Aetat (short for ) was a Norwegian

government agency A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...

responsible for battling

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

History

It had its roots in the Directorate of Labour (), which was founded in 1945. Its purpose was to "prevent and remedy" unemployment in the Norwegian society. The name Aetat was taken into use in 2000, when the directorate was reorganized. Aetat had eighteen county offices, several local offices, and other branches, whereas the directorate remained the core of the agency. The leader of the directorate was called the "director of labour" (). The agency was subordinate to the Ministry of Government Administration.

Successor

In 2005 the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

agreed to abolish Aetat as well as the

National Insurance Service The National Insurance Service () was a Norwegian government agency responsible for social security. Organization It had its roots in the National Insurance Administration (), which was founded by parliamentary act on 23 July 1894 under the name ...

, with effect from 2006. A new organization was created in their place, the

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration The Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV, originally an abbreviation of ''Nye arbeids- og velferdsetaten'') is the current Norwegian public welfare agency, which consists of the state Labour and Welfare Service as well as municipal w ...

(, NAV) which consists of the state-run

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service The Labour and Welfare Service (Norwegian: ''Arbeids- og velferdsetaten'') is a government agency of Norway. Together with municipal welfare agencies, it makes up the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). The Labour and Welfare Service ...

() and certain parts of the municipal social services, and has a broader responsibility for welfare. The reform that created NAV is not completed yet.

References

Defunct government agencies of Norway Government agencies established in 1945 Government agencies disestablished in 2006 Organisations based in Oslo {{norway-gov-stub