Tranøy Municipality

Tranøy is a former municipality in Troms county, Norway. The municipality was situated on the southern coast of the large island of Senja. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into the new Senja Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Vangsvik in the eastern part of the municipality. Other important villages included Stonglandseidet, Skrollsvika, and Å.

Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the 524 km2 municipality was the 204th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Tranøy was also the 352nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,513. The municipality's population density was 2.9 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 1.6% over the previous decade.

The nearly-abandoned island of Tranøya, with the 18th-century wooden Tranøy Church, used to be the centre of activities for the municipality. From Tranøybotn it is only a short walk to the Ånderdalen National Park, with varied landscapes within a very limited area, including deep pine forests.

General information
The parish of Tranøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The original municipality included all the land surrounding the large Solbergfjorden. On 1 September 1886, the municipality was divided into three separate municipalities: Tranøy Municipality (population: 1,239) on the west, Dyrøy Municipality (population: 1,281) in the south, and Sørreisa Municipality (population: 1,361) 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 several changes took place:
 * The mainland areas of Tranøy (population: 382) were transferred to Dyrøy Municipality.
 * The Hellemo, Paulsrud, Johnsgård, and Stormo farms of Tranøy (population: 106) were transferred to Lenvik Municipality.
 * The parts of Bjarkøy Municipality on the island of Senja and Lemmingsvær islands (population: 480) were transferred to Tranøy Municipality.
 * The Rødsand area of Torsken Municipality (population: 160) was also transferred to Tranøy Municipality.

In March 2017, the Parliament of Norway voted to merge Berg Municipality, Torsken Municipality, Lenvik Municipality, and Tranøy Municipality. The new municipality would encompass the whole island of Senja plus part of the mainland located between the Gisundet strait and the Malangen fjord. On 1 January 2020, Tranøy Municipality ceased to exist when it became part of the new Senja Municipality.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the small island of Tranøya (Tranøiar) since the first Tranøy Church was built there. The first element is which means "crane". The last element is which means "island". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Tranø. On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Tranøy, to give the name a more Norwegian and less Danish spelling due to Norwegian language reforms.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 15 May 1987. The official blazon is "Argent, a flounder embowed reversed sable" (I sølv en krummet svart kveite). This means the arms have a field (background) that has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The charge is an Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) that is curved like a U-shaped arch facing upwards. The fish is a main species of local fish, which symbolizes the importance of fishing for the local community. In addition to this, the fish has played a major role in local legends, similar to the role of bears in land-based legends. The arms were designed by Svein A. Berntsen.

Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Tranøy Municipality. It was part of the Senja prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

Geography
The municipality of Tranøy was located on the southern end of the large island of Senja. The Andfjorden, Vågsfjorden, and Solbergfjorden surrounded the municipality to the west, south, and southeast. The neighboring Torsken Municipality and Berg Municipality were located to the north and Lenvik Municipality was to the east. Ånderdalen National Park was located in the northwestern part of the municipality. The highest point in the municipality was the 898.6 m tall mountain Tredjefjellet.

Government
While it existed, Tranøy Municipality was 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 fell under the Senja District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Tranøy was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayor (ordfører) of Tranøy is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position (incomplete list):


 * c.1880-1907: Jørgen Christian Holmboe
 * 1911-1912: Fredrik Isaksen
 * 1917-1919: Ole Nilsen
 * 1919-1929: J. Sivertsen
 * 1929-1934: Ole Solbø
 * 1934-1942: Oscar Edvardsen (Ap)
 * 1943-1945: Oscar Andreassen (NS)
 * 1945-1960: Oscar Edvardsen (Ap)
 * 1960-1971: Trygve Sollied (Ap)
 * 1971-1979: Lyder Johan Nilssen (Ap)
 * 1979-1983: Kjell Benjaminsen (Ap)
 * 1983-2003: Martin Rolness (Ap)
 * 2003-2015: Odd Arne Andreassen (Ap)
 * 2015-2019: Jan Fredrik Jenssen (H)