# Hen, Møre og Romsdal

Hen is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The 245-square-kilometre (95 sq mi) municipality existed from 1902 until its dissolution in 1964. Hen encompassed the valleys extending to the south and east of the Isfjorden in the northeastern part of the present-day Rauma Municipality. The administrative center of Hen was the village of Isfjorden. The area of Hen Municipality is still a parish within the municipality of Rauma. The parish has one church, Hen Church, located in Isfjorden.
The mountains Kyrkjetaket and Gjuratinden are both located in Hen.

## History

The municipality of Hen was established on 1 January 1902 when the large Grytten Municipality was divided into Hen (population: 1,128) and Grytten (population: 1,728). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Hen (population: 1,663) was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Eid (population: 381), Grytten (population: 3,683), Voll (population: 1,163), and the southern part of Veøy municipality (population: 1,400) to form the new Rauma Municipality.

### Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hen farm (Old Norse: Hávin) since the first Hen Church was built there. The meaning of the first element is uncertain. It could be hár which means "high" or alternatively há which means "the grass that grows after the first crop has been mown". The last element is vin which means "meadow" or "pasture".

## 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 Hen was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:
Hen herredsstyre 1960–1963 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 3 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 1 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) | 7 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 2 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 13 |
Hen herredsstyre 1956–1959 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 4 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) | 9 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 13 |
Hen herredsstyre 1952–1955 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 3 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) | 9 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
Hen herredsstyre 1948–1951 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 3 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) | 9 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
Hen herredsstyre 1945–1947 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 3 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 9 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
Hen herredsstyre 1938–1941* :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 2 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) | 8 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 2 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
| Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945. |||