Län

With a shared administrative tradition spanning centuries, ending only in 1809, this is a separation by convention, rather than by distinction.

The reason why Sweden has chosen to translate the term to "county" is that in Swedish and English, the word "provins"/"province" has come to mean different things.

[citation needed] In the Swedish Empire, all lands conquered became provinser (provinces); Swedish law, which granted the common people much more freedom and influence than any other European law at the time, was not extended to them, remaining confined to the landskap (in plural) which made up the Swedish-and-Finnish heartland (roughly corresponding to present-day Sweden and Finland).

[citation needed] Before län were adopted, the historical provinces were defined as either "hertigdöme" (duchy) or "grevskap" (county), which adds further confusion.

He or she is appointed by the government, and presides over the länsstyrelse (Swedish; previously lääninhallitus in Finnish) – translated as "County Administrative Board".

The governor's office is administrative by nature, which is also hinted at by the now obsolete title Konungens befallningshavande – "the King's Deputy" – and traditionally used as an honourable post for politicians to conclude their careers.