The Eastern Province (Tamil: கிழக்கு மாகாணம் Kil̮akku Mākāṇam; Sinhalese: නැගෙනහිර පළාත Næ̆gĕnahira Paḷāta) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was temporarily merged with the Northern Province to form the North Eastern Province.