Polmak is a former municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1903 until its dissolution in 1964. The administrative centre was the village of Polmak where Polmak Church is located.
The municipality of Polmak stretched along the northern shore of the Tana River (which also forms the border with Finland) from the little village of Leavvajohka in the west to the village of Polmak in the east and then it continues on both sides of the Tana River northwards to the Tana Bridge. The municipality included the upper Tana River valley, along the border with Finland.
History
The municipality of Polmak was established on 1 January 1903 when the large municipality of Nesseby was divided in two: Polmak (population: 450) in the west and Nesseby (population: 1,058) in the east. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipalities of Polmak (population: 1,072) and Tana (population: 2,237) were merged to form a new, larger Tana Municipality.
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named "Polmak". It is possibly a Norwegianization of the Northern Sámi name for the area, . The meaning of the name is uncertain.
Government
During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor.
Mayors
The mayors of Polmak:
1846-1847: Jørris Schielderup Hansen
1848-1849: Johan Christien Astrup
1851-1855: Søren Christian Sommerfelt
1854-1854: Carl Johan Schancke
1856-1857: Christian Andreasen
1857-1858: Carl Johan Schancke
1859-1862: Andreas Georg Nordvi
1863-1863: Hieronimus Heyerdahl
1865-1876: Otto Andreas Pleym Sr. 1877-1879: Olaf Larsen 1880-1880: Otto Andreas Pleym Sr. 1881-1898: Bjørvik Johan Jacobsen 1899-1904: Otto Andreas Pleym Jr. 1903-1913: Aamund Nodland 1914-1916: Gustav Adolf Lilleng 1917-1931: Ole Erik Tapio 1923-1934: Jens Eriksen 1935-1944: Jacob Tapio 1944-1945: Ole Torberg Nodland 1945-1945: Jens Eriksen 1946-1948: Johannes Ballovara 1948-1951: John Solbakk 1951-1952: Birger Pedersen 1952-1959: Arne Isaksen 1959-1959: John Solbakk 1960-1961: Jann Olsen 1962-1963: Reidar Dybvik
Municipal council
The municipal council of Polmak was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows: