Mo is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The 694 km2 municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Tokke Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Vistad which is located just west of the present village of Dalen.

History

The parish of Mo was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1879, there was a small border adjustment where a part of Laardal Municipality (population: 6) was transferred to Mo Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Mo Municipality (population: 1,658) and Lårdal Municipality (population: 1,929) were merged to form a new municipality called Tokke.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Mo farm since the first Mo Church was built there. The name is identical with the word which means "heath" or "moorland".

Government

While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Mo was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayors of Mo: