Syvde is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1918 until its dissolution in 1964. The 125 km2 municipality included the areas surrounding the Syvdsfjorden in the eastern part of the present-day Vanylven Municipality. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Myklebost, at the end of the fjord. Syvde Church was the municipal church.

History

The municipality of Syvde was established on 1 February 1918 when the old Vanylven Municipality was split into two municipalities: Vanyvlen and Syvde. Initially, Syvde had a population of 1,260. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, all of Syvde Municipality (population: 1,458), all of Rovde Municipality located south of the Rovdefjorden (population: 436), and all of Vanylven Municipality (population: 2,003) where merged into a new, larger Vanylven Municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the local fjord, Syvdsfjorden. The name is likely derived from the word which means "to swerve" or "to drift", probably referring to the crooked or bent shape of the fjord. Historically, the name was spelled Søvde.

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 Syvde was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows: