Skudenes is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. The area is now part of Karmøy Municipality in the traditional district of Haugaland. The administrative centre was the town of Skudeneshavn (which technically was a separate municipality). Notable villages in the municipality included Sandve and Ferkingstad. Since 1965, the name Skudenes refers to the southern part of Karmøy island.
Prior to its dissolution in 1965, the municipality was the 455th largest by area out of the 525 municipalities in Norway. Skudenes Municipality was the 265th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 4.6% over the previous 10-year period.
The parish of Skudesnæs (later spelled Skudenes) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1849, Skudesnæs Municipality was divided as follows:
In 1857, the port village of Skudeneshavn on the southern tip of the island of Karmøy was designated as a ladested (a port of lading). Shortly thereafter, on 10 February 1858, Skudeneshavn (population: 1,209) was separated from Skudenes Municipality and it became a separate municipality of its own. The split left Skudenes with a population of 5,044.
On 1 January 1892, Skudenes Municipality was divided again. The northern part of the municipality (population: 1,962) became the new Aakre Municipality and the southern part (population: 2,732) continued as a smaller Skudenes Municipality. This division shrunk the size of Skudenes Municipality from to .
On 1 January 1965, Skudenes Municipality (population: 3,583) was dissolved upon recommendations of the Schei Committee and its lands were merged with the following areas to form the new Karmøy Municipality:
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Skudenes peninsula () at the south end of the island of Karmøy. The first element is the genitive case of which means "rock wall that is sticking out", referring to the rocky islets and skerries that lie just off the shore of the peninsula. The last element is which means "headland".
The Church of Norway had one parish () within Skudenes Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Skudenes prestegjeld and the Karmsund prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.
The municipality originally encompassed the southern part of the island of Karmøy plus the three smaller islands to the east: Vestre Bokn, Austre Bokn, and Ognøya. In 1849, the three smaller islands became the new Bokn Municipality. After that, Skudenes Municipality just included most of the southern part of the island of Karmøy. The highest point in the municipality was the tall point located just northeast of the village of Sandve.
àkra Municipality was located to the northwest, Stangaland Municipality was located to the northeast, Bokn Municipality was located to the east, Kvitsøy Municipality was located to the southeast, and the North Sea was located to the west.
While it existed, Skudenes 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 Karmsund District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
The municipal council of Skudenes Municipality was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor () of Skudenes Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position: