Fister Municipality

The municipality of Fister was established on 1 July 1884 when the large Hjelmeland og Fister Municipality was divided into two municipalities: the eastern district (population: 832) became the new Fister Municipality and the western district (population: 2,249) remained as a smaller Hjelmeland og Fister Municipality. At the same time, the name was changed to simply Hjelmeland Municipality, dropping the "Fister" part which was no longer part of the municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the municipality of Fister was dissolved. The western part of Fister Municipality, known as the Fister islands (), (population: 246) was merged into Finnøy Municipality. The rest of Fister Municipality was merged with the following areas to form a larger Hjelmeland Municipality: Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Fister Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Hjelmeland prestegjeld and the Ryfylke prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger. ==Geography==

The municipality encompassed the western coast of mainland along the Fisterfjorden plus the islands to the west of the mainland, including the western part of Randøy and Halsnøya. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Lauvåsen. Hjelmeland Municipality was located to the northeast, Årdal Municipality was located to the southeast, Strand Municipality was located to the south, Finnøy Municipality was located to the west, and Sjernarøy Municipality was located to the northwest. ==Government==

While it existed, Fister Municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The 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 Ryfylke District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal. Municipal council The municipal council of Fister Municipality was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party. {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table Mayors The mayor () of Fister Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position: • 1885–1907: Ole Svendsen Sigmundstad • 1908–1910: Ole Olsen Bjelland, Jr. • 1911–1913: Per Olsen Mosnes • 1914–1916: Ole Olsen Bjelland, Jr. • 1917–1919: Thormod Øvrehus • 1920–1922: Reidar Skår • 1923–1928: Thormod Øvrehus • 1929–1941: Thomas Thomsen • 1942–1943: Lars A. Landsnes • 1943–1945: Johannes Hovda • 1945–1945: Thomas Thomsen • 1945–1951: Halvard Lid • 1951–1955: David Sørhus • 1955–1957: Sigmund Sigmundstad • 1957–1959: Halvard Lid • 1959–1961: David Sørhus • 1961–1963: Øystein Bergøy • 1963–1964: Halvard Lid ==See also==