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 Deputy Regional Mayor Juha Eskelinen. Our Management Team also includes the Directors of Regional Development, Regional Land Use Planning, Communication and Administration.
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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 1.7 million inhabitants, which is about a third of the country’s total population.
Current
News
27.9.2023
Decision-makers in Europe’s metropolitan areas are looking for solutions to mitigate climate change
The Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council has the honour of hosting the annual forum of the European Metropolitan Authorities Network (EMA) in Helsinki on 28–29 September. The main theme of the conference, which will be held at Marina Congress Center on Friday, is climate change mitigation with green and digital solutions.
News
4.9.2023
Janne Leino new Head of Helsinki EU Office in Brussels
Janne Leino (M.A.) has started in his position as the new Head of the Helsinki EU Office in Brussels. Mr Leino, with a strong international career, has previously worked for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), where he coordinated the interests’ promotion of a network with more than one hundred offices in Brussels.
This page was last updated: 29.8.2023