page_title: Turku
section_title: Government and politics
hierarchical_section_title: Turku / Government and politics
caption_attribution_description: English: Court of Appeal, Academy House, Turku, with Turku Cathedral's tower on the background, and a statue of Gustav II Adolf, the founder of the Court of Appeal, on the foreground. Suomi: Turun hovioikeuden puoli Turun akatemiatalosta, taustalla Turun tuomiokirkon torni ja edustalla hovioikeuden perustaneen Kustaa II Adolfin patsas. Svenska: Akademihuset i Åbo sett från Tavastgatan. I förgrunden en staty av Gustav II Adolf, som grundade Åbo hovrätt, verksam i huset sedan 1830. I bakgrunden Åbo domkyrkas torn.
context_page_description: Turku is a city on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper. The region was originally called Suomi, which later became the name for the whole country.
  It is unknown when Turku gained city rights. The Pope first mentioned the town Aboa in his Bulla in 1229 and the year is now used as the foundation year of the city.
  As the oldest town in the country, Turku is the most important city in Finland, a status it retained for hundreds of years throughout the centuries under the rule of the Kingdom of Sweden. After the Finnish war, Finland became an autonomous grand duchy of the Russian Empire under the direct rule of the Czar and the capital of the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland was moved to Helsinki.
  It was only after the last great fire in 1827 that most governmental institutions were moved to Helsinki along with the Academy of Turku founded in 1640, which then became the University of Helsinki.
  Turku continued to be the most populous city in Finland until the end of the 1840s, and it remains the regional capital and an important business and cultural center and port.
context_section_description: Being both a regional and provincial capital, Turku is an important administrative centre, hosting the seat of the Archbishop of Finland and a Court of Appeal. Aleksi Randell has been the mayor of Turku since 2010.
  The city council of Turku has 67 seats. Following the 2017 municipal election, the council seats are allocated in the following way: National Coalition Party 17 seats, Green League 14, Social Democrats 12, Left Alliance 12, True Finns 5, Centre Party 3, Swedish People's Party 3 and Christian Democrats 1. The current chair of the city board is Minna Arve from National Coalition Party.
  Results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Turku:
  National Coalition Party   23.7%
  Social Democratic Party   19.4%
  True Finns   15.8%
  Left Alliance   12.7%
  Green League   11.4%
  Swedish People's Party   5.8%
  Centre Party   4.7%
  Christian Democrats   3.1%
caption: The Court of Appeal and Academy House of Turku
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