# Tonstad Municipality

Tonstad is a former municipality that was located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The 361-square-kilometre (139 sq mi) municipality existed from 1905 until 1960. It encompassed the southern part of the present-day municipality of Sirdal. The administrative center of the municipality was the village of Tonstad where Tonstad Church is located.

## History

The municipality of Tonstad was established on 1 January 1905 when the old municipality of Sirdal was divided into two municipalities: Tonstad (population: 828) and Øvre Sirdal (population: 753). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1960, Tonstad (population: 651) was merged with Øvre Sirdal and the Øksendal area of Bakke to form a new municipality of Sirdal.

### Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Tonstad farm (Old Norse: Þornýjarstaðir) since the first Tonstad Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the old female name Þorný (a precursor to the more modern name Tone). The last element is the plural form of the word staðr which means "place" or "abode".

## 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 Tonstad 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.
Tonstad herredsstyre 1956–1959 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 3 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) | 10 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 13 |
Tonstad herredsstyre 1952–1955 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 12 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
Tonstad 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) | 4 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 5 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
Tonstad 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 |
Tonstad herredsstyre 1938–1941* :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 12 |
| 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. |||