POLITICS OF NORWAYBenedict (Viktor) Gombocz

GEOGRAPHY OF NORWAY Location: Northern Europe, bordering

the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden

Area Total: 323,802 sq km Country comparison to the world:

68 Land: 304,282 sq km Water: 19,520 sq km

Area – comparative: Slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries Total: 2,542 km Border countries: Finland 727 km,

Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 196 km Coastline: 25,148 km (comprises

mainland 2,650 km, as well as long fjords, several tiny islands, and minor indentations 22,498 km; length of island coastlines 58,133 km)

PHYSICAL MAP OF NORWAY

RELIGION IN NORWAY In Norway, nominal religion is predominantly

Protestant (Evangelical-Lutheran) with 77% of the population being affiliated with the state Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway.

Similar to most Scandinavian peoples, early Norwegians were believers of Norse paganism; the Sámi had a shamanistic religion.

Norway, due to the efforts of Christian messengers, was steadily Christianized in a process that began around 1000 and, to a large extent, was completed by 1150.

Before the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, Norwegians belonged to the Catholic Church; the conversion to Protestantism began in 1536.

In current times, Norway- similar to other European nations- has undergone a shrink in religiosity, at least among non-immigrant Norwegian endemics, and many Norwegians are not religious; as such, the most common metaphysical views held, according to Zuckerman, are atheism and agnosticism.

RELIGION STATISTICS (2004) Church of Norway (Evangelical Lutheran – official): 85.7% Pentecostal: 1% Roman Catholic: 1% Other Christian: 2.4% Muslim: 1.8% Other: 8.1%

RELIGION IN NORWAY (CONT.) Also according to Zuckerman, the most recent

Norwegian census indicates that Islam is the third-biggest religion, owing to recent migration trends.

Since at least the early 21st century, Islam has become the fastest-growing religion all over numerous regions of largely-Christian and secular Europe.

By and large, Orthodox Christianity is the fastest-growing religious tradition in Norway with a rate of 231.1% in comparison to Islam’s 64.3% between 2000-2009.

Nevertheless, Muslims outnumber believers of any particular Christian denomination (the Lutheran Church of Norway aside); Muslims account for 2.1% of the population in comparison to Orthodox Christians (0.2%), Seventh-day Adventists (0.1%), Baptists (0.2%), and on down the line.

The most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2010 revealed that:

22% of Norwegian citizens answered that “they believe there is a God”.

44% said “they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force“.

29% said "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force“.

5% said they “do not know”.

Phil Zuckerman, an Associate Professor of Sociology at Pitzer College, guesstimates the atheism rate in Norway as being between 31-72%, based on different evaluations.

INTRODUCING NORWAY’S POLITICAL SYSTEM

The political system of Norway functions in the structure of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy.

The King’s council, the cabinet (supervised by the PM of Norway) exercises executive power.

Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Storting, elected within a multi-party structure.

The Judiciary is independent of the executive branch and the legislature.

GOVERNMENT OF NORWAY Capital (and largest city): Oslo Official language(s): Norwegian

(Bokmål / Nynorsk) Recognized regional language(s):

Northern Sami, Lule Sami, Kven, Southern Sami

Demonym: Norwegian Government: Unitary parliamentary

constitutional monarchy King: King Harald V Prime Minister: Jens Stoltenberg

(AP) President of the Storting: Daj Terje

Andersen (AP) Chief Justice: Tore Schei Current coalition: Red-Green

coalition Legislature: Storting

PARLIAMENTARY PARTIES Labour Party (Bokmål:

Arbeiderpartiet; Nynorsk:Arbeidarpartiet)

Progress Party (Bokmål: Fremskrittspartiet; Nynorsk: Framstegspartiet)

Conservative Party (Bokmål: Høyre; Nynorsk: Høgre)

Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)

Centre Party (Senterpartiet) Christian Democratic Party

(Bokmål: Kristelig Folkeparti; Nynorsk: Kristeleg Folkeparti)

Liberal Party (Venstre)

KING HARALD V Born 21 February 1937 in Skaugum.

Ascended to the throne of Norway following the death of his father Olav V on 17 January 1991.

Son of then-Crown Prince Olav and of Princess Märtha of Sweden; was born at the Crown Prince Residence at Skaugum, Akershus in Norway.

Member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, originally from Northern Germany; became the first Norwegian-born prince since Olav IV, who was born in 1370.

Is the official head of the Church of Norway and the Norwegian Armed Forces.

Has two children: Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Märtha Louise.

Is closely related to other European monarchs; is the King Albert II of Belgium’s first cousin, the first cousin once removed of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, the second cousin of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Realms, and of Margrethe II of Denmark, and the second cousin once removed of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

JENS STOLTENBERG Born 16 March 1959 in Oslo.

27th and current PM of Norway; assumed office on 17 October 2005, and also served as PM from 2000-2001.

Also the current leader of the Labour Party.

Was elected to Parliament in 1993 for the Oslo constituency; served as State Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment from 1990-1991 and as Minister of Industry from 1993-1996 in the third Brundtland Cabinet.

After Brundtland resigned in 1996, Thorbjørn Jagland was elected leader of the Labour Party and became PM, while Stoltenberg was nominated Minister of Finance, a post he held until Jagland and the whole government stepped down on 17 October 1997.

Served in the standing commissions on energy affairs while in parliamentary opposition.

Was nominated PM on 3 March 2000 after a motion of no confidence was passed against the first Bondevik Cabinet, even though he was Labour’s deputy leader and not its party leader.

Successfully ran against Thorbjørn Jagland for leadership of Labour, in 2002, following bad results in the 2001 parliamentary election, and his government’s subsequent fall on 19 October of the same year; led the party to victory in the 2005 parliamentary election by creating a Red-Green coalition government with the Centre Party (Sp) and the Socialist Left Party (PV).

Was re-elected PM of Norway for another term, in the 2009 parliamentary election.

DAG TERJE ANDERSEN Born 27 May 1957 in Frogn, Akershus.

18th and current President of the Storting since 8 October 2009, following his election.

Member of the Labour Party.

Apart from professional politics, he has worked at a steel mill and as a lumberjack; this has awarded him a status for representing the typical man in political life.

Was elected into the Storting as a delegate from Vestfold, in 1997; was re-elected in the 2005 parliamentary election.

Served as the Mayor of Lardal from 1987-1992; was initially a political consultant at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before becoming Secretary of State at the Ministry of Social Affairs in 1992.

Subsequently served as party secretary for the Labour Party from 1992-1996; became Minister of Agriculture in 1996, and served in that position for a little less than a year.

Later became Minister of Trade and Industry on 29 September 2006, when Odd Eriksen stepped down.

TORE SCHEI Born 19 February 1946 in Oslo.

19th and current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Norway; assumed office on 1 August 2002.

Was born as one of Andreas Schei’s sons; is one of Nikolai Schei’s nephews.

Graduated in law in 1971; was given the right to work with Supreme Court cases in 1974.

Worked for the Office of the Attorney General of Norway between 1972-1981; also served as a deputy judge in Ytre Follo District Court in this period, from 1975-1976, and advanced to presiding judge in the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Was named Justice of the Supreme Court on 18 October 1985; assumed office the following year.

Also presided over the Scandinavian inquiry investigating the Scandinavian Star accident.

Was named, in 2002, Commander with Star of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav.

THE END (SLUTTEN)