Polmak is a former municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The 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 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 .
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, . The meaning of the name is uncertain.
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Polmak Municipality. It was part of the Nesseby prestegjeld and the Varanger prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.
Churches in Polmak MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtPolmakPolmak ChurchPolmak1853
Geography Polmak Municipality 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 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, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The 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.
Municipal council The municipal council of Polmak Municipality 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.
Mayors The mayor () of Polmak Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
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
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References