Hordaland County Municipality


Hordaland County Municipality was the regional governing administration of the old Hordaland county in Norway. The county municipality was established in its most recent form on 1 January 1976 when the law was changed to allow elected county councils in Norway. The county municipality was dissolved on 1 January 2020, when Hordaland was merged with the neighboring Sogn og Fjordane county, creating the new Vestland county which is led by the Vestland County Municipality.
WWW hordaland.no

County government

The county municipality's most important tasks include secondary education, recreation, and cultural heritage. The county municipality is also responsible for all county roads and public transport. The county municipality has further responsibility for regional land-use planning, business development, power production, and environmental management. The county also has responsibility for providing dental health services.

County council

The Hordaland county council is made up of 57 representatives that are elected by direct election by all legal residents of the county every fourth year. The council is the legislative body for the county. The county council typically meets about six times a year. Council members are divided into standing committees and an executive committee, which meet considerably more often. Both the council and executive committee are led by the county mayor. The executive committee carries out the executive functions of the county under the direction of the whole council. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

County mayor

Since 1976, the county mayor of Hordaland has been the political leader of the county and the chairperson of the county council. Prior to 1976, the County governor led the council which was made up of all of the mayors of the rural municipalities within the county. The final County Mayor was Anne Gine Hestetun of the Labour Party, while her deputy was Rune Haugsdal. Here is a list of people who have held this position:

Transport

Public transport in Hordaland was the responsibility of the county municipality, including the city buses in the city of Bergen. Control of the city buses was transferred from the city to the county on 1 January 2008.
In 2007, the county municipality created the transit authority called "Skyss" that would market public transport while it would be operated by private companies based on public service obligation contracts. Prior to this, most routes had been operated by the private company Tide Buss and its predecessors.