periods of two years. Timo P. Nieminen was elected as the first mayor of Tampere for the years 2007–09.
After World War II, Tampere was enlarged by joining some neighbouring areas. Messukylä was incorporated in 1947, Lielahti in 1950, Aitolahti in 1966 and finally Teisko in 1972. Tampere was known for its textile and metal industries, but these have been largely replaced by information technology and telecommunications during the 1990s. The technology centre Hermia in Hervanta is home to many companies in these fields.
There have been many debates on the origin of the name Tampere. One theory is that it comes from the Swedish word damber, meaning "milldam". Another speculation is that the name originates from the ancient Scandinavian words þambr ("thick bellied") and þambion ("swollen belly"), referring to the rapids, and according to researchers, these kinds of references were given to name giving instances by ancient Scandinavian hunters. Other suggestions have been the Swedish tamper-dagar, fasting days, and also the Finnish word tammi. meaning "oak". Although the name Tampere or its Swedish counterpart's Tammer- part cannot be completely confirmed, it is clear that the fors part in the Swedish name means "rapids"
