| Leirfjord | |
| Idnumber: | 1822 |
| County: | Nordland |
| District: | Helgeland |
| Capital: | Leland |
| Preceded: | Stamnes Municipality |
| Demonym: | Leirfjording |
| Language: | Neutral |
| Coatofarms: | Leirfjord komm.svg |
| Webpage: | www.leirfjord.kommune.no |
| Mayor: | Kay Rune Nersund |
| Mayor Party: | FrP |
| Mayor As Of: | 2023 |
| Area Rank: | 213 |
| Area Total Km2: | 465.27 |
| Area Land Km2: | 450.82 |
| Area Water Km2: | 14.44 |
| Area Water Percent: | 3.1 |
| Population As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Rank: | 264 |
| Population Total: | 2270 |
| Population Density Km2: | 5 |
| Population Increase: | 5.9 |
| Coordinates: | 66.1128°N 13.1308°W |
| Utm Zone: | 33W |
| Utm Northing: | 7333753 |
| Utm Easting: | 0415552 |
| Geo Cat: | adm2nd |
Leirfjord 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 Leland. Other villages in Leirfjord include Bardalssjøen and Sundøy. The large Helgeland Bridge is partly located in the municipality, connecting it to Alstahaug Municipality and the town of Sandnessjøen.
The 465km2 municipality is the 213th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Leirfjord is the 264th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,270. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 5.9% over the previous 10-year period.[1] [2]
The municipality of Leirfjord was established on 1 July 1915 when it was separated from the municipality of Stamnes. Initially, the municipality had 2,003 residents. In 1945, a small part of Nesna Municipality (population: 45) was merged into Leirfjord. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Leirfjord Municipality (population: 1,936) was merged with the parts of Nesna Municipality located south of the Ranfjorden (population: 580) and the parts of Tjøtta Municipality on the island of Alsta (population: 180) to form a new, larger municipality of Leirfjord.[3]
The municipality is named after the Leirfjorden. The old name of the fjord was probably just Leiri, derived from the name of the river Leira, which has its mouth in the end of the fjord. The river name is derived from the word Norse, Old: leirr which means "clay".[4]
The coat of arms was granted on 30 October 1992. The official blazon is "Or, a cross raguly vert" (Norwegian: I gull et grønt grenkors). This means the arms have a field (background) that has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The charge is cross with edges that are designed with a raguly edge. It symbolizes forestry and agriculture in the municipality as well as the central location of the north–south and east–west roads through the municipality. The arms were designed by Jarle E. Henriksen from the nearby town of Sandnessjøen.[5] [6] [7] [8]
The Church of Norway has one parish (Norwegian: sokn) within the municipality of Leirfjord. It is part of the Nord-Helgeland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
| Leirfjord | Bardal Church | Bardalssjøen | 1887 |
| Leirfjord Church | Leland | 1867 |
The municipality of Leirfjord is centered on the Leirfjorden, with most of the municipality on the mainland and a small part on the northeastern part of the island of Alsta. The Sundøy Bridge connects the mainland to the northeastern part of the island of Alsta and the Helgeland Bridge connects it to the rest of Alsta and the town of Sandnessjøen. The Ranfjorden runs along the northern part of Leirfjord and the Vefsnfjorden runs along the southern part of the municipality.
All municipalities in Norway are 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.[9] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Helgeland District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.
The municipal council (Norwegian: Kommunestyre) of Leirfjord is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Leirfjord (incomplete list):