Finnås Municipality

The parish of Finnaas (later spelled Finnås) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1865, Finnaas Municipality was divided into two parts as follows: • the southern mainland district of Finnaas (population: 2,237) plus the Vikebygd area of the neighboring Fjelberg Municipality (population: 1,062) became the new Sveen Municipality • the northern island district remained as a smaller Finnaas Municipality On 1 January 1868, a small part of Finnaas Municipality (population: 10) was transferred to the neighboring Fitje Municipality. On 1 April 1870, the Øklandsgrend area (population: 247) was transferred from Finnaas Municipality to the neighboring Valestrand Municipality. During its time as a municipality, it was always spelled as Findaas or Finnaas. On 21 December 1917 (after the municipality had been dissolved and merged into Bømlo), a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Finnaas with the digraph "aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Finnås, using the letter å instead. Since then, when referring to the old municipality, the new spelling is usually used, but the letter "å" was never used while the municipality existed. Churches The Church of Norway had three parishes () within Finnaas Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Finnaas prestegjeld and the Søndre Sunnhordland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. ==Geography==

Originally, the municipality encompassed all of the island of Bømlo, the island of Moster, the small surrounding islands, and the mainland located south of the Bømlafjorden. In 1865, the mainland parts of Finnaas Municipality were removed, leaving a municipality of islands. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Siggjo on the island of Bømlo. Fitjar Municipality was located to the north, Stord Municipality was located to the east, Valestrand Municipality was located to the southeast, Sveio Municipality was located to the south, and the North Sea was located to the west. ==Government==

While it existed, Finnaas Municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Gulating Court of Appeal. Mayors The mayor () of Finnaas Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position: • 1838–1840: Rev. Niels Nielsen Vogt • 1849–1849: Gudmund Eriksen Habbestad • 1850–1851: Rev. Kolstad • 1852–1855: E. Jacobsen Øklandsvaag • 1858–1860: Halvor J. Vornæs • 1861–1866: Ole Ingemarsen Gaaseland • 1878–1887: Ole M. Søndre-Sille • 1888–1901: J. Thorsheim • 1902–1904: B.O. Meling • 1905–1907: J. Thorsheim • 1908–1913: E. Olsen • 1914–1916: B.O. Meling ==Notable people==

• Haldor Andreas Haldorsen (1883–1965), a politician elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Hordaland • Ola Olsen (1891–1973), a politician elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Hordaland • Gerhard Meidell Gerhardsen (1885–1931), a bailiff and politician for the Conservative Party and Centre Party • Gerhard Meidell Gerhardsen (1912–1986), an economist ==See also==