Lääne County

Lääne County (Lääne maakond or Läänemaa, literally "Western land"; Wiek; Rotalia) is one of the 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in western Estonia and borders the Baltic Sea to the north, Harju County to the north-east, Rapla County to the east, Pärnu County to the south, and the island counties of Saare and Hiiu to the west. In January 2009 Lääne County had a population of 23,810 – constituting 2.0% of the total population in Estonia. The County Government (Maavalitsus) is led by a governor (maavanem), who is appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years. Since 15 December 2011, the governorship has been held by Innar Mäesalu. Aleksander Saar 1917–1927 Artur Kasterpalu 1930–1941 Andres Lipstok 14 December 1993 – 12 August 1994 Hannes Danilov 1 November 1994 – 3 January 1999 Arder Väli 23 February 1999 – 20 July 1999 Jaanus Sahk 22 September 1999 – 22 September 2004 Sulev Vare 19 November 2004 – 14 September 2007 Neeme Suur 18 February 2008 – 4 April 2011 Innar Mäesalu 15 December 2011 - The county is subdivided into municipalities. There is one urban municipality, Haapsalu (linn – town) and 2 rural municipalities (vallad – parishes) in Lääne County. In the first centuries AD political and administrative subdivisions began to emerge in Estonia. Two larger subdivisions appeared: the parish (kihelkond) and the county (maakond). A parish consisted of several villages. Nearly all parishes had at least one fortress. The defense of the local area was directed by the highest official, the parish elder. A county was composed of several parishes, also headed by an elder. By the 13th century the following major districts had developed in Estonia: Saaremaa (Osilia), Läänemaa (Rotalia or Maritima), Harjumaa (Harria), Rävala (Revalia), Virumaa (Vironia), Järvamaa (Jervia), Sakala (Saccala), and Ugandi (Ugaunia). Läänemaa (Rotalia, Maritima, Low German: Wiek) was an independent country on the east coast of the Baltic sea, bordered by Revala, Harjumaa, Alempois, and Sakala. Läänemaa had an area of approximately 1900 hides.