Politics, constitution and administrative structure of Norway

In Norway, the constitutional monarchy reigns. Power is inherited by the eldest son or daughter. The Head of the Country is the King or Queen. However, his power is purely a formality. The King is obliged to attend any ceremonies and state events of the highest level, as well as represent his country on the international arena. In addition, it is the King’s responsibility to hold weekly meetings in conjunction with the state council, which acts as the Government. However, such meetings are also purely formal. The Head of the executive branch is the Prime Minister. As part of his manifesto, the Prime Minister embodies all the wishes of the King of Norway and participates in the deliberation and subsequent resolution of the most important state issues.

Sixteen ministers are subordinate to the Prime Minister, with each of them heading his/her respective department. The State Council bears overall responsibility for certain adopted political decisions, although each minister can separately express his disagreement with any opinion of the majority. Each deputy gets into office as minister of their respective department through the statement of a leading party in the country or a coalition. After the candidates have been approved, special competitive tests are conducted to ascertain whether a particular deputy is capable of occupying a position in the Cabinet of Ministers.

Legislative power in Norway belongs to the Storting. To date, it includes more than one thousand five hundred deputies. Each of them occupies office for a period of 4 years. Candidates are nominated from each region. It is worth noting that absolutely every member of the Storting has his own deputy, that way the legislature always respects the opinion of all its members. After the elections are held in the Storting, in which all adult citizens who have lived in the country for at least 5 years participate, the Storting is divided into two chambers. The first chamber is made up of a little over 40 people. As a rule, all bills are considered and approved jointly by the two chambers. However, in the case of contradictions, two thirds of parliamentary votes would be required to approve the draft. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Geographically, Norway is divided into nineteen regions, with the capital of the country, the city of Oslo, having the status of region. Each region, in turn, is divided into districts, the so-called communes. District council is the first level of the self-government. Deputies get into its structure by direct voting of citizens and they get to stay in office for a period of 4 years. The local governments of Norway are endowed with enormous powers. They even regulate the issues of taxation and financing. The Police of each district are however under the chain of command of the state department, and not to the local self-governmental bodies. There is a multi-party political system running in the Country, and Norwegians are very fond of discussing serious political problems. Despite the factual opposition of various party platforms, conflicts in the country are very rare, and there have been no mass clashes on political grounds for the last several decades.

To date, the government is formed by representatives of such parties as the Christian Democratic Party, and the Liberal Conservative Party. The Liberals have to some extent, got a very significant place in the political arena of Norway; after all, its deputies once introduced the canons of parliamentary democracy to the country. The Armed Forces today comprises of more than 80,000 personnel. In addition to the land forces in the country, there is the naval force, as well as the air force. Some units of the Norwegian Armed Forces are active in peacekeeping missions. There is a compulsory call in the country for men between the ages of 20 and 45. Everyone within this age range should serve from half a year to a year in the ranks of the Norwegian Army Forces, and a year and three months in the naval forces or in the ranks of the Air Force.

The Country’s Foreign Policy is aimed at developing relations with neighboring countries. Norway is an active member of the Northern Council and was the initiator of the European Free Trade Association. Despite the fact that Norway maintains a fairly close relationship with Sweden and Finland, the Norwegians decided against joining the European Union at a general referendum 23 years ago. Up until now, this decision remains unshakable. Norway also maintains some diplomatic relations with the United States of America. For example, 15 years ago, as part of the American coalition, Norwegian troops participated in the Iraqi mission.