Norway

**Norway**, officially the **Kingdom of Norway**, is a sovereign and unitary monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula plus Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway shares borders Sweden, Finland and Russia.

## History

### Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Century

Christian Michelsen, a shipping magnate and statesman, and 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 Prince Carl of Denmark, 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.

During World War I, Norway was a neutral country. In reality, however, Norway had been pressured by the United Kingdom to hand over increasingly large parts of its massive merchant fleet to the UK at low rates, as well as to join the trade blockade against Germany. Norway also proclaimed its neutrality during World War II, but Norway was invaded by German forces on 9 April 1940. Although Norway was unprepared for the German surprise attack, military and naval resistance 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 10 June after losing British help diverted to France during the German Invasion of France.

King Haakon and the Norwegian government escaped to Rotherhithe, in London, and they supported the fight through inspirational radio speeches from London and by supporting clandestine military actions in Norway against the Nazis. When Germany capitulated on 8 May 1945, the German occupation of Norway officially ended. The wartime alliance with the United Kingdom and the United States was continued in the post-war years. Norway received Marshall Plan aid from the United States starting in 1947, joined the OEEC - predecessor to the OECD one year later, and became a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949.

In 1969, the Phillips Petroleum Company discovered petroleum resources at the Ekofisk field west of Norway. In 1973, the Norwegian government founded the State oil company, Statoil. Oil production did not provide net income until the early 1980s because of the large capital investment that was required to establish the country's petroleum industry. 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 outsourced. Norway was a founding member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Two referendums on joining the European Union failed by narrow margins in 1972 and 1994.

## Government and Politics

The Monarch officially retains executive power. However, following the introduction of a parliamentary system of government, the duties of the Monarch have since become strictly representative and ceremonial, such as the formal appointment and dismissal of the Prime Minister and other ministers in the executive government. The position of Prime Minister, Norway's head of government, is allocated to the Member of Parliament who can obtain the confidence of a majority in Parliament, usually the current leader of the largest political party or, more effectively, through a coalition of parties. In practice, the Prime Minister exercises the executive powers.

The Parliament of Norway, called the Stortinget, ratifies national treaties developed by the executive branch. It can impeach members of the government if their acts are declared unconstitutional. The Parliament can pass a law by simple majority of the 169 representatives, who are elected on the basis of proportional representation from 19 constituencies for four-year terms. 150 are elected directly from the 19 constituencies, and an additional 19 seats are allocated on a nationwide basis to make the representation in parliament correspond better with the popular vote for the political parties.

### Administrative Divisions

Norway, a unitary state, is divided into nineteen first-level administrative counties. The counties are administrated through directly elected county assemblies who elect the County Governor. The counties are then sub-divided into 430 second-level municipalities, which in turn are administrated by directly elected municipal council. Norway has two integral overseas territories: Jan Mayen and Svalbard, the only developed island in the archipelago of the same name, located miles away to the north. There are three Antarctic and Subantarctic dependencies:

* Bouvet Island
* Peter I Island
* Queen Maud Land.

### Foreign Relations

Norway is a founding member of the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Council of Europe and the European Free Trade Association. Norway issued applications for accession to the European Union and its predecessors in 1962, 1967 and 1992, respectively. While Denmark, Sweden and Finland obtained membership, the Norwegian electorate rejected the treaties of accession in referenda in 1972 and 1994. After the 1994 referendum, Norway maintained its membership in the European Economic Area.