Polmak Municipality

Polmak is a former municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The 2257.5 km2 municipality existed from 1903 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Tana Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Polmak where Polmak Church is located.

Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the 2257.5 km2 municipality was the 16th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Polmak Municipality was the 605th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,040 (in 1963). The municipality's population density was 0.5 PD/km2.

History
The municipality of Polmak was established on 1 January 1903 when the large Nesseby Municipality was divided in two: Polmak (population: 450) in the west and Nesseby (population: 1,058) in the east. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipalities of Polmak (population: 1,072) and Tana (population: 2,237) were merged to form a new, larger Tana Municipality.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named "Polmak". It is possibly a Norwegianization of the Northern Sámi name for the area, Buolbmát. The meaning of the name is uncertain.



Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Polmak. It was part of the Nesseby prestegjeld and the Varanger prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

Geography
The municipality of Polmak stretched along the northern shore of the Tana River (which also forms the border with Finland) from the little village of Leavvajohka in the west to the village of Polmak in the east and then it continues on both sides of the Tana River northwards to the Tana Bridge. The municipality included the upper Tana River valley, along the border with Finland. The highest point in the municipality was the 1067 m tall mountain Rásttigáisá, on the border with neighboring Lebesby Municipality.

Government
While it existed, Polmak 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. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Polmak:


 * 1846-1847: Jørris Schielderup Hansen
 * 1848-1849: Johan Christien Astrup
 * 1851-1855: Søren Christian Sommerfelt
 * 1854-1854: Carl Johan Schancke
 * 1856-1857: Christian Andreasen
 * 1857-1858: Carl Johan Schancke
 * 1859-1862: Andreas Georg Nordvi
 * 1863-1863: Hieronimus Heyerdahl
 * 1865-1876: Otto Andreas Pleym Sr.
 * 1877-1879: Olaf Larsen
 * 1880-1880: Otto Andreas Pleym Sr.
 * 1881-1898: Bjørvik Johan Jacobsen
 * 1899-1904: Otto Andreas Pleym Jr.
 * 1903-1913: Aamund Nodland
 * 1914-1916: Gustav Adolf Lilleng
 * 1917-1931: Ole Erik Tapio
 * 1923-1934: Jens Eriksen
 * 1935-1944: Jacob Tapio
 * 1944-1945: Ole Torberg Nodland
 * 1945-1945: Jens Eriksen
 * 1946-1948: Johannes Ballovara
 * 1948-1951: John Solbakk
 * 1951-1952: Birger Pedersen
 * 1952-1959: Arne Isaksen
 * 1959-1959: John Solbakk
 * 1960-1961: Jann Olsen
 * 1962-1963: Reidar Dybvik

Municipal council
The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Polmak 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.