The Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council is a joint authority for Helsinki-Uusimaa with 26 member municipalities. We are one of the 18 regional councils in Finland that are mandated in law, receiving our funding mainly from our member municipalities.
Our main operational tasks at the Council are regional and land-use planning, as well as the promotion of local and regional interests. We articulate common regional needs, long term development goals and conditions for sustainable development.
Our main operational tasks at the Council are regional and land-use planning, as well as the promotion of local and regional interests.
To be successful in what we do, we work in close cooperation with member municipalities, the government, the business sector, universities and research institutions, as well as with civic organisations.
International cooperation is increasingly important to us. We focus on the Baltic Sea Region and our most important partners there. Our Council also supports EU programmes and develops various EU projects. For these activities, we have received regional development funds from both the Finnish Government and the European Union. Our Council shares a representative office in Brussels with several cooperation partners.
Our Council is an Unconventional World-Class Regional Developer
Our Council’s vision for 2029 is to be an Unconventional World-class Regional Developer.
Our mission has three key elements:
- We make an impact on the success of the Region by making competent propositions and decisions concerning it.
- We plan regional structures, where built and unbuilt environments go well together.
- We improve the preconditions of business in a sustainable way.
We strive to be goal-oriented, innovative, engaging, resource-wise and foresightful. These are our core values.
Our Council’s vision, mission, and values are aligned with our regional vision to be ‘Well Ahead’ in 2030 in climate change mitigation, economic competitiveness and wellbeing.
Our Decision-Making is based on Local Self-Government
Our decision-making processes are based on how the Finnish government operates on a local level.
Our highest decision-making body is the Regional Assembly, consisting of 83 officials who meet two or three times a year. The responsibility for the implementation of the decisions lies with the Regional Board and its 15 officials, meeting every month.
All officials in the Assembly and the Board are politicians elected by the member municipalities for a mandate period of four years, representing the political will of the region according to the local election results.
The political parties in our Assembly during 2021–2025 are The National Coalition Party (23), The Social Democratic Party (14), The Greens (14), The Finns Party (10), The Swedish People’s Party (7), The Left Alliance (7), The Centre Party (4), The Christian Democrats (2), The Movement Now (2).
Presidents of Regional Assembly and Board
Pentti Arajärvi
President of the Assembly
Social Democratic Party, City of Helsinki
E-mail: pentti@arajarvi.fi
Markku Markkula
President of the Board
National Coalition Party, City of Espoo
E-mail: markku.markkula@aalto.fi
Contact Us
The Office of the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council is led by Regional Mayor Tuija Telén. Regional Development, Regional Land Use Planning, Helsinki EU Office, Communications and Administration are also represented in our Management Team.
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Helsinki-Uusimaa Region
The Helsinki-Uusimaa Region is at the heart of Northern Europe, on the south coast of Finland and at the Baltic Sea. Although only covering three percent of our national land area, our Region is home to around 1.8 million inhabitants, which is about a third of the country’s total population.
Current
News
5.3.2025
Helsinki-Uusimaa calls for EU acknowledgment of Russian airspace closure effects
The Russian airspace closure has had its consequences for European airlines. The number of passengers at the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is also yet to recover from the dip due to COVID-19.
Blog
27.2.2025
The First 100 Days: How the New European Commission Shapes Helsinki-Uusimaa and European Regions
As the 100-day milestone approaches, it is an opportune moment for us to assess the emerging policy signals and consider their implications for Helsinki-Uusimaa. More importantly, as regional developers, we need to ask: How can Helsinki-Uusimaa — along with other European regions and cities — strategically position itself to create future development and actively shape EU and national policies in an inclusive and timely manner? Senior Adviser Christine Chang has written a blog post about the implications of the EU's next policy phase.
This page was last updated: 6.3.2025