Emblem of the Norwegian County Governors

The county governor (; , in English) is 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 ...

that represents the central government administration in all

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

of Norway. Responsible for a number of supervision and management duties, the governor is the representative of the

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

and the

government of Norway The Council of State () is a formal body composed of the most senior government minister (government), ministers chosen by the Prime Minister of Norway, Prime Minister, and functions as the collective decision-making organ constituting the Go ...

in each county, functioning as the connection between the state and the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. The county governor is subordinate to the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, but also to the other ministries in their respective duties. The main responsibilities of the governor include controlling and being an instance of appeal for municipal decisions and the main instance for exercising state regulation of

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and local

environmental impact Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further, these issues can be caused by humans ( human impact on the environment) or they can be natural. These issues are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot reco ...

. The governor is also responsible for civil matters including

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

and

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

. if a municipality fails to balance its budget, the governor enters the municipality into the Register for Governmental Approval of Financial Obligations and obtain some control over the municipality's finances. The governor is part of the executive branch and is formally appointed by the

King-in-Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it refers to the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of app ...

. The governor of Svalbard has wider authorities, including for the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

. The (appointed) county governor should not be confused with the (elected) Chair of the County Council, more commonly known as the county mayor (''fylkesordfører'').

History

The county governor has been an institution since the 12th century, though the institution has had many names, including ''sysselmann'', ''lensmann'', ''

amtmann __NOTOC__ The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff A bailiff is a ...

'', ''fylkesmann'' and now the gender neutral ''statsforvalter''. Prior to 1919, the county governor () reported to the diocesan governor (), who oversaw all of the counties with a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

in Norway. The role of diocesan governor was abolished on 1 January 1919. Also on that date, the title of was changed to . On 1 January 2021, the title of was changed to the new, gender neutral (lit. state administrator). In 1976, the county municipality was created as a separate, elected body that oversees each county and the role of the county governor was changed to accommodate this.

Governors

After the Solberg Cabinet's regional reforms and the partial reversal of this by the Støre Cabinet, the number of county governors does not correspond to the number of

nor

constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

anymore. There are 10 County Governor agencies for 15 counties. The following agencies are as follows: In recent times, county governors are former

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

s or have a background in the police force. It is uncommon for governors to hold an office for less than a decade, and many of the present governors were appointed in the 1990s. It has often been seen as a way to retire former high-office politicians from active political duty, and at the same time issue a high-standing position in the public administration at their home place. Although almost all county governors are former active politicians, it has been regarded as customary that an incumbent county governor does not participate in partisan politics.

References

{{Lists of county governors of Norway Government of Norway County administration of Norway

History

Governors

See also

References