Norway
The
Kingdom of Norway is a
Nordic country west of
Sweden on the
Scandinavian Peninsula. It has a very elongated form and has an extensive coastline along the North
Atlantic Ocean, where Norway's famous
fjords are found. In addition to Sweden, it borders
Russia and
Finland. The nearby island territories of
Svalbard and
Jan Mayen are under Norwegian sovereignty and are considered as part of Norway as a
kingdom, while
Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic Ocean and
Peter I Island in the South
Pacific Ocean are Norwegian
dependencies which are not considered part of the kingdom. Additionally, Norway has a claim for
Dronning Maud Land in
Antarctica.
History
Main article: History of Norway
The
Viking period (
9th to
11th centuries) was one of national unification and expansion. The
Norwegian royal line died out in 1387, and the country entered a long period as the weaker part of a union with
Denmark, since 1450 bound by treaty. With the forced introduction of protestantism in 1537, Norway lost the steady stream of pilgrims to the relics of Saint Olav at the
Nidaros shrine. With them, ironically, went much of the contact with the cultural and economical life of the rest of Europe. As Norway lost its lifeline to the continent, it was reduced to what today would be considered third world status. Leeched not only of silver, timber and cheap labour, but also of intellectuals and investors, events such as protestant humanism, the enlightenment movement and the beginnings of the industrial revolution more or less passed the country by. In light of national romanticism during the
19th century, this period was by some called the "400-year night".
After
Denmark-Norway sided with Napoleon in the
Napoleonic Wars, Norway was ceded to the king of
Sweden in 1814. However, Norway declared her independence, adopted her own constitution and elected the Danish prince Christian Fredrik as king on 17 May 1814. In the aftermath of the
Napoleonic Wars, Norway was forced into a
personal union with Sweden, but kept her liberal constitution and independent institutions, except for the foreign service. Growing Norwegian dissatisfaction with the union during the late
19th century spawned its dissolution 7 June 1905. The Norwegian government offered the throne of Norway to Danish Prince Carl. After a plebiscite confirming the monarchy, the Parliament unanimously elected him king. He took the name of Haakon VII, after the medieval kings of independent Norway.
Norway was a nonbelligerent during
World War I, a neutrality she was able to maintain mainly due to the modern state and size of her naval fleet. Norway also attempted to claim neutrality during
World War II, but was invaded by German forces on the 9th of April 1940 (
Operation Weserübung). However, it is interesting to note that documents uncovered in later times have revealed plans made by the Allies to invade Norway, in order to control her strategically important Atlantic coast. Armed resistance in Norway went on for up to three months in some regions, but the king and government continued the fight from exile in Britain. On the day of the invasion, the leader of the small nazi party
Nasjonal Samling –
Vidkun Quisling – tried to seize power, but was forced by the German occupants 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 government under German control. In 1944, the Germans evacuated the provinces of
Finnmark and northern
Troms, using a
scorched earth tactic. The
Red Army moved in shortly after, and peacefully returned the area to Norwegian control after the war, despite president Roosevelt having offered them parts of northern Norway. The Germans in Norway surrendered 8 May 1945.
The occupation during
World War II made Norwegians generally more skeptical of the concept of neutrality. They turned instead to collective security. Norway was one of the signers of the
North Atlantic Treaty in 1949 and was a founding member of the
United Nations, providing its first secretary general –
Trygve Lie. Norway has twice voted against joining the
European Union (in 1972 and 1994), but is associated with the EU via the
European Economic Area. The EU-debate rages on to this day with roughly 50% support on either side.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Norway
Norway is a
constitutional monarchy with a
parliamentary system of
government. The Royal House is a branch of the princely family of Glücksburg, originally from Schleswig-Holstein in Germany.
http://www.kongehuset.no/dt_kongehuset_allAtOnce.asp?ogid=21&mgid=21&gid=54&aid= The functions of the King are mainly ceremonial, but he has influence as the symbol of national unity. Although the
constitution of 1814 grants important executive powers to the king, these are almost always exercised by the Council of State in the name of the King (King's Council). The Council of State or
cabinet consists of a Prime Minister and his council, appointed by the King. Since 1884, parliamentarism has ensured that the cabinet must have the support of the parliament, so the appointment by the King is a formality.
The 165 members of the unicameral Norwegian
parliament, the
Storting (Norwegian:
Stortinget), are elected from the 19 counties for 4-year terms according to a system of
proportional representation. After
elections, the Storting divides into two chambers, the
Odelsting and the
Lagting, which meet separately or jointly depending on the legislative issue under consideration.
The regular courts include the
Supreme Court or
Høyesterett (17 permanent judges and a president), courts of appeal, district courts and conciliation councils. Judges attached to regular courts are appointed by the King in council after nomination by the Ministry of Justice. The special High Court of the Realm hears
impeachment cases.
Counties
Main article: Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called
fylker (singular
fylke) and 433
kommuner (singular
kommune).
Fylke and
kommune are officially translated to
English as
county and
municipality. The
fylke is the intermediate administration between state and municipality.
Map of Norway
Geography
Main article: Geography of Norway
The landscape is generally rugged and mountainous, topped by
glaciers and its coastline of over 83,000 km
http://odin.dep.no/odin/engelsk/norway/environment/032091-991558/dok-bn.html is punctuated by steep-sloped inlets known as
fjords, as well as a multitude of islands and islets. It is also known as the
Land of the Midnight Sun because of its northern location, as part of Norway lies above the
Arctic Circle, where in summer the sun does not set, and in winter many of its valleys remain dark for long periods.
Norway straddles the North
Atlantic Ocean for its entire length, bound by three different seas: the
North Sea to the southwest and its large inlet the
Skagerrak to the south, the
Norwegian Sea to the west and the
Barents Sea to the northeast. Norway's highest point is the
Galdhøpiggen at 2,469 m.
The Norwegian
climate is fairly temperate, especially along the coast under the influence of the
Gulf Stream. The inland climate can be more severe and to the north more
subarctic conditions are found.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Norway
The Norwegian economy is a prosperous bastion of social capitalism, featuring a combination of
free market activity and government intervention. The government controls key areas, such as the vital
petroleum sector (through large-scale state enterprises). The country is richly endowed with natural resources -
petroleum,
hydropower,
fish,
forests, and minerals - and is highly dependent on its
oil production and international oil prices; in 1999, oil and
gas accounted for 35% of exports. Only
Saudi Arabia and
Russia export more oil than Norway, which is outside
OPEC.
Norway opted to stay out of the
European Union during a referendum in 1972, and again in November
1994. However, Norway, together with
Iceland and
Liechtenstein, participate in the
EU's single market via the
European Economic Area (EEA) agreement.
Economic growth picked up in 2000 to 2.7%, compared with the meager 0.8% of 1999, but fell back to 1.3% in 2001. The government moved ahead with privatisation in 2000, selling one-third of the then 100% state-owned oil company
Statoil.
With arguably the highest quality of life worldwide, Norwegians still worry about that time in the next two decades when the oil and gas begin to run out. Accordingly, Norway has been saving its oil-boosted budget surpluses in a
Government Petroleum Fund, which is invested abroad and at the end of the third quarter of 2004 was valued at 158 billion US dollars.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Norway
The Norwegian population is 4.6 million and increases by 0.4% per year (estimate July 2004).
Ethnically most Norwegians are Nordic / North
Germanic, while small minorities in the north are Sami or
Cwen. In recent years
immigration has accounted for more than half the population growth; 7.3% of the population are immigrants as of 1 January 2003. The largest immigrant groups are
Swedes, Danes and Pakistanis (
http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/00/minifakta_en/en/minifakta.pdf).
Approximately 86% of the inhabitants are members of the
Evangelic Lutheran Church of Norway (state church). Other
Christian societies total about 4.5% (The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church, The Catholic Church,
Pentecostal congregations, The
Methodist Church etc.) Among the non-Christian religions
Islam is the largest in Norway with close to 2%, and other religions less than 1%. About 1.5% belong to the secular
Human Ethical Union. As of 1 January 2003 approximately 5% of the population are unaffiliated (
http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/07/02/10/trosamf_en/).
The
Norwegian language has two official written forms, called
Bokmål and
Nynorsk, which do not differ greatly. Generally neither is
spoken except among a few, as various dialects are used orally, but Bokmål is
written by the majority. Several
Sami languages are spoken and written in the northern regions by the Sami people. The
Germanic Norwegian language and the Finno-Ugric Sami languages are entirely unrelated.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Norway
Famous Norwegians include playwright
Henrik Ibsen, explorers
Roald Amundsen and
Fridtjof Nansen,
expressionist painter
Edvard Munch,
romanticist composer Edvard Grieg and novelists
Knut Hamsun and
Sigrid Undset, winners of the 1920 and 1928
Nobel Prize in Literature.
Norwegians celebrate their national day on
May 17,
Constitution Day. Many people wear
bunad (traditional costumes) and most participate in or watch the
May 17th Parade through the towns.
Miscellaneous topics
International rankings
External links
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