...entrance of the Gulf of Bothnia. Politically, it constitutes the Åland province of Finland. The archipelago consists of about 7,000...The chief town and provincial capital is Mariehamn , a port on Åland, the largest of the islands. Shipping, fishing, forestry, farming...

The United Nations Office of the Secretary General issued the text of the following statement: Following is UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's message on the 150th anniversary of the demilitarization of the land Islands, to be held in Bomarsund, land, 12-13 August: Humankind's quest for the peaceful

land, the archipelago at the mouth of the Gulf of Bothnia, comprises some 6,500 islands. While belonging to Finland, its 26,00 inhabitants are Swedish-speaking. SCANDINAVIA IS MORE THAN DENMARK, SWEDEN, NORWAY, Finland and Iceland; it also encompasses three of what historians call "forbidden

For hundreds of years, the landers have been Swedish-speaking, their culture closely resembling that of Sweden, with local variations. The land Islands belonged to the Kingdom of Sweden, occasionally with a fairly independent administration, until the 1808-1809 war, when Sweden was forced to

see Åland Islands .

...in 1952 by Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Finland joined the council in 1955. The territories of the Faeroes and the Åland Islands have been represented since 1970; Greenland gained representation in 1984. The council may take up any problem of joint...

or Maarianhamina , city (1996 pop. 10,399), capital of Åland prov., SW Finland, on Åland island. It is an active trade center and a popular summer resort. It was founded in 1861 by Czar Alexander II.

...Norway in the north, on Russia in the east, and on the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea in the south. The country includes the Åland Islands , located at the mouth of the Gulf of Bothnia. Helsinki is Finland's capital and its largest city. Land and People Finland...

...in the sea, the principal ones are Sjælland, Fyn, Lolland, Falster, and Bornholm (Denmark); Öland and Gotland (Sweden); the Åland Islands (Finland); Saaremaa (Estonia); and Rügen (Germany). Most of the Baltic is shallow, and its tides are less pronounced...

...League headquarters. Successes and Failures The League quickly proved its value by settling the Swedish-Finnish dispute over the Åland Islands (1920-21), guaranteeing the security of Albania (1921), rescuing Austria from economic disaster, settling the division...