Kolbu (municipality)

Kolbu is a former municipality in the old Oppland county, Norway. The 132 km2 municipality existed from 1908 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Østre Toten Municipality in the traditional district of Toten. The administrative centre was the village of Kolbu.

History
The municipality of Kolbu was established on 1 January 1908 when the old Vestre Toten Municipality was divided in three. The southwestern part (population: 1,173) became Eina Municipality, the southeastern part (population: 2,412) became Kolbu Municipality, and the northern part (population: 4,027) continued as Vestre Toten Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Kolbu Municipality (population: 2,906) was merged with Østre Toten Municipality (population: 10,661) to form a new, larger Østre Toten Municipality.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Kolbu farm (Kolabú) since the first Kolbu Church was built there. The first element is which means "coal". The last element is which means "house" or "dwelling".

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 Kolbu 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 Kolbu:


 * 1908-1916: Hans Sethne (LL)
 * 1917-1919: Olaf Holthe(LL)
 * 1920-1922: Johannes Hoel (LL)
 * 1923-1925: Olaf Holthe (LL)
 * 1926-1928: Johannes Hoel (Bp)
 * 1929-1934: Paul J. Narum (Bp)
 * 1935-1936: Erik Gaardløs (RF)
 * 1937-1937: Claus Smedsrud (Ap)
 * 1937-1937: Paul J. Narum (Bp)
 * 1938-1944: Hans D. Nøkleby (Bp)
 * 1945-1945: Per P. Røise
 * 1946-1947: Paul J. Narum (Bp)
 * 1948-1951: Bernt Dysthe (Bp)
 * 1952-1956: Karl Lund (Ap)
 * 1957-1960: Mathias Molstad (Sp)
 * 1961-1963: Kristian O. Narum (Sp)