Lebesby Municipality

Lebesby (Davvesiida and Lebespyy) is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kjøllefjord. Other villages in the municipality include Ifjord, Kunes, Lebesby, and Veidnes.

The 3460.5 km2 municipality is the 8th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Lebesby is the 320th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,215. The municipality's population density is 0.4 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 9.4% over the previous 10-year period.

The municipality consists of the western half of the Nordkinn Peninsula, along with areas around the Laksefjorden. Most people live in the village of Kjøllefjord. This municipality is dominated by ethnic Norwegians, whereas the areas around the Laksefjorden are predominantly Sami. Fishing is the mainstay of the population.

Economy
There are 17 wind turbines that generate electrical power in Kjøllefjord, as of 2024. The world's northernmost dairy farm that produces milk (melkebruk) is located in Bekkarfjord.

History
The parish of Lebesby was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1864, the eastern part of Lebesby that surrounds the Tanafjorden (population: 1,388) was separated to become the new Tana Municipality. Tana was later separated into three: Tana Municipality, Gamvik Municipality, and Berlevåg Municipality. The borders of Lebesby have remained unchanged since that time.

On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Finnmark county. On 1 January 2024, the Troms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part of Finnmark county.

Name
The origins of the municipal name are uncertain. There are two main possibilities. Lebesby may be a Norwegianized form of a Northern Sami name Leaibbessiida. The first element is the genitive form of the word which means "grey alder". The last element is which means "reindeer camp" or "dwelling place". A second option for the origin of the name is that Lebesby is a corruption of the Old Norse word Liðvarðsbýr. The first element is Liðvarð which is a male name from long ago. The last element is which means "dwelling place" or "farmstead".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 22 July 1988. The official blazon is "Per fess embattled grady with three steps and two peaks Or and Sable" (Delt av gult og svart ved tredobbelt tindesnitt med to tinder). This means the arms have a field (background) that is divided by a line that is "embattled grady". A line embattled grady consists of series of two or three steps, as if each merlon has a smaller merlon atop it. The field below the line has a tincture of sable and the field above the line has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The idea is that the arms represent the Finnkirka ("the Finn Church"), a cliff by the sea in the municipality. This cliff formation has the appearance of a church, and in former times was used by Sami people as a place of sacrifice. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen.

Geography
The municipality consists of the areas around the Laksefjorden, including the eastern part of the Sværholt Peninsula and the western half of the Nordkinn Peninsula. At the entrance to the Kjøllefjorden at the northwestern tip of the Nordkinn Peninsula, one finds the spectacular Finnkirka sea cliff, so named because of its soaring spires that look like a church. On the other side of the Oksefjorden on the northern end of the peninsula, the Kinnarodden cape (shared with Gamvik Municipality) is the northernmost point on the European mainland. There are several large lakes in the municipality including Kjæsvannet, Store Måsvannet, and Suolojávri. The highest point in the municipality is the 1066.78 m tall mountain Rásttigáisá.

Birdlife
The same seacliffs mentioned above hold large numbers of breeding seabirds. In fact Norway's third largest seabird colony can be found in the municipality. Experiencing a seabird colony is one of nature's great experiences, here you can see and listen to thousands of birds with such species as fulmar and Atlantic puffin being a part of a fascinating ecosystem.

Flora
The world's northernmost birch forest is located in this municipality, near Oksefjorden, 9 km east of Kjøllefjord (70.96667°N, 27.56667°W).

Government
Lebesby Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Indre og Østre Finnmark District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Lebesby is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Lebesby:


 * 1838-1840: Johan Karsten Garmann Schancke
 * 1840-1843: Nils Pedersen
 * 1843-1845: Jørres Schelderup Hansen
 * 1846-1854: Henning Briks
 * 1855-1857: Nicolai Christian Lassen
 * 1858-1863: Bernhard Kock
 * 1864-1867: Johan Fredrik Lindstrøm
 * 1868-1873: Oluf August Ingemann Melbye
 * 1874-1892: N. Johansen
 * 1893-1895: J.B. Bøgeberg
 * 1896-1898: Ole Moen
 * 1899-1907: N. Johansen
 * 1908-1913: O. Klykken
 * 1914-1914: Andreas Olai Knutsen Steffensen
 * 1914-1916: Johan Hustad
 * 1917-1919: Wilhelm Lund
 * 1920-1925: Ole Konrad Steinholt
 * 1926-1928: Johan P. Olsen
 * 1929-1931: Charlo Klykken
 * 1932-1934: Johan P. Olsen
 * 1935-1941: Karl Fosslund
 * 1941-1942: Jens A. Horst
 * 1942-1945: Sigvald Tryggeseth (NS)
 * 1945-1945: Adolf Hansen
 * 1945-1945: Arne Moilanen
 * 1946-1950: Hans Martin Hanssen (Ap)
 * 1950-1951: Bertin Jonassen
 * 1952-1955: Edmund Wallenius
 * 1956-1957: Viggo Lund
 * 1958-1959: Gerhard Charlo Øfeldt
 * 1959-1961: Viggo Lund
 * 1961-1975: Aksel Samuelsberg (Ap)
 * 1975-1979: Magnor Mathisen (Ap)
 * 1979-1988: Edmund Varfjell (Ap)
 * 1988-1998: Kristin Berg Nilsen (Ap)
 * 1998-2010: Harald Larssen (Ap)
 * 2010-2019: Stine Akselsen (Ap)
 * 2019–present: Sigurd Kvammen Rafaelsen (Ap)

Churches
The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Lebesby. It is part of the Hammerfest prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

Notable people

 * Einar Wøhni (1920 in Lebesby – 1987), a politician
 * Gørild Mauseth (born 1972 in Kjøllefjord), an actress