Åsen (municipality)

Åsen is a former municipality in the old Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The 140 km2 municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1962. The municipality was located to the southwest part of what is now Levanger municipality in Trøndelag county, roughly bordered in the north by the lakes Hammervatnet and Hoklingen, and by the Åsenfjorden to the west. The administrative centre was the village of Åsen.

History
The municipality of Aasen was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The spelling was later changed to Åsen. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the town of Levanger (population: 1,669) was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Frol (population: 3,774), Åsen (population: 1,939), and Skogn (population: 4,756) to form a new, larger municipality called Levanger.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the local fjord, Åsenfjorden (Ásfjǫrðr). The name is identical to the Norwegian word which means "the hill". On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Aasen with the digraph "Aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Åsen, using the letter Å instead.

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 elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor.

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

Mayors
The mayors of Åsen:


 * 1838–1839: Jonas Jonsen Nes
 * 1839-1839: Erik Mikalsen Skjelstad
 * 1840–1843: Peder Ellevsen Berg
 * 1844–1845: Ole Tørrissen Vedul
 * 1846–1847: Peder Steffensen Nonstad
 * 1848–1859: Peder Olsen
 * 1860–1866: Christian Bye
 * 1867–1869: Ole Island
 * 1870–1873: Henrik Reinaas
 * 1874–1879: John Stavnaas
 * 1880–1889: Peder O. Mæhre (V)
 * 1890–1891: Arn Solem Bye (V)
 * 1892–1919: Ole Martin Augdahl (V)
 * 1920–1922: Anders Todal (V)
 * 1923–1925: John Wold (Bp)
 * 1926–1931: Anders Todal (V)
 * 1932–1937: John Wold (Bp)
 * 1938–1941: Sigurd Aarnseth (V)
 * 1942–1943: Sigurd Lundby (NS)
 * 1944-1944: Ragnar Fiskvik (NS)
 * 1945-1945: Sigurd Aarnseth (V)
 * 1946–1947: Olaf Jensen (Ap)
 * 1948–1951: Fridtjov Mo (Bp)
 * 1952–1955: Olav Mo (Bp)
 * 1956–1957: Olaf Jensen (Ap)
 * 1958–1959: Ivar Jørum (Ap)
 * 1960–1961: Fridtjov Mo (Sp)