County governor (Norway)

Norway

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County Governor (Norwegian: Fylkesmannen) is a Norwegian government agency represented in 18 of the Norwegian counties responsible for a number of supervision and management duties. The Governor is the representative of the King and Government of Norway in each county, functioning as the connection between the state and the municipalities. The County Governors are subordinate to the Ministry of Government Administration and Reform, but are also subordinate to other ministries in their respective duties. Governors are parts of the executive branch and thus formally appointed by the King in the cabinet meeting.

The main responsibilities for the Governor include controlling and being an instance of appeal for municipal decisions, and the main instance for exercising state regulation of agriculture and local environmental impact. The Governor is also responsible for civil matters including marriage, divorce and citizenship. If a municipality do not have a balanced economy, the Governor will enter the municipality into the ROBEK registry, and obtain some control over the municipalitiy's finances.

The Governor of Svalbard is not a regular Governor, and has a wider authority, including the police force.

History

The County Governor has been an institution since the 12th century, though the institution has had many names, including sysselmann, lensmann, amtmann and now fylkesmann. Its present form was created in 1976 when the county municipality was demerged to form a separate, elected body.

Governors

Current governors by county.

County	Governor
Aust-Agder	Øystein Djupedal
Buskerud	Kirsti Kolle Grøndahl
Finnmark	Gunnar Kjønnøy
Hedmark	Sylvia Brustad (acting)
Hordaland	Lars Sponheim
Møre og Romsdal	Lodve Solholm
Nordland	Hill-Marta Solberg
Nord-Trøndelag	Inge Ryan
Oppland	Kristin Hille Valla
Oslo and Akershus	Hans J. Røsjorde
Rogaland	Harald Thune (acting)
Sogn og Fjordane	Anne Karin Hamre
Sør-Trøndelag	Kåre Gjønnes
Telemark	Kari Nordheim-Larsen
Troms	Svein Ludvigsen
Vest-Agder	Ann-Kristin Olsen
Vestfold	Erling Lae
Østfold	Anne Enger

Most governors are former politicians 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.^[1]

References

1. ^ Berggrav, Dag (1994) (in Norwegian). Slik styres Norge. Kongen, regjeringen og Stortinget i norsk statsliv. Oslo: Schibsted. p. 107. ISBN 82-516-1548-8.