Midt-Telemark (municipality)

Midt-Telemark is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Midt-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bø i Telemark. Other villages in the municipality include Akkerhaugen, Folkestad, Gvarv, Holtsås, Nordagutu, Nordbøåsane, and Sauherad.

The 519 km2 municipality is the 204th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Midt-Telemark is the 108th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,735. The municipality's population density is 22 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 5.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 when the neighboring municipalities of Bø (population: 6,630) and Sauherad (population: 4,293) were merged. Also on the same date, the Hjukse area of Sauherad was transferred to Notodden Municipality.

Name
The municipality is named after the traditional district of Midt-Telemark. The first element is the prefix which means "middle". The last element is which is the historic name for the county. The name Telemark means the "mark of the Thelir", the ancient North Germanic tribe that inhabited what is now known as Upper Telemark in the Migration Period and the Viking Age.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was approved for use starting on 1 January 2020 when the new Midt-Telemark municipality was established. The new arms were a combination of the arms for the two preceding municipalities that formed Midt-Telemark. The colors of the Sauherad arms and the design of the Bø arms were used. The official blazon is "Azure, three fiddles Or" (I blått tre gull feler, 2-1). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a set of three fiddles (two over one). The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. Bø is historically known for its musical tradition, as well as the production of fiddles (similar to the hardingfele). The fiddle was thus chosen as an appropriate symbol for the municipality. The original design of the Bø arms were designed by Halvor Holtskog, Jr. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Midt-Telemark. It is part of the Øvre Telemark prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

Government
Midt-Telemark 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 Telemark District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Midt-Telemark is made up of 29 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 (ordførar) of Midt-Telemark:
 * 2020–present: Siri Blichfeldt Dyrland (Sp)