Sør-Rana


Sør-Rana is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1929 until 1964. Sør-Rana encompassed an area on both sides of the middle section of the Ranfjorden around where the Sørfjorden and Elsfjorden branch off the main fjord.

History

was established on 1 January 1838 under the old formannskapsdistrikt law. Shortly afterwards, in 1839, the municipality was divided into Nord-Ranen and Sør-Ranen. In 1844, Sør-Ranen was renamed Hemnes. On 1 July 1918, the southern part of Hemnes was separated to become the municipality of Korgen. On 1 July 1929 the large municipality of Hemnes was divided into three separate municipalities: Elsfjord in the southwest, Hemnes which included the small area around the village of Hemnesberget, and Sør-Rana in the north and east.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Sør-Rana municipality was dissolved and its lands were divided up. The district of Sør-Rana that was north of the Ranfjorden, with 697 inhabitants, was merged with the town of Mo i Rana, the municipality of Nord-Rana, and the eastern part of Nesna Municipality to create the new Rana Municipality. The rest of Sør-Rana, with 934 inhabitants, was merged with Hemnes Municipality, the municipality of Korgen, and the northern part of Hattfjelldal Municipality to form a new, larger Hemnes Municipality.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Sør-Rana, are responsible for primary education, 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 elects a mayor.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Sør-Rana was made up of 15 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows: