Government and society in Norway

Constitutional framework

Norway is a constitutional hereditary monarchy. The government, comprising the prime

minister and the Statsråd (Council of State), is nominally chosen by the monarch with the
approval of the Storting (Stortinget), the country’s legislature. Until 2009 the Storting operated
as a bicameral body, though most matters were addressed in unicameral plenary sessions. Only
when voting on laws was the Storting divided into two houses. One-fourth of the members were
chosen to constitute the Lagting, or upper house, while the remaining members constituted the
Odelsting, or lower house. Bills had to be passed by both houses in succession. In 2009 the
Lagting was dissolved, and the Storting became permanently unicameral.

The Sami Act of 1987 sought to enable the Sami people “to safeguard and develop their
language, culture, and way of life” and created the Sameting, the Sami Parliament, the business
of which, according to the constitution, is “any matter that in the view of the parliament
particularly affects the Sami people.”

The Finnmark Act, adopted by the Storting in 2005, transferred some 95 percent of

the fylke (county) of Finnmark from state ownership to its residents through the establishment of
the Finnmark Estate. The act recognized in particular that the Sami people, through protracted
traditional use of the area, had acquired individual and collective ownership of the area and the
right to use its land and water.

Local government

The city of Oslo constitutes one of the country’s 19 fylker (counties). The other counties are
divided into rural and urban municipalities, with councils elected every fourth year (two years
after the Storting elections). For the country as a whole, the municipal elections tend to mirror
the party division of the Storting. The municipal councils elect a board of aldermen and a mayor.
Many municipalities also employ councillors for such governmental affairs as finance, schools,
social affairs, and housing. Norwegians pay direct taxes to both federal and municipal
governments.

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The counties can levy taxes on the municipalities for purposes such as roads, secondary schools,
and other joint projects. The county councils comprise delegates from the municipalities, while
the county governors are appointed by the Statsråd.

Political process

Elections to the 169-member Storting are held every four years. All citizens at least 18 years of
age are eligible to participate, and seats are filled by proportional representation. Norway’s
political life functions through a multiparty system. Before national elections, political parties
nominate their candidates at membership meetings in each of Norway’s fylker. Each fylke elects
a number of representatives (the number determined by the area of the fylke and the size of its
population relative to that of the country as a whole) to the Storting, with party representation
allotted on the basis of the percentage of the vote received.

Storting (Norwegian parliament), Oslo.

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Justice

Before civil cases ordinarily can be taken to court, they first must be submitted to the local
conciliation boards (forliksråd), which settle many issues without recourse to more formal legal
action. Decisions of the conciliation boards can be appealed to the courts, and Norway also has
a formal system of courts of appeal. The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of legal decisions.
The rights of the citizens also are guarded by ombudsmen, who act on their behalf as an
intermediary in matters with public administrators.

Security

Military service of 6 to 12 months for the army and navy and 12 months for the air force, plus
refresher training, is compulsory for all fit Norwegian men and women between 19 and 44 years
of age. Nonetheless, Norway’s defense force is far too small to protect all of its territory against
a major aggressor. Its strategy was designed to defend key areas, especially in the north, until
forces from other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) could arrive. The
Norwegian units have great mobility, and, because of Norway’s important strategic location as
NATO’s northern flank with a myriad of fjords to serve as naval bases for fleets in the North
Atlantic, Norway has sophisticated early-warning systems.

The NATO headquarters for northern Europe was located at Kolsås, near Oslo, until the alliance
command structure was reorganized in 1994. A subcommand, the Joint Warfare Center, was then
established in Stavanger as a partial replacement. The stationing of foreign troops and the
deployment of nuclear weapons are prohibited by Norwegian law except in cases of war or the
immediate threat of war. In 1995 Norway lifted restrictions that had prevented NATO forces
from participating in training exercises in and off Finnmark.

The Norwegian air force includes fighter planes and antiaircraft rocket systems, and the
Norwegian navy comprises heavy coastal artillery and light vessels such as gunboats, torpedo
boats, submarines, and corvettes. In peacetime the total active military personnel number about
35,000, of which about two-thirds are conscripts. Some 200,000 additional first-line reserves can
be quickly mobilized in emergencies. After the Soviet threat faded away in the 1990s, Norway’s

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military and defense spending was reduced substantially. Now the Norwegian military stresses
specialized units suited for UN and NATO assignments.

Health and welfare

Compulsory membership in a national health-insurance system guarantees all Norwegians free

medical care in hospitals, compensation for doctors’ fees, and free medicine, as well as an
allowance to compensate for lost wages. Membership fees securing cash benefits during illness
or pregnancy, covered by another insurance fund, are compulsory for salaried employees and
optional for the self-employed. Most Norwegian doctors work in hospitals, the majority of which
are owned by the state, counties, and municipalities. Extensive programs of preventive
medicine have conquered Norway’s ancient nemesis, tuberculosis. There is also a well-
developed system of maternal and child health care, as well as compulsory school health services
and free family counseling by professionals. A public dental service provides care for children
under age 18.

A “people’s pension” was established in Norway in 1967 to ensure each citizen upon retirement
a standard of living reasonably close to the level that the individual had achieved during his or
her working life. The pension covers old age and cases of disability or loss of support. The
premiums are paid by the individual members, employers, municipalities, and the state. The
basic pension is adjusted every year, regardless of the plan’s income. Supplementary pensions
vary according to income and pension-earning time. The state pays a family allowance for all
children up to 18 years of age.

Norway has pursued progressive social policies. In 1993 it became the second country to legally
recognize unions between homosexual partners. Indeed, in 2002 the conservative finance
minister officially registered his partnership and met little public opposition. In 2009 same-sex
marriage was legalized.

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Education

School attendance is mandatory for 10 years, from age 6 to 16, with an optional 11th year.
Mandatory subjects include Norwegian, religion, mathematics, music, physical education,
science, and English. Optional courses in the arts and in other foreign languages, as well as
vocational training in such areas as office skills, agriculture, and seamanship, are available in the
upper grades. With three years of additional high school, students may take the examinations
leading to university study.

A small percentage of college and university students study abroad. Institutions of higher
education in Norway have been expanded to accommodate the doubling of the student
population that occurred between the early 1980s and the mid-1990s. Norway’s seven
universities include four traditional universities—the University of Oslo (established 1811),
the University of Bergen (1946), the Norwegian University of Science and Technology
in Trondheim (with roots in the Norwegian Institute of Technology, founded 1910), and
the University of Tromsø (1968)—along with the University of Stavanger, the Norwegian
University of Life Sciences in Ås, and the University of Agder. There are also six university-
level specialized institutions (including the Norwegian School of Economics and Business
Administration in Bergen and the Norwegian Academy of Music) as well as about two dozen
university colleges that predominantly offer three-year programs of study.

Many students attend vocational schools, and a few thousand students attend folk high
schools (generally boarding schools offering a one-year course designed for 17-year-old students
from rural areas). The great majority of Norway’s schools are state-run and free; however, there
are also private, fee-charging schools at every level. All students are eligible for government
loans. Lifelong learning and continuing education programs for adults are also important
components of the Norwegian education system.

Science and research have limited means in a small country. Nevertheless, the Foundation for
Scientific and Industrial Research at the Norwegian Institute of Technology (SINTEF) was
created in 1950 as an independent organization at the Norwegian University of Science and
Technology to stimulate research and develop cooperation with other public and private research

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institutions and with private industry. SINTEF is financed by the state and by payments for its
services. In the natural sciences, reflecting the country’s intimacy with an overpowering
physical environment, the individual efforts of Norwegians have won particular acclaim.

Daily life and social customs

Although Norway is in most ways very modern, it has maintained many of its traditions.
Storytelling and folklore, in which trolls play a prominent role, are still common. On festive
occasions folk costumes are worn and folk singing is performed—especially on Grunnlovsdagen
(Constitution Day), commonly called Syttende Mai (May 17), the date of its celebration. Other
popular festivals include Sankhansaften (Midsummer’s Eve), Olsok (St. Olaf’s Day), and Jul
(Christmas), the last of which is marked by family feasts whose fare varies from region to region
but that are traditionally marked by the presence of seven kinds of cake.

The national costume, the bunad, is characterized by double-shuttle woven wool skirts or dresses
for women, accompanied by jackets with scarves. Colourful accessories (e.g., purses and shoes)
complete the outfit. The bunad for men generally consists of a three-piece suit that also is very
colourful and heavily embroidered. Traditionally, Norwegians had two bunader, one for special
occasions and one for everyday wear.

The arts

In Viking days storytellers (skalds) of skaldic poetry wove tales of giants, trolls, and warlike
gods. Drawing on this tradition, centuries of Norwegian authors have created a rich literary
history, in both spoken and written form. Yet it was not until the 19th century, following
Norway’s separation from Denmark, that Norwegian literature firmly established its identity.
Especially important were the poetry of Henrik Wergeland and the plays of Ibsen, whose
realistic dramas introduced a new, politically charged moral analysis to European theatre. The
works of novelists Hamsun and Undset remain influential, though modern Norwegians are more
likely to read contemporaries such as Bjørg Vik, Kim Småge, and Tor Åge Bringsværd, who
write fantasy, existential detective novels, and philosophical treatises, respectively.

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