# Jelsa (municipality)

Jelsa is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The 130-square-kilometre (50 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until 1965. It encompassed an area that surrounds the Sandsfjorden in the present-day municipalities of Suldal, Hjelmeland, and Stavanger. The administrative centre was the village of Jelsa, where Jelsa Church is located.

## History

The parish of Jælse was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1859, the municipality was split, with the northern district becoming the municipality of Sand. The split left Jelsa with a population of 2,606. On 1 January 1914, the eastern district was split off as the new municipality of Erfjord. This left Jelsa with 1,539 residents.
On 1 January 1965 the municipality of Jelsa was dissolved due to recommendations by the Schei Committee. The majority of Jelsa (population: 928) was merged with the municipalities of Erfjord, Sand, and Suldal to form a new, enlarged Suldal Municipality. At the same time, the Buergårdene area (population: 8) on the island of Ombo was moved to Hjelmeland Municipality, and the rest of the island of Ombo that belonged to Jelsa (population: 89) was moved to Finnøy Municipality.

### Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Jelsa farm (Old Norse: Jalsa) since the first Jelsa Church was built there. The meaning of the name is uncertain, but it is probably the old name for the Jelsafjorden. It is possible that the name comes from the word jálmr which means "noise". Another possibility is that it comes from the Shetland word jāl which means "scream" or "screech" (particularly referring to the noise a seagull makes). Historically, the name was spelled Jælse.

## 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 Jelsa was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:
Jelsa herredsstyre 1964 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 3 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 6 |
| | Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 8 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Jelsa herredsstyre 1960–1963 :
| 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 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 4 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Jelsa herredsstyre 1956–1959 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 17 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Jelsa herredsstyre 1952–1955 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 16 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
Jelsa herredsstyre 1948–1951 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 16 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
Jelsa herredsstyre 1945–1947 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 16 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
Jelsa herredsstyre 1938–1941* :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 16 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
| 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. |||