The
Storting is the supreme
legislature of
Norway, located in
Oslo. The
unicameral parliament has 169 members, and is elected every four years based on
party-list proportional representation in nineteen
plural member constituencies. The assembly is led by a presidium of a president and five vice presidents; since 2009
Dag Terje Andersen has been president. The members are allocated to twelve standing committees, as well as four procedural committees. Almost all public agencies of Norway are subordinate to the government, but three ombudsmen, the
Parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Committee and the
Office of the Auditor General are directly subordinate to parliament.
Parliament was established by the Constitution of Norway in 1814 and has since 1866 met in the Parliament of Norway Building, designed by Emil Victor Langlet. Parliamentarianism was established in 1884, and until 2009 the parliament was a qualified unicameralism with two chambers: the Lagting and the Odelsting. Following the 2009 election, seven parties are represented in parliament: the Labour Party (64 representatives), the Progress Party (41), the Conservative Party (30), the Socialist Left Party (11), the Centre Party (11), the Christian Democratic Party (10) and the Liberal Party (2).
History
The parliament in its present form was
first constituted at
Eidsvoll in 1814, although its origins can be traced back to the
allting or common assemblies as early as the 9th century. The alltings were localised assemblies charged with discussing legal and political matters. These gradually were formalised so that the tings, or assemblies, grew into regionalised meetings and acquired backing and authority from the crown, even to the extent that on occasions they were instrumental in effecting change in the monarchy itself. As Norway became unified as a geopolitical entity in the 10th century, the
lagtings were established as superior regional assemblies. The archaic regional assemblies, the
Frostating, the
Gulating, the
Eidsivating and the
Borgarting were amalgamated and the corpus of law was set down under the command of King
Magnus Lagabøte during the mid-13th century. This jurisdiction remained significant until King
Frederick III proclaimed absolute monarchy in 1660; this was ratified by the passage of the
King Act of 1665, and this became the constitution of the
Union of Denmark and Norway and remained so until 1814 and the foundation of the Storting.
The number of seats in the Storting has varied: from 1882 there were 114 seats, from 1903 117, from 1906 123, from 1918 126, from 1921 150, from 1973 155, from 1985 157, from 1989 165 and from 2005 169 seats.
Qualified unicameralism (1814–2009)
Although the Storting has always been
unicameral, until 2009 it would divide itself into two departments in legislative matters. After elections, the Storting would elect a quarter of its membership to form the Lagting a sort of "upper house", with the remaining three quarters forming the Odelsting or "lower house". The division was also used on very rare occasions in cases of
impeachment. The original idea in 1814 was probably to have the Lagting act as an actual upper house, and the senior and more experienced members of the Storting were placed there. Later, however, the composition of the Lagting closely followed that of the Odelsting so that there was very little that differentiated them, and the passage of a bill in the Lagting was mostly a formality.
Bills were submitted by the Government to the Odelsting or by a member of the Odelsting—members of the Lagting were not permitted to propose legislation by themselves. A standing committee, with members from both the Odelsting and Lagting, would then consider the bill, and in some cases hearings were held. If passed by the Odelsting, the bill would be sent to the Lagting for review or revision. Most bills were passed unamended by the Lagting and then sent directly to the king for royal assent (which is only a formality). If the Lagting amended the Odelsting's decision, the bill would be sent back to the Odelsting. If the Odelsting approved the Lagting's amendments, the bill would be signed into law by the King. If it did not, then the bill would return to the Lagting. If the Lagting still proposed amendments, the bill would be submitted a plenary session of the Storting. In order to be passed, the bill should have then had the approval of a two-thirds majority of the plenary session. In all other cases a simple majority would suffice. Three days had to pass between each time a department voted on a bill. In all other cases, such as taxes and appropriations, the Storting would meet in plenary sessions.
A proposal to amend the constitution and abolish the system of Odelsting and Lagting was introduced in 2004 and was passed by the Storting on 20 February 2007 (159–1 with nine absentees). It took effect with the newly elected Storting in 2009.
Procedure
of the building]]
The legislative procedure goes through five stages. First a bill is introduced to parliament either by a member of government or, in the case of a private member's bill, by any individual representative. Parliament will refer the bill to the relevant standing committee, where it will be subject for detailed consideration in the committee stage. The first reading takes place when parliament debates the recommendation from the committee, and will make a vote. If the bill is dismissed, the procedure ends. The second reading takes place at least three days after the first reading, in which parliament debates the bill again. A new vote is taken, and if successful, the bill is submitted to the
King in Council of royal assent. If parliament comes to a different conclusion in the second reading, a third reading will be held at least three days later, repeating the debate and vote, and may adopt the amendments from the second reading or finally dismiss the bill. Once the bill has reached the King in Council, the bill must be signed by the
monarch and countersigned by the
prime minister. It then becomes
Norwegian law from the date stated in the act or decided by the government.
Organisation
Presidium
The
presidium is chaired by the President of the Parliament, in Norway called the Storting, consists of the president and the five vice presidents of the Storting.
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Position !! Representative !! Party
|-
| President || || Labour
|-
| 1st Vice President || || Progress
|-
| 2nd Vice President || || Conservative
|-
| 3rd Vice President || || Labour
|-
| 4th Vice President || || Socialist Left
|-
| 5th Vice President || || Christian Democratic
|}
Standing committees
The members of parliament are allocated into twelve
standing committees, of which eleven are related to specific political topics. The last is the
Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs. The standing committees have a portfolio that covers that of one or more
government ministers.
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Committee !! Chair !! Chair's party
|-
| Business and Industry || || Labour
|-
| Education, Research and Church Affairs || || Labour
|-
| Energy and the Environment || || Centre
|-
| Family and Cultural Affairs || || Labour
|-
| Finance and Economic Affairs || || Labour
|-
| Foreign Affairs and Defence || || Conservative
|-
| Health and Care Services || || Conservative
|-
| Justice || || Progress
|-
| Labour and Social Affairs || || Progress
|-
| Local Government and Public Administration || || Socialist Left
|-
| Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs || || Progress
|-
| Transport and Communications || || Christian Democratic
|}
Other committees
There are four other committees, that run parallel to the standing committees. The
Enlarged Committee on Foreign Affairs consists of members of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, the presidium and the parliamentary leaders. The committee discusses important issues related to foreign affairs, trade policy and national safety with the government. Discussions are confidential. The European Committee consists of the members of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence and the parliamentary delegation to the
European Economic Area (EEA) and the
European Free Trade Area (EFTA). The committee conducts discussions with the government regarding directives from the
European Union.
The Election Committee consists of 37 members, and is responsible for internal elections within the parliament, as well as delegating and negotiating party and representative allocation within the presidium, standing committees and other committees. The Preparatory Credentials Committee has 16 members and is responsible for approving the election.
Appointed agencies
Five public agencies are appointed by parliament rather than by the government. The
Office of the Auditor General is the
auditor of all branches of the public administration and is responsible for auditing, monitoring and advising all state economic activities. The
Parliamentary Ombudsman is an
ombudsman responsible for public administration. It can investigate any public matter that has not been processed by an elected body, the courts or within the military. The
Ombudsman for the Armed Forces is an ombudsman responsible for the military. The
Ombudsman for Civilian National Servicemen is responsible for people serving civilian national service. The
Parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Committee is a seven-member body responsible for supervising public intelligence, surveillance and security services. Parliament also appoints the five members of the
Norwegian Nobel Committee that award the
Nobel Peace Prize.
Administration
Parliament has an administration of about 400 people, led by Secretary-General
Hans Brattestå, who assumed office in 1990. He also acts as secretary for the presidium.
Party groups
Each party represented in parliament has a party group. It is led by a group board and chaired by a parliamentary leader. It is customary for the party leader to also act as parliamentary leader, but since party leaders of government parties normally sit as ministers, governing parties elect other representatives as their parliamentary leaders. This is also the case for the Liberal Party, who failed to have their party leader elected in 2009.
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Party !! Seats !! Parliamentary leader
|-
| Labour Party || 64 ||
|-
| Progress Party || 41 || (also party leader)
|-
| Conservative Party || 30 || (also party leader)
|-
| Socialist Left Party || 11 ||
|-
| Centre Party || 11 ||
|-
| Christian Democratic Party || 10 || (also party leader)
|-
| Liberal Party || 2 || (also party leader)
|}
Elections
Members to Stortinget are elected based on
party-list proportional representation in
plural member constituencies. This means that representatives from different
political parties, are elected from each constituency. The constituencies are identical to the 19
counties of Norway. The electorate does not vote for individuals but rather for party lists, with a ranked list of candidates nominated by the party. This means that the person on top of the list will get the seat unless the voter
alters the ballot. Parties may nominate candidates from outside their own constituency, and even Norwegian citizens currently living abroad.
The Sainte-Laguë method is used for allocating parliamentary seats to parties. As a result, the percentage of representatives is roughly equal to the nationwide percentage of votes. Still, a party with a high number of votes in only one constituency can win a seat there even if the nationwide percentage is low. This has happened several times in Norwegian history. Conversely, if a party's initial representation in Stortinget is proportionally less than it share of votes, the party may seat more representatives through leveling seats , provided that the nationwide percentage is above the election threshold, currently at 4%. In 2009, nineteen seats were allocated via the leveling system.
Building
Since 5 March 1866, parliament has met in the Parliament of Norway Building at Karl Johans gate 22 in Oslo. The building was designed by the Swedish architect
Emil Victor Langlet and is built in yellow brick with details and basement in light gray granite. It is a combination of several styles, including inspirations from France and Italy. Parliament also meets in several other offices in the surrounding area, since the building is too small to hold the current staff of the legislature.
See also
Parliament of Norway Building
List of Presidents of the Storting
References
External links
Official website
Category:1814 establishments in Norway
Category:Organizations established in 1814
Norway
Category:Parliaments by country
