Mariehamn celebrates

Mariehamn, the only town in the autonomous Åland Region was founded in 1861 by the Russian tsar Alexander II and named after his consort Maria Alexandrovna. The founding papers were signed on 21 February and as part of the town's 150 year celebrations a commemorative ball was held in the Town Hall on 21 February this year. Among 300 invited guests there were 2 representatives from the Russian Postal Office who presented a commemorative stamp depicting Maria Alexandrovna. The stamp was issued simultaneously in Russia and Åland.

Celebratory events will be held all year with a special focus on the Mariehamn Party in mid-August. On the eve of 150^th birthday Mariehamn was, as only the second Scandinavian town to receive the award, certified by AAA Certification to confirm that the town's management of environmental issues within municipal administration, services and development comply with ISO 14001, 2004.

A reform regarding the number of municipal council sub-committees has been accepted by the town council and as a result the number of committees will be cut down from 11 to 6 starting from 1 January 2012. Mr Bjarne Pettersson, a longstanding civil servant and Mayor since 2007, has now retired. His successor who took over on 1 May is Mr Edgar Vickström who previously held a number of prominent posts with Ålandsbanken.