Troms og Finnmark , Nordsamisch Romsa ja Finnmárku and Kvenisch Tromssa ja Finmarkku (German Troms and Finnmark ), is a Norwegian province ( Fylke ), which on January 1, 2020 from the merger of the provinces Troms and Finnmark and the municipality Tjeldsund from the Fylke Nordland originated. The basis was a resolution passed by Storting on June 8, 2017, which provided for a reduction to eleven Fylker as part of a regional reform .
Tromsø , the largest city in the province and the administrative seat of the previous province of Troms, is the seat of the administration. The Fylkesmann (governor) of Troms og Finnmark has his seat in Vadsø , the administrative seat of the previous province of Finnmark. There are 57 MPs in parliament ( Fylkesting ).
With an area of 74,830 km², Troms og Finnmark is Norway's largest province and has 243,311 inhabitants (as of February 27, 2020). It lies in the far north and east of Norway between the European North Sea and Barents Sea and the province of Nordland, Sweden , Finland and Russia and is the northern part of the country part of Nord-Norge .
Troms og Finnmark is completely north of the Arctic Circle . The Scandinavian Mountains in the North Cape end here . The coast is strongly indented by numerous fjords with many islands in front of them. The most important river is the Tana , which marks the border with Finland for 256 kilometers.
The amalgamation of the two provinces is particularly controversial in Finnmark. In a non-binding referendum in the province of Finnmark in 2018, 87 percent voted against the merger with Troms. Nevertheless, the Storting did not reverse its decision.
The first election for the newly created province took place on September 9, 2019. 193,073 people were eligible to vote. The majority of the Labor Party , Center Party and Socialist Left Party that emerged from the elections is striving to reverse the merger of Troms and Finnmark, as the parties had already announced before the elections.
Troms og Finnmark is divided into 39 municipalities. Three municipalities were created at the same time as the province by merging two or four municipalities: