Tonstad (municipality)

Tonstad is a former municipality that was located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The 361 km2 municipality existed from 1905 until 1960. It encompassed the southern part of the present-day municipality of Sirdal. The administrative center of the municipality was the village of Tonstad where Tonstad Church is located.

History
The municipality of Tonstad was established on 1 January 1905 when the old municipality of Sirdal was divided into two municipalities: Tonstad (population: 828) and Øvre Sirdal (population: 753). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1960, Tonstad (population: 651) was merged with Øvre Sirdal and the Øksendal area of Bakke to form a new municipality of Sirdal.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Tonstad farm (Þornýjarstaðir) since the first Tonstad Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the old female name (a precursor to the more modern name Tone). The last element is the plural form of the word which means "place" or "abode".

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 Tonstad 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.