Norway

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For criticism see Criticism of Norway

Kongeriket Norge / Kongeriket Noreg Kingdom of Norway
Motto: Royal: Alt for Norge / Alt for Noreg ("Everything for Norway") 1814 Eidsvoll oath: Enig og tro til Dovre faller ("United and loyal until the mountains of Dovre crumble")
Anthem: Ja, vi elsker dette landet ("Yes, we love this country") Royal anthem: Kongesangen ("Song of the King")
File:Location Norway Europe.png Location of  Norway  (green) on the European continent  (dark grey)  —  [Legend]
Capital (and largest city)		Oslo 59°56′N, 10°41′E
Official languages		Norwegian (Bokmål and Nynorsk)1
Ethnic groups		89.4% Norwegian and Sami 10.6% other (2009)[1]
Demonym		Norwegian
Government		Parliamentary democracy under constitutional monarchy
-	Monarch	Harald V
-	Prime Minister	Jens Stoltenberg (Ap)
-	Storting President	Thorbjørn Jagland (Ap)
-	Chief Justice	Tore Schei
-	Current coalition	Red-Green Coalition
Establishment
-	Unification	872
-	Constitution	17 May 1814
-	Dissolution of union with Sweden	declared 7 June 1905
Area
-	Total	385,252 km² (61st2) 148,746 sq mi
-	Water (%)	7.0
Population
-	2009 estimate	4,812,200 (as of April 1, 2009)[2] (115th)
-	Density	12.3/km² (211th) 31/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$256.523 billion[3]
-	Per capita	$53,450[3] (3rd)
GDP (nominal)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$456.226 billion[3]
-	Per capita	$95,062[3] (2nd)
Gini (2000)		25.8 (low) (6th)
HDI (2006)		Template:Gain 0.968 (high) (2nd)
Currency		Norwegian krone (NOK)
Time zone		CET (UTC+1)
-	Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Internet TLD		.no, .sj and .bv
Calling code		+47
1	Northern Sami is used in the municipal administration of six municipalities, Lule Sami in one, Finnish/Kven in one, and Southern Sami in one.
2	Includes Svalbard and Jan Mayen.
3	This percentage is for the mainland and also includes glaciers[4]
4	Statistics Norway estimation (5 September 2006) using variant MMMM from Table 10[5]
5	Two more TLDs have been assigned, but to date not used: .sj for Svalbard and Jan Mayen; .bv for Bouvet Island.

Norway (pronounced /ˈnɔɹweɪ/ (help·info); Norwegian: Norge (Bokmål), Noreg (Nynorsk)) or Norga (North Sami), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty. The majority of the country shares a border to the east with Sweden; its northernmost region is bordered by Finland to the south and Russia to the east. The United Kingdom and Faroe Islands lie to its west across the North Sea, Iceland and Greenland lies to its west across the Norwegian Sea, and Denmark lies south of its southern tip across the Skagerrak Strait. Bouvet Island and Peter I Island are dependent territories (Norwegian: biland) of Norway, but not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land, a claim that has been recognised by Australia, France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.^[6] Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous fjords.

After the Second World War, the country has experienced rapid economic growth, particularly as a result of large oil deposits discovered in the early 1970s. Today it ranks amongst the wealthiest countries in the world,^[7][8][9] with the largest capital reserve per capita of any nation. Norway is the world’s fourth largest oil exporter^[10] and the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of its GDP.^[11] Following the ongoing financial crisis of 2007-2009, bankers have deemed the Norwegian krone to be one of the most solid currencies in the world.^[12]

Norway also has rich resources of gas fields, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals. The country was the second largest exporter of seafood (in value, after the People’s Republic of China) in 2006.^[13] Other main industries include shipping, food processing, shipbuilding, metals, chemicals, mining, fishing and pulp and paper products. Norway maintains a Scandinavian welfare model with universal healthcare, subsidised higher education and a comprehensive social security system. Norway was ranked highest of all countries in human development from 2001 to 2006.^[14] It was also rated the most peaceful country in the world in a 2007 survey by Global Peace Index.^[15]

Although having rejected EU membership at two referendums, it maintains close ties with the Union and its member countries; as well as with the United States. It is considered a prominent participant in diplomacy and international development, having been heavily involved with the failed Oslo Accords and negotiated a truce between the Sri Lanka government and the Tamil Tigers. Norway remains one of the biggest financial contributors to the UN,^[16] and participates with forces in international missions, notably in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Sudan.

A unitary state with administrative sub-divisions on two levels known as counties (fylker) and municipalities (kommuner), Norway is a constitutional, hereditary monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with King Harald V as its Head of State. The Sámi people have a certain amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament and the Finnmark Act. It is a founding member of UN, NATO, the Council of Europe and the Nordic Council, and member of the European Economic Area, WTO and OECD.

Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 Prehistory 2.2 Viking Age 2.3 Kalmar Union, union with Denmark 2.4 Union with Sweden (19th century) 2.5 Modern history 2.6 Post war history 3 Geography, climate, and environment 4 Politics and government 4.1 Constitution 4.2 Monarchy 4.3 Council of State 4.4 Storting 4.5 Supreme Court 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

Etymology

Norway is officially called Kongeriket Norge in the Bokmål written norm, and Kongeriket Noreg in the Nynorsk written norm.

The usual Old Norse form of Norway is Noregr and the usual medieval Latin form Nor(th)vegia, though the earliest known written occurrence of the name is English (in the late-ninth-century account of the travels of Ohthere of Hålogaland), in the form norðweg.^[17][18] Although some medieval texts attribute the name to a mythical King Nórr, it is conventionally derived today from Old Norse *norðvegr, meaning "the northern route" (the way northwards). There is, however, some possibility that medieval forms in norð-, north- are folk-etymologisations, and that the name has other origins.^[18]

History

Main article: History of Norway

Prehistory

Archaeological findings indicate the area currently constituting Norway has been inhabited since at least the 10th millennium BC (see Scandinavian prehistory).^[19] The indigenous people of Northern Norway and Central Norway are the Sámi people, though Norse culture arrived very early on the scene here also. The current monarch of Norway, representing Government, has stated that the kingdom was founded upon the territories of two peoples - the Norwegians and the Sámi.^[20]

In the first centuries AD, Norway consisted of a number of petty kingdoms. According to tradition, Harald Fairhair (Harald Hårfagre) unified them into one in 872 AD after the Battle of Hafrsfjord in Stavanger, thus becoming the first king of a united Norway. In fact, though, Harald's realm was mainly a South Norwegian coastal state.

Viking Age

The Viking Age, 8-11th centuries AD, was characterized by expansion and emigration by Viking seafarers. Many Norwegians left the country to live in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and parts of Britain and Ireland. The modern-day Irish cities of Limerick, Dublin, and Waterford were founded by Norwegian settlers.^[21] Norse traditions were slowly replaced by Christianity in the 10th and 11th centuries. This is largely attributed to the missionary kings Olav Tryggvasson and St. Olav. Haakon the Good was Norway's first Christian king, in the mid tenth century, though his attempt to introduce the religion was rejected.

Kalmar Union, union with Denmark

In 1319, Sweden and Norway were united under King Magnus Eriksson. In 1349, the Black Death killed between 50% and 60% of the population,^[22] resulting in a period of decline, both socially and economically. Ostensibly, royal politics at the time resulted in several personal unions between the Nordic countries, eventually bringing the thrones of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden under the control of Queen Margrethe I of Denmark when the country entered into the Kalmar Union. Although Sweden broke out of the union in 1521, Norway remained with Denmark until 1814, a total of 436 years. During the national romanticism of the 19th century, this period was by some referred to as the "400-Year Night", since all of the kingdom's royal, intellectual, and administrative power was centred in Copenhagen in Denmark.

With the introduction of Protestantism in 1536, the archbishopric in Trondheim was dissolved, and the church's incomes were distributed to the court in Copenhagen in Denmark instead. Norway lost the steady stream of pilgrims to the relics of St. Olav at the Nidaros shrine, and with them, much of the contact with cultural and economic life in the rest of Europe. Additionally, Norway saw its land area decrease in the 17th century with the loss of the provinces Båhuslen, Jemtland, and Herjedalen to Sweden, as a result of wars between Denmark–Norway and Sweden.

Union with Sweden (19th century)

After Denmark–Norway was attacked by the United Kingdom, it entered into an alliance with Napoleon, with the war leading to dire conditions and mass starvation in 1812. As the Danish kingdom found itself on the losing side in 1814 it was forced to cede Norway to the king of Sweden, while the old Norwegian provinces of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands remained with the Danish crown.^[23] Norway took this opportunity to declare independence, adopted a constitution based on American and French models, and elected the crown prince of Denmark-Norway Christian Fredrik as king on 17 May 1814. This caused the Norwegian-Swedish War to break out between Sweden and Norway but as Sweden's military was not strong enough to defeat the Norwegian forces outright and Norway's treasury was not large enough to support a protracted war, and as British and Russian navies blockaded the Norwegian coast,^[24] Norway agreed to enter a personal union with Sweden. Under this arrangement, Norway kept its liberal constitution and independent institutions, except for the foreign service.

This period also saw the rise of the Norwegian romantic nationalism, as Norwegians sought to define and express a distinct national character. The movement covered all branches of culture, including literature (Henrik Wergeland, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Jørgen Moe, Henrik Ibsen), painting (Hans Gude, Edvard Munch, Adolph Tidemand), music (Edvard Grieg), and even language policy, where attempts to define a native written language for Norway led to today's two official written forms for Norwegian: Bokmål and Nynorsk.

Modern history

Main article: Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany

Christian Michelsen, a Norwegian shipping magnate and statesman, Prime Minister of Norway from 1905 to 1907 played a central role in the peaceful separation of Norway from Sweden on 7 June 1905. After a national referendum confirmed the people's preference for a monarchy over a republic, the Norwegian government offered the throne of Norway to the Danish Prince Carl and Parliament unanimously elected him king, the first king of a fully independent Norway in 586 years. He took the name of Haakon VII, after the medieval kings of independent Norway.

In 1898, all men were granted universal suffrage, followed by all women in 1913.

However, independence was temporarily interrupted on 9 April 1940 until 8 May 1945, when Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany. During World War I, Norway was a neutral country. In reality, however, Norway had been pressured by Great Britain to hand over increasingly large parts of its massive merchant fleet to Britain at low rates, as well as to join the trade blockade against Germany. Norway also claimed neutrality during World War II, but was invaded by German forces on 9 April 1940.

Norway was unprepared for the German surprise attack, so military resistance only lasted for two months. The armed forces in the north launched an offensive against the German forces in the Battles of Narvik, until they were forced to surrender on June 10 after losing allied help following the fall of France. King Haakon and the Norwegian government continued the fight from exile in Rotherhithe, London. On the day of the invasion, the collaborative leader of the small National-Socialist party Nasjonal Samling — Vidkun Quisling — tried to seize power, but was forced by the German occupiers to step aside. Real power was wielded by the leader of the German occupation authority, Reichskommissar Josef Terboven. Quisling, as minister president, later formed a collaborationist government under German control. During the five years of Nazi occupation, Norwegians built a resistance movement which fought the German occupation forces with both armed resistance and civil disobedience. More important to the Allied war effort, however, was the role of the Norwegian merchant navy. At the time of the invasion, Norway had the fourth largest merchant marine in the world. It was led by the Norwegian shipping company Nortraship under the Allies throughout the war and took part in every war operation from the evacuation of Dunkirk to the Normandy landings. Each December Norway gives a Christmas tree to the United Kingdom in thanks for the UK's assistance during World War II. A ceremony takes place to erect the tree in London's famous Trafalgar Square.^[25]

Post war history

From 1945 to 1961, the Labour Party held an absolute majority in the parliament. The government, lead by prime minister Einar Gerhardsen embarked on a program inspired by Keynesian economics, emphasizing state financed industrialization, cooperation between trade unions and employers' organizations. Many measures of state control of the economy imposed during the war were continued, although the rationing of dairy products were lifted in 1949, while price control and rationing of housing and cars continued as long as until 1960.

The war time alliance with Britain and the US was continued in the post war years. Although pursuing the goal of a socialist economy, the Labour Party distanced itself from the communists (especially after Soviet seizure of power in Czechoslovakia in 1948), and strengthened its foreign policy and defence policy ties with the US. Norway received Marshall aid from 1947, joined the OEEC one year later and NATO in 1949.

Around 1975, both the proportion and absolute number of workers in industry peaked. Since then labour intensive industries and services like factory mass production and shipping have largely been off sourced. In 1969 Philips Petroleum discovered petroleum resources at the Ekofisk field. In 1973 the government founded the State oil company, Statoil. Oil production didn't become a net income before the early 1980s due to the heavy capital investments required in the petroleum industry.

Norway was one of the founding members of European Free Trade Area (EFTA). Two referendums to join the European Union failed by narrow margins in 1972 and 1994. In 1981 a conservative government lead by Kåre Willoch replaced Labour with a policy of stimulating the stagflated economy by tax cuts, economic liberalization, deregulation of markets and measures to curbing of the record high inflation (13,6 % 1981).

Norway's first woman prime minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland of the Labour party, continued many of the reforms of her right wing predecessor, while backing traditional Labour issues like social security, environmentalism and gender equality. By the late 1990s, Norway had paid off foreign debt and started accumulating a sovereign wealth fund. Since the 1990s, one of the dividing issues in politics has been how much petroleum income the government should spend, relative to how much it should save.

Geography, climate, and environment

Main article: Geography of Norway

See also: Geology of Norway

Norway comprises the western part of Scandinavia in Northern Europe. The rugged coastline, broken by huge fjords and thousands of islands, stretches over 2,500 km and over 83,000 km including the fjords and islands. Norway shares a 2,542 km land border with Sweden, Finland, and a short border line to Russia at the east. To the west and south, Norway is bordered by the Norwegian Sea, the North Sea, and Skagerak. The Barents Sea washes on Norway's northern coasts.

At 385,252 km² (including Svalbard and Jan Mayen), Norway is slightly larger than Germany, but, unlike Germany, much of the country is dominated by mountainous or high terrain, with a great variety of natural features caused by prehistoric glaciers and varied topography. The most noticeable of these are the fjords: deep grooves cut into the land flooded by the sea following the end of the Ice Age. The longest is Sognefjorden. Norway also contains many glaciers and waterfalls.

The land is mostly made of hard granite and gneiss rock, but slate, sandstone and limestone are also common, and the lowest elevations contain marine deposits. Due to the Gulf Stream and prevailing westerlies, Norway experiences warmer temperatures and more precipitation than expected at such northern latitudes, especially along the coast. The mainland experiences four distinct seasons, with colder winters and less precipitation inland. The northernmost part has a mostly maritime Subarctic climate, while Svalbard has an Arctic tundra climate. The southern and western parts of Norway experiences more precipitation, and have milder winters than the south-eastern part. The lowlands around the capital Oslo has the warmest and sunniest summers, but also cold weather and snow in wintertime (especially inland). Average temperatures have risen the last decades, decreasing the amount of days with snow cover in the lowlands.

Due to Norway's high latitude, there are large seasonal variations in daylight. From late May to late July, the sun never completely descends beneath the horizon in areas north of the Arctic Circle (hence Norway's description as the "Land of the Midnight Sun") and the rest of the country experiences up to 20 hours of daylight per day. Conversely, from late November to late January, the sun never rises above the horizon in the north, and daylight hours are very short in the rest of the country.

Throughout Norway, one will find stunning and dramatic scenery and landscape. The west coast of southern Norway and the coast of northern Norway present some of the most visually impressive coastal sceneries in the world. National Geographic has listed the Norwegian fjords as the world's top tourist attraction.

The 2008 Environmental Performance Index put Norway in second place, after Switzerland, based on the environmental performance of the country's policies.^[26]

Politics and government

Main article: Politics of Norway

Norway is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Oslo is the capital city.

Constitution

Main article: Constitution of Norway

The Constitution of Norway from 1814 was inspired by the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the French revolution in 1789 and subsequent constitutions, and was considered to be one of the most radically democratic constitutions in the world at the time of its adoption. Inspired by Montesqieu’s ideas, the Constitution separates power in three branches of government, the executive, legislative and judiciary. Based on the prevailing ideas during Enlightenment concerning distribution of power, the elected national assembly was only partly supposed to control the government, which was appointed by the King and in turn kept at bay by the independent courts. In 1884, a parliamentary system of government (Norwegian: parlamentarisme) was introduced as customary law, making the Storting the supreme branch of government. In practice, this meant that any government must have sufficient backing in the national assembly, even though executive power is formally vested in the King. However, the Constitution has recently been amended, so today the parliamentary system of government enjoys explicit legal authority. The powers of the national government stem from the Storting, or more accurately, its composition following elections.

Monarchy

Main article: Royal Family of Norway

The Royal Family of Norway is a branch of the princely family of House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, originally from Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. Since 1991 the king has been Harald V, the 66th since Unification, but the first king in many hundred years to actually have been born in Norway. Following the introduction of a parliamentary system of government in 1884, the duties of the Monarch have become largely representative and ceremonial.^[27] He or she:

• Is Head of State
• Opens the Storting
• Formally dissolves and installs governments
• Presides over meetings in the Council of State
• Functions as the nominal head or High Protector of the Church of Norway
• Is Commander-in-Chief of the Norwegian Defence Force
• Receives credentials from Ambassadors-in-waiting
• Represents Norway during state visits both abroad and in Norway
• Serves as fountain of honour
• Holds audiences with prominent Norwegian figures within politics, industry, commerce and culture.

However, the Monarch does retain some royal prerogatives. He may issue pardons for prisoners (Article 20) and engage in war (Article 26), although it is unlikely that any of these two prerogatives would be put into use today. However, during the German occupation, Haakon VII said he would abdicate rather than appoint a collaborationist government led by Vidkun Quisling. The Monarch acts a symbol of unity, and a majority of Norwegians are still in favour of retaining the monarchy. There is also broad political consensus on this issue.

The Norwegian monarchy is unique in the sense that in 1905, when Norway declared its independence, a referendum was held asking the electorate to vote for either a monarchy or a republic. Even though only men were allowed to vote at the time, women also organised petitions. The referendum (and the petitions) resulted in a majority in favour of a monarchy.

Council of State

The Council of State consists of the Prime Minister (the head of government) and other ministers, formally appointed by the King. It is the equivalent of a cabinet. Parliamentarism has evolved since 1884 and entails that the cabinet must not have the parliament against it, and that the appointment by the King is a formality when there is a clear majority in Parliament for a party or a coalition of parties. After elections resulting in no clear majority to any party or coalition, the leader of the party most likely to be able to form a government is appointed Prime Minister by the King. Norway has often been ruled by minority governments.

The King has government meetings every Friday at the Royal Palace (Council of State), but the government decisions are decided in advance in government conferences headed by the Prime Minister every Tuesday and Thursday. In order to form a government, more than half the membership of the Council of State is required to belong to the Church of Norway. Currently, this means at least ten out of 19 members. After the negotiations of looser ties between the church and the state, it was decided that this requirement will be abolished in the near future. Nevertheless, only members of the Church of Norway are allowed to discuss matters relating directly to the Church (like the appointment of a bishop) within the Council of State.

Storting

The Norwegian parliament is the Storting (Stortinget). It currently has 169 members (an increase from 165 effective in the September 2005 elections). The members are elected from the 19 counties for four-year terms according to a system of proportional representation. An additional 19 seats ("levelling seats") are allocated on a nationwide basis to make the representation in parliament correspond better with the popular vote. There is a 4 percent election threshold to gain levelling seats. The word Storting means "Grand Assembly".

The Storting is a qualified unicameral body. After elections it elects a quarter of its membership to form the Lagting, a sort of upper house, with the remaining three quarters forming the Odelsting, a lower house. When voting the two chambers divide, and this division of chambers is also used on very rare occasions such as impeachment. The original idea in 1814 was probably to have the Lagting act as an actual upper house, and the senior and more experienced members of the Storting were placed here. Laws are in most cases proposed by the government through a Member of the Council of State, or in some cases by a member of the Odelsting in case of repeated disagreement in the joint Storting. In modern times the Lagting rarely disagrees, effectively rubber-stamping the Odelsting's decisions.

Impeachment cases are very rare and may be brought against Members of the Council of State, of the Supreme Court (Høyesterett), or of the Storting for criminal offenses which they may have committed in their official capacity. The last case was in 1927, when Prime Minister Abraham Berge was acquitted.

Constitutional amendments of 20 February 2007 provide for:

• The abolition of division after the 2009 general election (making the Storting fully unicameral). Legislation will go through two readings, or three in case of dissent, before being passed and sent to the King for assent.
• Changes in impeachment procedures. The current system (indictments raised by the Odelsting and judged by the Lagting and the Supreme Court justices as part of the High Court of the Realm) will be replaced by new system (indictments raised by the Storting in plenary session; impeachment cases will be heard by the five highest-ranking Supreme Court justices and six lay members in one of the Supreme Court courtrooms, instead of the Lagting chamber; Storting representatives no longer perform as lay judges).

Supreme Court

The judiciary is referred to as the Courts of Justice of Norway. It consists of a Supreme Court of 18 permanent judges and a chief justice, appellate courts, city and district courts, and conciliation councils. Judges attached to regular courts are appointed by the king-in-council.

In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Norway at a shared 1st place (with Iceland) out of 169 countries.^[28] The death penalty was abolished in Norway in 1902. Death penalty for high treason in war and war-crimes was also abolished in 1979.

Continued at Norway, part 2

See also

Main article: Outline of Norway

• Public holidays in Norway
• Regions of Norway
• Tourism in Norway
• Architecture of Norway
• Edvard Grieg
• Cuisine of Norway
• Football in Norway
• Energy in Norway
• Telecommunications in Norway
• Transport in Norway
• Norway and the European Union

References

External links

• Norway.no, Norway's official portal
• Statistics Norway
• Norway entry at The World Factbook
• Norway entry at Encyclopædia Britannica
• Norway from UCB Libraries GovPubs
• Norway.info, official foreign portal of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Wikimedia Atlas of Norway
• VisitNorway.com, official travel guide to Norway.
• Norway travel guide
• vifanord – a digital library that provides scientific information on the Nordic and Baltic countries as well as the Baltic region as a whole.

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