- Län
Län and lääni are the Swedish and Finnish language terms, respectively, for the administrative divisions used in
Sweden andFinland . They are also sometimes used in other countries, especially as a translation of the Russian word "oblast ".The term
The word literally means
fief . The usualEnglish language terms used are separate for the two countries, where Sweden has chosen to translate the term to "county" while Finland has chosen "province".With a shared administrative tradition spanning centuries, ending only in1809 , this is a separation by convention, rather than by distinction. The term matches reasonably well the British term "county", but not so well the American term "county" which are much smaller in size, more like Swedish "kommun".The reason why Sweden has chosen to translate the term to "county" is that in Swedish and English, the word "provins"/"province" has come to mean different things. In the
Swedish Empire , all lands conquered became "provinser" (provinces); Swedish law, which granted the common people much more freedom and influence than any other European law at the time, was not extended to them, remaining confined to the "landskap " (in plural) which made up the Swedish-and-Finnish heartland (roughly corresponding to present-daySweden andFinland ). Examples of such former Swedish "provinser" areEstonia andSwedish Pomerania . Another reason is that in education, Sweden has preferred British English over American English. "County" is a reasonable British English translation of Län.The "län" / "läänit"
In both countries a "län"/"lääni" is but an arm of the executive power of the national government, and has no autonomy nor legistlative power. The "län/lääni" subdivision does not always match the traditional provinces, which are called "
landskap " (singular and plural) in Swedish (including Swedish-speaking Finland) and "maakunnat" (singular "maakunta") in Finnish.*
Counties of Sweden — "(Sveriges län)"
*Provinces of Finland — "(Suomen läänit / Finlands län)"The "landshövding / maaherra"
The governor has the title "landshövding" (Swedish), "maaherra" (Finnish). He or she is appointed by the government, and presides over the "länsstyrelse" (Swedish) or "lääninhallitus" (Finnish) - translated as "County Administrative Board" and "State Provincial Office", respectively. The governor's office is administrative by nature, which is also hinted at by the now obsolete title "Konungens befallningshavande" - "the King's Deputy" - and traditionally used as an honourable post for politicians to conclude their careers.
ee also
* Letter Ä"
References
*None!
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Look at other dictionaries:
LAN — LAN … Deutsch Wörterbuch
lan — lan·ac; lan·ark·ite; lan·ark·shire; lan·as; lan·cas·ter; lan·cas·te·ri·an; lan·ce·o·lar; lan·ce·o·late; lan·cet; lan·cet·ed; lan·cha; lan·chow; lan·ci·form; lan·ci·nate; lan·dau; lan·dau·let; lan·des·ite; lan·dol·phia; lan·dry s; lan·ga·ha;… … English syllables
Län — (schwedisch) ist die Bezeichnung für eine Provinz in Schweden. Die Organe der Provinz nehmen staatliche Verwaltungsaufgaben auf regionaler Ebene wahr (ausgenommen Finanz , Gerichts und Militärverwaltung). Derzeit gibt es 21 Provinzen. Nicht zu… … Deutsch Wikipedia
Län — (prononciation comme laine en français) est un mot suédois qui désigne les subdivisions administratives de la Suède et de la Finlande (lääni en finnois). À l origine, le mot désignait un fief. C est le Premier ministre de Suède Axel Oxenstierna… … Wikipédia en Français
Lan — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. LAN est un acronyme anglais qui peut signifier : Local Area Network, en français réseau local, ce terme désigne un réseau informatique d’échelle… … Wikipédia en Français
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Lan Fu — is a former deputy mayor of Xiamen Municipality, China. He was convicted in 2000 on corruption charges related to a US$6 billion smuggling racket and is currently serving a life sentence in prison. [http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ASIANOW/east/11/08/… … Wikipedia
LAN — steht für: Local Area Network, ein lokales Netz in der Computertechnik LAN Airlines, eine chilenische Fluggesellschaft den IATA Code des Flughafens Lansing Lan steht für: Lan (Lüliang) (岚县), den Kreis der chinesischen Stadt Lüliang in der Provinz … Deutsch Wikipedia
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LAN-IX — lan ix.ru lan ix.ru LAN IX (Network Exchange) проект объединения сетей Петербурга. Содержание 1 … Википедия