Hidra, Vest-Agder

Hidra is a former municipality that was located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The 90 km2 municipality existed from 1893 until its dissolution in 1965. It encompassed the islands and southern coastal part of the present-day municipality of Flekkefjord in what is now Agder county. The municipality included the islands of Hidra and Andabeløya as well as 56 other islands, plus the mainland coast from Abelsnes to the river Sira. The administrative centre was the village of Kirkehavn where Hidra Church is located.

Hidra was home to Olav Omland (1909–1998), a landscape and coastal painter. He was also a poet and songwriter, and composed the song about Hidra "Hidrasangen". Hidra was also home to the eccentric personality and artist Tatjana Lars Kristian Guldbrandsen.

History
The parish of Nes og Hitterø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). However, on 8 October 1893, this municipality was split into two municipalities: Hitterø (population: 2,075) and Nes (population: 1,704). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, Hidra municipality (formerly called Hitterø) was merged with the municipalities of Nes, Gyland, most of Bakke, and the town of Flekkefjord to form the new municipality of Flekkefjord. Prior to the merger, Hidra had a population of 1,277.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Hidra (Hitrar) since the first Hidra Church was built there. The name is the plural form of hitr which means "split" or "cleft" (referring to the fact that the island is almost split in two by the Rasvåg fjord). Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Hitterø. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Hidra.

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 Hidra 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.