Hadsel Municipality

Hadsel was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The northern district of Hadsel was separated in 1841 to form the new Sortland Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, the Indre Eidsfjord district of Hadsel (population: 1,360) was transferred to Sortland Municipality. Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hadsel farm () since the first Hadsel Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of which means "high and steep cliff" or "head". The last element is which means "sail". (A cliff near the farm has been compared in form to a sail.) Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 11 March 1976. The official blazon is "Azure, four annulets Or, two and two" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is four rings (two over two). The charge 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 blue color in the field symbolizes the importance of sea for this island municipality. The four rings represent the four main islands of that make up Hadsel: Hadseløya, Austvågøya, Hinnøya, and Langøya. The arms were designed by Øystein Bottolfsen. ==Churches==

The Church of Norway has three parishes () within Hadsel Municipality. It is part of the Vesterålen prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland. ==Geography==

The municipality is located upon four main islands in the Vesterålen archipelago: Hinnøya, Langøya, Hadseløya, and Austvågøya, plus the small islands of Børøya and Brottøya. The tall mountain Higravtindan is the highest point in the municipality. It is located on the border with Vågan Municipality and it is one of the tallest mountains in the whole region. Climate Hadsel has a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc). The warmest temperature recorded is in July 2014. The coldest temperature recorded is in March 2019. Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen in Hadsel has recorded temperature since June 1972. Data for extremes available since 2004, there might be warmer or colder temperatures recorded before 2004. == Economy ==

In Spring 2022, a company started mining of cryptocurrency at the company's facility in Stokmarknes; however, that activity had ended by Q3 2024. The facility [was using] around 40% of the power consumed in the whole municipality, heavily impacting the local electric grid. ==Government==

Hadsel Municipality is 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Midtre Hålogaland District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal. Municipal council The municipal council () of Hadsel Municipality is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party. {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table Mayors The mayor () of Hadsel Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position: • 1838–1840: Erich Leganger Coldevin • 1840–1842: Villatz Bing Dreyer • 1842–1847: Johan Bjerch • 1847–1847: Erich Leganger Coldevin • 1847–1848: Mons Krey • 1848–1850: Lars Olai Næss • 1850–1852: Nikolai Castus Berner • 1852–1852: Lars Olai Næss • 1852–1865: Jørgen Meldal Arentz • 1865–1867: Wilhelm Dahl Hals • 1867–1869: Martin Bertzius Heggelund • 1870–1872: Wilhelm Dahl Hals • 1873–1874: Martin Bertzius Heggelund • 1875–1880: Sofus Anton Birger Arctander • 1881–1882: Jens O. Dahl • 1883–1884: Ditlef Efraim Jæger • 1885–1898: Martin Larsen Hennes • 1898–1902: Daniel Baltzazar Kildal • 1903–1905: Kristian August Fosse • 1905–1914: Johan Jakobsen Hanøy • 1914–1919: Johan Johnsen Skagen • 1919–1928: Knut Larsen Leknes (V) • 1928–1934: Håvard Nikolai Hanssen (Bp) • 1934–1937: Olaus Fjellstad (Ap) • 1941–1942: Mr. Nøstvik (NS) • 1942–1945: Olav Dahl (NS) • 1946–1959: Olaus Fjellstad (Ap) • 1959–1967: Edmund Fjærvoll (KrF) • 1968–1971: Bjarne Bendiksen (Ap) • 1972–1972: Egil Karlsen (V) • 1972–1973: Trygve Pettersen (Ap) • 1974–1975: Elnar Bårdsen (Ap) • 1975–1979: John Kristiansen (H) • 1979–1985: Dag Jostein Fjærvoll (KrF) • 1985–1987: Ingegjerd Solum (Ap) • 1987–1999: Hugo Olsen (Ap) • 1999–2003: Ørjan Robertsen (Ap) • 2003–2007: Reidar Johnsen (Sp) • 2007–2015: Kjell-Børge Freiberg (FrP) • 2015–2019: Siv Dagny Aasvik (Ap) • 2019–2020: Kurt Eirik Jenssen (Sp) • 2020–2023: Aina Johanne Nilsen (Sp) • 2023–present: Kjell-Børge Freiberg (H) == Notable people ==

• Øyvinn Øi (1901 in Hadsel – 1940), a Norwegian military officer killed at the outbreak of WWII • Asbjørn Herteig (1919 in Hadsel – 2006), an archeologist who was the first curator at the Bryggen Museum • Maren-Sofie Røstvig (1920 in Melbu – 2014), a literary historian • Henry Valen (1924 in Hadsel – 2007), a political scientist and academic • Lars Andreas Larssen (1935 in Melbu – 2014), a stage, film, and television actor • Oddbjørn Knutsen (1953 in Hadsel – 2019), a political scientist and academic • Kjell-Børge Freiberg (born 1971 In Hadsel), a Norwegian politician, government minister, and mayor of Hadsel from 2007 to 2015 ==References==