Stemshaug (municipality)

Stemshaug is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The 157 km2 municipality existed from 1914 until its dissolution in 1965. The municipality included the eastern part of the island of Skardsøya and the mainland to the east and south of there surrounding the Dromnessundet and Torsetsundet straits and the Årvågsfjorden. The Tjeldbergodden area on the mainland was also part of Stemshaug. The village of Stemshaug was the administrative centre of the municipality.

History
The municipality of Stemshaug was established on 1 July 1914 when Aure Municipality was divided. The eastern district (population: 851) became the new Stemshaug Municipality and the western district (population: 2,372) continued on as Aure Municipality.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, Stemshaug Municipality (population: 877) was merged with Aure Municipality (population: 2,203), and the parts of Valsøyfjord Municipality (population: 141) and Tustna Municipality (population: 85) located on the island of Ertvågøya. The new municipality was also named Aure.

Name
The municipality is named after the old Stemshaug farm (Stefnishaugr) since the first Stemshaug Church was built there. The first element is which means "stem of a ship" (the nearly vertical forward extension of the keel of a ship). This could refer to the steep hills around the farm and for two long, narrow headlands at the farm. The last element is which means "cairn" or "burial mound".

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 Stemshaug was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows: