of land, whereby it was prohibited to place military installations or forces on the islands.
In the course of the twentieth century, increasing numbers of the islanders have perceived Finnish sovereignty as benevolent and
even beneficial.The combination of disappointment about insufficient support from Sweden in the League of Nations, Swedish
disrespect for land's demilitarised status in the 1930s, and some feelings of a shared destiny with Finland during and after World
War II has changed the islanders' perception of Åland's relation to Finland from "a Swedish province in Finnish possession" to "an
autonomous part of Finland". The islanders enjoyed safety at sea during WWII as their merchant fleet sailed for both the allied
countries and the Germans. Consequently Åland shipping was not generally attacked as each side rarely knew what cargo was being carried for whom.
Politics
Administration
The State Provincial Office on the land Islands has a somewhat different function from the other
Provinces of Finland, due to its autonomy. Generally, a State Provincial Office is a joint regional authority of seven different ministries of the Government of Finland. In land, the State Provincial
Office also represents a set of other authorities of the central government, which in Mainland Finland has separate bureaucracies. On the other hand, duties which in Mainland Finland are
handled by the provincial offices are transferred to the autonomous government of land.
land has its own postal administration but still uses the Finnish five-digit postal code system, using the number range 22000-22999,
with the prefix AX. The lowest numbered postal code is for the capital Mariehamn, AX 22100, and the highest AX 22950 for Jurmo.
The aland Islands are governed according to the Act on the Autonomy of land and international
treaties. These laws guarantee the islands' autonomy from Finland, which has ultimate sovereignty over them, as well as a demilitarized status. The Government of land, or Landskapsregering,
answers to the Parliament of land, or Lagting, in accordance with the principles of parliamentarism.
land has its own national flag, has issued its own postage stamps since 1984, runs its own police
force, and is a member of the Nordic Council. Since 2005 the land Islands also have had their own national airline, Air land. The islands are demilitarised, and the population is exempt from
conscription. Although Åland's autonomy preceded the creation of the regions of Finland, the autonomous government of land also has
responsibility for the functions undertaken by Finland's regional councils. land is a member of the Small European Postal Administration Cooperation.
The land Islands are guaranteed representation in the Finnish parliament, to which they elect one representative. land also has a different system of political parties from the mainland (see List of political parties in Finland)
The autonomous status of the islands was affirmed by a decision made by the League of Nations in 1921 following the land crisis. It was reaffirmed within the treaty admitting Finland to the European Union. By law, land is politically
neutral and entirely demilitarised, and residents are exempt from conscription to the Finnish Defence Forces. The islands were granted extensive autonomy by the Parliament of Finland in the Act on the Autonomy of land of 1920, which was
later replaced by new legislation by the same name in 1951 and 1991.
In connection with Finland's admission to the European Union, a protocol was signed concerning the land Islands that stipulates, among other things, that
provisions of the European Community Treaty shall not force a change of the existing restrictions for foreigners (i.e., persons who do not enjoy "home region rights" (hembygdsrätt) in land) to acquire and hold real property or to
provide certain services, implying a recognition of a separate nationality
Autonomy of land
Name
According to one theory, land's original name was Germanic Ahvaland which means "Land of
Water". In Swedish, this first developed into land and eventually into land, literally "river land"—even though rivers are not a prominent feature of land's geography. The Finnish name of
the island, Ahvenanmaa ("perch land"), is seen to preserve another form of the old name.
Another theory suggests that the Finnish Ahvenanmaa would be the original name of the
archipelago, from which the Swedish land derives.
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