Valestrand is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1868 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Sveio Municipality in the traditional district of Sunnhordland in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the village of ValevÃÂ¥g. Other villages in the municipality included Valestrand and Auklandshamn.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 579th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Valestrand Municipality was the 580th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 1.9% over the previous 10-year period.
The municipality of Valestrand was established on 15 May 1868 when the large Stordøen Municipality was divided as follows:
On 1 April 1870, the ÃÂklandsgrend area (population: 247) of the neighboring Finnaas Municipality was transferred to Valestrand Municipality.
On 1 January 1964, a major municipal merger took place as a result of the Schei Committee. On that date, the following areas were merged to form a new, larger Sveio Municipality:
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Valen farm () since the first Valestrand Church was built there. The first element is the plural genitive case of which means "ford" or "shallow water". The last element, , was added as a suffix to the farm name. It was derived from the word which means "shore" or "beach".
The Church of Norway had one parish () within Valestrand Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Sveio prestegjeld and the Søndre Sunnhordland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
It was located on a peninsula on the southern shore of the Bømlafjorden. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Trollevassnibba. Stord Municipality was located to the north, Fjelberg Municipality was located to the northeast, ÃÂlen Municipality was located to the east, Vikebygd Municipality was located to the south, Sveio Municipality was located to the southwest, and Moster Municipality was located to the west.
While it existed, _____ 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 Sunnhordland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
The municipal council of Valestrand Municipality was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor () of Valestrand Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position: