Sør-Rana is a former municipality in Nordland county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. The municipality existed from 1929 until 1964 (

Hemnes Municipality Hemnes is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Korgen. Other villages include Bjerka, Bleikvasslia, Hemnesberget, and Sund ...

was also named ''Sør-Rana'' from 1838 until 1844). Sør-Rana encompassed an area on both sides of the middle section of the

Ranfjorden The Ranfjorden (or just ''Ranfjord'') is a fjord in the Helgeland district of Nordland county, Norway. The largest part of the fjord is in the municipality of Rana, but the fjord also passes through the municipalities of Hemnes, Vefsn, Leirfjor ...

around where the Sørfjorden and Elsfjorden branch off the main fjord.

History

Rana Municipality was established on 1 January 1838 under the old formannskapsdistrikt law. Shortly afterwards, in 1839, the municipality was divided into '' Nord-Ranen'' and ''Sør-Ranen''. In 1844, ''Sør-Ranen'' was renamed ''

Hemnes Hemnes is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Korgen. Other villages include Bjerka, Bleikvasslia, Hemnesberget, and Sund ...

''. On 1 July 1918, the southern part of Hemnes (population: 1,369) was separated to become the municipality of

Korgen Korgen is the administrative centre of Hemnes Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village located along the river Røssåga, about south of the village of Bjerka. Korgen is connected by the European route E6 highway to the nearby to ...

. On 1 July 1929 the large municipality of Hemnes was divided into three separate municipalities:

Elsfjord Elsfjord is a village in Vefsn Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located at the end of the Elsfjorden, about northeast of the town of Mosjøen. The European route E06 highway is accessed about south of the village. El ...

(population: 765) in the southwest,

(population: 1,077) which included the small area around the village of

Hemnesberget Hemnesberget is a village in the municipality of Hemnes in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the Hemnes peninsula which lies on the south side of the Ranfjorden. Hemnes Church is located in this village. The village has a population ( ...

, and Sør-Rana (population: 1,708) in the north and east. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...

. On 1 January 1964, Sør-Rana municipality was dissolved and its lands were divided up. The district of Sør-Rana that was north of the

, with 697 inhabitants, was merged with the town of

Mo i Rana Mo i Rana () is a city, and the administrative centre of the municipality of Rana, in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Helgeland region of Nordland, just south of the Arctic Circle. Some of the city's suburbs include Båsmoen and Yt ...

(population: 9,6168), the municipality of Nord-Rana (population: 11,636), and the eastern part of

Nesna Municipality Nesna is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Nesna (village), ...

(population: 543) to create the new Rana Municipality. The rest of Sør-Rana (south of the Ranfjorden), with 934 inhabitants, was merged with

(population: 1,352), the municipality of

(population: 3,033), and the northern part of Hattfjelldal Municipality (population: 168) to form a new, larger

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Sør-Rana, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services,

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

and other social services,

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

representatives, which in turn elects a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Municipal council

The

of Sør-Rana was made up of 15 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...

breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sor-Rana Rana, Norway Hemnes Former municipalities of Norway 1929 establishments in Norway 1964 disestablishments in Norway