Leirfjord

Municipality in Nordland, Norway

Municipality in Nordland, Norway

Leirfjord kommune

Municipality

View of Angerneset in western Leirfjord

Flag

Coat of arms

Nordland within
Norway

Leirfjord within Nordland

Coordinates: 66°06′46″N 13°07′51″E﻿ / ﻿66.11278°N 13.13083°E﻿ / 66.11278; 13.13083Coordinates: 66°06′46″N 13°07′51″E﻿ / ﻿66.11278°N 13.13083°E﻿ / 66.11278; 13.13083
Country| Norway
County| Nordland
District| Helgeland
Established| 1 July 1915 (1915-07-01)
• Preceded by| Stamnes Municipality
Administrative centre| Leland
Government

• Mayor (2015)| Ivan Haugland (Ap)
Area

• Total| 465.27 km2 (179.64 sq mi)
• Land| 450.83 km2 (174.07 sq mi)
• Water| 14.44 km2 (5.58 sq mi)  3.1%
• Rank| #213 in Norway
Population

(2022)

• Total| 2,257
• Rank| #264 in Norway
• Density| 5/km2 (10/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)

|  +7.1%
Demonym| Leirfjording[1]
Official language

[2]

• Norwegian form| Neutral
Time zone| UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)| UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code| NO-1822
Website| Official website

Data from Statistics Norway

Leirfjord is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Leland. Other villages in Leirfjord include Bardalssjøen and Sundøy. The large Helgeland Bridge is partly located in the municipality, connecting it to Alstahaug Municipality and the town of Sandnessjøen.

The 465-square-kilometre (180 sq mi) municipality is the 213th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Leirfjord is the 264th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,257. The municipality's population density is 5 inhabitants per square kilometre (13/sq mi) and its population has increased by 7.1% over the previous 10-year period.[3][4]

## General information[edit]

View of the Ranfjorden

The municipality of Leirfjord was established on 1 July 1915 when it was separated from the municipality of Stamnes. Initially, the municipality had 2,003 residents. In 1945, a small part of Nesna Municipality (population: 45) was merged into Leirfjord. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Leirfjord Municipality (population: 1,936) was merged with the parts of Nesna Municipality located south of the Ranfjorden (population: 580) and the parts of Tjøtta Municipality on the island of Alsta (population: 180) to form a new, larger municipality of Leirfjord.[5]

### Name[edit]

The municipality is named after the Leirfjorden. The old name of the fjord was probably just Leiri, derived from the name of the river Leira, which has its mouth in the end of the fjord. The river name is derived from the word leirr which means "clay".[6]

### Coat of arms[edit]

The coat of arms was granted on 30 October 1992. The official blazon is "Or, a cross raguly vert" (Norwegian: I gull et grønt grenkors). This means the arms have a field (background) that has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The charge is cross with edges that are designed with a raguly edge. It symbolizes forestry and agriculture in the municipality as well as the central location of the north–south and east–west roads through the municipality. The arms were designed by Jarle E. Henriksen from the nearby town of Sandnessjøen.[7][8][9][10]

### Churches[edit]

The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Leirfjord. It is part of the Nord-Helgeland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Churches in Leirfjord Parish (sokn) | Church name | Location of the church | Year built

|
|
|

Leirfjord | Bardal Church | Bardalssjøen | 1887
Leirfjord Church | Leland | 1867

## Geography[edit]

Panoramic view from Leirfjord

The municipality of Leirfjord is centered on the Leirfjorden, with most of the municipality on the mainland and a small part on the northeastern part of the island of Alsta. The Sundøy Bridge connects the mainland to the northeastern part of the island of Alsta and the Helgeland Bridge connects it to the rest of Alsta and the town of Sandnessjøen. The Ranfjorden runs along the northern part of Leirfjord and the Vefsnfjorden runs along the southern part of the municipality.

## Government[edit]

All municipalities in Norway, including Leirfjord, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.[11] The municipality falls under the Alstahaug District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

### Municipal council[edit]

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Leirfjord is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Leirfjord kommunestyre 2020-2023 [12] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 8
| Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)| 2
| Red Party (Rødt)| 1
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 7
| Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)| 1
Total number of members:| 19
Leirfjord kommunestyre 2016-2019 [13] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 9
| Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)| 2
| Conservative Party (Høyre)| 1
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 5
| Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)| 2
Total number of members:| 19
Leirfjord kommunestyre 2012-2015 [14] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 7
| Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)| 3
| Red Party (Rødt)| 1
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 6
| Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)| 2
Total number of members:| 19
Leirfjord kommunestyre 2008-2011 [13] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 8
| Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)| 4
| Red Electoral Alliance (Rød Valgallianse)| 1
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 3
| Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)| 2
| Leirfjord local list (Leirfjord bygdeliste)| 1
Total number of members:| 19
Leirfjord kommunestyre 2004-2007 [13] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 7
| Red Electoral Alliance (Rød Valgallianse)| 1
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 5
| Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)| 3
| Leirfjord local list (Leirfjord Bygdeliste)| 3
Total number of members:| 19
Leirfjord kommunestyre 2000-2003 [13] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 7
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 6
| Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)| 2
| Leirfjord local list (Leirfjord bygdeliste)| 6
Total number of members:| 21
Leirfjord kommunestyre 1996-1999 [15] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 6
| Red Electoral Alliance (Rød Valgallianse)| 1
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 5
| Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)| 2
| Leirfjord local list (Leirfjord Bygdeliste)| 7
Total number of members:| 21
Leirfjord kommunestyre 1992-1995 [16] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 6
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 5
| Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)| 3
| Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre),
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti),
and Liberal Party (Venstre)| 2
| Leirfjord local list (Leirfjord bygdeliste)| 3
| Sundøy common list (Sundøy samlingsliste)| 2
Total number of members:| 21
Leirfjord kommunestyre 1988-1991 [17] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 6
| Conservative Party (Høyre)| 2
| Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)| 1
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 3
| Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)| 1
| Joint list of the Liberal Party and independent voters
(Venstre og uavhengige velgere)| 1
| Leirfjord local list (Leirfjord bygdeliste)| 5
| Sundøy common list (Sundøy samlingsliste)| 2
Total number of members:| 21
Leirfjord kommunestyre 1984-1987 [18] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 6
| Conservative Party (Høyre)| 2
| Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)| 1
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 3
| Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)| 1
| Joint list of the Liberal Party and independent voters
(Venstre og uavhengige velgere)| 1
| Leirfjord local list (Leirfjord bygdeliste)| 6
| Sundøy common list (Sundøy samlingsliste)| 1
Total number of members:| 21
Leirfjord kommunestyre 1980-1983 [19] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 5
| Conservative Party (Høyre)| 2
| Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)| 1
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 4
| Free voters (Frie velgere)| 1
| Leirfjord local list (Leirfjord bygdeliste)| 8
Total number of members:| 21
Leirfjord kommunestyre 1976-1979 [20] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 12
| Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)| 1
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 5
| Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre)
and the Liberal Party (Venstre)| 1
| Free voters list (Frie velgeres liste)| 1
| Sundøy area non-party list (Sundøy Krets Upolitiske Liste)| 1
Total number of members:| 21
Leirfjord kommunestyre 1972-1975 [21] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 9
| Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)| 1
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 6
| Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)| 3
| Local List(s) (Lokale lister)| 2
Total number of members:| 21
Leirfjord kommunestyre 1968-1971 [22] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 9
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 6
| Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)| 3
| Local List(s) (Lokale lister)| 3
Total number of members:| 21
Leirfjord kommunestyre 1964-1967 [23] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 9
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 5
| Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)| 5
| Local List(s) (Lokale lister)| 2
Total number of members:| 21
Leirfjord herredsstyre 1960-1963 [24] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 8
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet)| 5
| Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)| 3
| Local List(s) (Lokale lister)| 1
Total number of members:| 17
Leirfjord herredsstyre 1956-1959 [25] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 7
| Local List(s) (Lokale lister)| 10
Total number of members:| 17
Leirfjord herredsstyre 1952-1955 [26] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 6
| Local List(s) (Lokale lister)| 10
Total number of members:| 16
Leirfjord herredsstyre 1948-1951 [27] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 6
| Local List(s) (Lokale lister)| 10
Total number of members:| 16
Leirfjord herredsstyre 1945-1947 [28] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 6
| Local List(s) (Lokale lister)| 10
Total number of members:| 16
Leirfjord herredsstyre 1938-1941* [29] Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of
representatives

|

| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)| 3
| Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)| 5
| Local List(s) (Lokale lister)| 8
Total number of members:| 16
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945.

## Notable people[edit]

* Gunvald Ludvigsen (born 1949 in Leirfjord) a Norwegian politician; Mayor of Eid 2003-2005
* Roger Johansen (born 1973 in Leirfjord) a Norwegian ice sledge hockey player; competed at the 2010 Winter Paralympics

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
2. ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
3. ^ Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
4. ^ Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian).
5. ^ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
6. ^ Store norske leksikon. "Leirfjord" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 10 January 2012.
7. ^ "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
8. ^ "Leirfjord, Nordland (Norway)". Flags of the World. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
9. ^ "Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet. 9 January 1993. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
10. ^ "Leirfjord" (in Norwegian). Leirfjord kommune. Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
11. ^ Hansen, Tore, ed. (12 May 2016). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
12. ^ "Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2019 - Nordland". Valg Direktoratet. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
13. ^ a b c d "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway.
14. ^ "Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2011 - Nordland". Valg Direktoratet. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
15. ^ "Kommunestyrevalget 1995" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1996. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
16. ^ "Kommunestyrevalget 1991" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1993. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
17. ^ "Kommunestyrevalget 1987" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1988. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
18. ^ "Kommunestyrevalget 1983" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1984. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
19. ^ "Kommunestyrevalget 1979" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1979. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
20. ^ "Kommunevalgene 1975" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1977. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
21. ^ "Kommunevalgene 1972" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1973. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
22. ^ "Kommunevalgene 1967" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1967. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
23. ^ "Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
24. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
25. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
26. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
27. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
28. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
29. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 2 April 2020.

## External links[edit]

* Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leirfjord.

* Nordland travel guide from Wikivoyage

* v
* t
* e

Nordland county, Norway

* Main article: Nordland
* Capital: Bodø
* County government: Nordland County Municipality
* County lists:
* County Governors
* Villages
* Churches

| Towns and cities|

| Current|

* Bodø (1816)
* Narvik (1902)
* Svolvær (1996)
* Sortland (1997)
* Mo i Rana (1997)
* Fauske (1998)
* Mosjøen (1998)
* Sandnessjøen (1999)
* Brønnøysund (2000)
* Stokmarknes (2000)
* Leknes (2002)

|

Former|

* Mosjøen (1875–1961)
* Svolvær (1918–1964)
* Brønnøysund (1923–1963)
* Mo i Rana (1923–1963)

Municipalities|

| Current|

| Helgeland|

* Alstahaug
* Bindal
* Brønnøy
* Dønna
* Grane
* Hattfjelldal
* Hemnes
* Herøy
* Leirfjord
* Lurøy
* Nesna
* Rana
* Rødøy
* Sømna
* Træna
* Vefsn
* Vega
* Vevelstad

|

Lofoten|

* Flakstad
* Moskenes
* Røst
* Vestvågøy
* Værøy
* Vågan

Ofoten|

* Evenes
* Lødingen
* Narvik

Salten|

* Beiarn
* Bodø
* Fauske
* Gildeskål
* Hamarøy
* Meløy
* Saltdal
* Steigen
* Sørfold

Vesterålen|

* Andøy
* Bø
* Hadsel
* Sortland
* Øksnes

Former|

* Andenes
* Ankenes
* Ballangen
* Bjørnskinn
* Bodin
* Borge
* Brønnøysund
* Buksnes
* Drevja
* Dverberg
* Dønnes
* Elsfjord
* Folden
* Gimsøy
* Hol
* Kjerringøy
* Korgen
* Langenes
* Leiranger
* Mo
* Mosjøen
* Nord-Rana
* Nordfold
* Nordfold-Kjerringøy
* Nordvik
* Ofoten
* Stamnes (Sandnessjøen)
* Skjerstad
* Svolvær
* Sør-Rana
* Tjeldsund
* Tjøtta
* Tysfjord
* Valberg
* Velfjord

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