Leiranger is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The 185 km2 municipality existed from 1900 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality was encompassed the around the Leinesfjorden and the islands surrounding the mouth of the fjord in what is now Steigen Municipality. The administrative centre of Leiranger was the village of Leines. The village of Leinesfjorden lies at the end of the fjord. Prior to its dissolution in 1963, the 185.2 km2 municipality was the 393rd largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Leiranger Municipality was the 550th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,417. The municipality's population density was 7.7 PD/km2 and its population had decreased by 5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality was established on 1 September 1900 when the southern district of Steigen Municipality was separated to become the new municipality of Ledingen. Initially, the municipality had 1,117 residents. In 1910, the name was changed to Leiranger. uring the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the following areas were merged to form a new, larger Steigen Municipality:

Name

The municipality was originally named Ledingen after the old name for the local fjord that is now called Leinesfjorden. The first element is which means "clay". The last element is which means "fjord". Thus the name means the "clay fjord". On 3 July 1909, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Leiranger, to give it a modern version of the Old Norse name.

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Leiranger Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Steigen prestegjeld and the Nordre Salten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Geography

The municipality included all the area around the Leinesfjorden. To the north was Steigen Municipality, to the east was Nordfold Municipality, and to the south was Kjerringøy Municipality. The highest point in the municipality was the 1045 m tall mountain Kråktindan.

Government

While it existed, Leiranger 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 Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Leiranger was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.