Name of parliament in Norway. Norwegian Parliament

The word Stortinget comes from Norwegian and means "large gathering". The Storting was formed on May 17, 1814, on the same day as the adoption of the country's Constitution. Today May 17th is the main one.

The Storting is the highest body of state power. Elections to the Norwegian Parliament take place every four years; 169 people sit on it. What’s interesting is that the Storting’s website contains the email addresses of all parliamentarians, and any Norwegian can contact the people’s representatives with their questions. In addition, on the parliament website you can watch all meetings live, or watch any of the previous meetings in the video archive.

In 2016, the building in which the Storting of Norway meets celebrated its 150th anniversary. A design competition was held in advance, and the winner was even determined - a tall building in the neo-Gothic style. But after this, the Construction Commission reviewed the project of the Swedish architect Emil Victor Langlet, who was simply late to submit his project to the competition. The project was adopted unanimously.

Construction of the building began in 1861 and was completed 5 years later, in 1866. The parliament building is low, it does not dominate the surrounding landscape. This seems to emphasize that parliament is the pillar of democracy, and that the people sitting in it are equal to all other Norwegian citizens. And the fact that it is located on the main street, opposite the royal palace, is also very symbolic.

In 1949, another competition was held for a project to expand the building, as it had become too small. The reconstruction project belonged to the architect Nils Holter. Reconstruction began in 1951 and was completed in 1959. As the then President of the Storting, Nils Langelle, put it, “The new has entered into a joyful union with the old.”

The nine doors leading into the rounded building demonstrate that Parliament is open to everyone. Three of them face Karl Johans Street.

How to visit the Norwegian Parliament?

The Storting is located on Karl Johans gate - the main street of the capital, which starts from the railway station; it is located at its intersection with Akersgata. You can get there by metro (Storting station is on lines 1, 2, 3 and 4).

The Storting building is open to everyone. You can not only walk along the corridors and admire the interiors, but also attend political debates during parliamentary sessions: a special balcony is reserved for spectators. However, viewers do not have the right to speak out. The grand opening of the Storting after the holidays takes place on the 1st Sunday in October.

For groups, they take place on weekdays upon prior request. Sightseeing tours are conducted during the day, and in the evening on certain days there is an art viewing.

In addition, on some Saturdays there are also sightseeing tours of the building, but for single visitors and not for organized tour groups. On Saturdays, tours (in English) take place at 10:00 and 11:30; Only 30 people, the first in the “live” queue, are allowed through. The duration of the excursion is about an hour. A security check is required upon entry. Photography is permitted in the Storting (except in the security control area), but video filming is prohibited. The excursion schedule is subject to change; changes are usually notified on the Storting website.

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General information

The seat of the Storting is the capital of Norway - Oslo. The number of deputies elected to the Norwegian parliament is 169 people, 150 of whom are elected on party lists from the provinces (fylke), and the remaining 19 receive so-called “equalizing” mandates.

Formally, the Storting consists of 2 chambers - Odelsting And lagting. However, in 2007 it was decided that after the next elections, in 2009, the Storting would become unicameral. The Storting is headed by the President of the Storting. Currently (since 2009) this is the representative of the Workers' Party, Dag Terje Andersen. In addition to him, the Presidium of Parliament includes the Vice-President of the Storting, the President and Vice-President of the Odelsting, and the President and Vice-President of the Lagting. Seats on the presidium are distributed proportionally, according to the parties represented in the Storting. Deputies sit in the plenary hall not as factions, but in groups from provinces.

The main tasks of the Storting are:

• publication of laws
• adoption of the budget
• control over government work

The 169 deputies of the Storting currently belong to 7 party factions. Each faction has its own chairman, official representative and board. Members of factional boards are automatically also members of the parliamentary commissions on foreign affairs and constitutional law.

There are 13 commissions in the Storting. Every member of parliament participates in the work of a commission. Both parties and provinces of the country are proportionally represented in the commissions. According to the law. Each commission must include at least 1 Lagting deputy. The commission consists of 11 to 20 deputies; after its creation, members elect a chairman, an official representative and a secretary. Meetings of the commissions are held openly. The commissions also have the right to invite representatives of the government, any organizations and individuals to their meetings if this is required for better coverage of the issue under consideration.

There is no such thing as a “imperative mandate” in the Storting. Each deputy enjoys the right of personal integrity. In 2002, the annual salary of a Storting deputy was approximately 70 thousand euros. Deputies do not have the right to voluntarily return their mandates. An exception is made only for cases where a member of parliament is appointed as a minister. Any citizen can watch the progress of the debate in the Storting, being in a special gallery, and the deputy who votes “against” not only presses the corresponding button, but also gets up from his seat, demonstrating his disagreement with what is happening.

Story

The Storting derives from the early medieval Norwegian Things, meetings of representatives of the Norwegian families at which kings were elected, criminals were condemned, treaties were concluded and disputes were settled.

The Storting has existed in its modern form since 1814, when the Norwegian Constitution was adopted on May 17. The Storting met all the time during the Swedish-Norwegian Union of 1905, and took a large part in its rupture. On November 25, 1905, the Storting elected a new, independent king of Norway, Haakon VII, instead of the Swedish Oscar II.

Political parties

In 2005, 7 parties were represented in the Storting:

• Workers' Party (Social Democrats) - 61 deputies
• Progress Party (Conservatives) - 38 deputies
• Høyre party (conservatives) - 23 deputies
• socialists) - 15 deputies
• Christian People's Party - 11 deputies
• Venstre (Liberals) - 10 deputies

• Workers' Party (Social Democrats) - 64 deputies
• Progress Party (Conservatives) - 41 MPs
• Høyre party (conservatives) - 30 deputies
• Socialist Left Party (Left Socialists) - 11 deputies
• Christian People's Party - 10 deputies
• Center Party (agrarian) - 11 deputies
• Venstre (Liberals) - 2 deputies

Results of the 2013 Storting elections

Parties that formed the government (77)

• Conservative Party (Høyre) (48)
• Progress Party (29)

Parties supporting the government (19)

• Christian People's Party (10)
• Liberal Party (Venstre) (9)

Opposition (73)

• Norwegian Workers' Party (55)
• Center Party (10)
• Socialist Left Party (7)
• Norwegian Environmental Party (1)

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Notes

Parliamentarism in Norway dates back to the adoption of the constitution on May 17, 1814 (this day is now the main national holiday). At that moment, Denmark was forced by the anti-Napoleonic coalition to abandon Norway in favor of Sweden, but the Norwegians themselves dreamed of independence, and they adopted a constitution that approved this independence. The Swedish crown prince, the same Karl Johan, on whose street the Storting building now stands, had his own view of the future of his western neighbor. After establishing his power here, he did not change anything in the new constitution, except for erasing the words “independent and sovereign” - this is how Norway gained parliament.

It then met in the building of the cathedral school, which is no longer preserved. In the 1830s, consideration of projects for a new building for parliamentary meetings began. Many projects were presented, among which was the project of Hans Linstowe, the main projector of Karl Johan Street, but the project of the Swedish architect Emil Langlet was implemented.

It is interesting that Langlet’s drawings did not have time to come for consideration within the official deadlines of the competition; the winners had already been chosen, but his project aroused so much sympathy that everything had to be replayed.

Construction took 5 years and was completed in 1866. The Norwegian parliament building is located opposite the palace of the king, which was Swedish at that time; this opposition warmed the souls of local nationalists throughout the second half of the 19th century. Above the speaker, demonstrating the continuity of generations, hangs a painting by Oscar Wergeland depicting the adoption of the Norwegian constitution by the constituent assembly.

In front of the entrance from the side of the park, Parliament is guarded by a pair of lions by sculptor Christopher Borch, which were hewn out under his leadership by a prisoner of the Akershus fortress sentenced to death, who was later pardoned for his work.

The current parliament has 169 deputies representing 7 parties. The Norwegian Workers' Party has the largest number of seats in the Storting, and since 1927 it has not conceded the right to form a ruling coalition to anyone. This party is of a social-democratic persuasion. It is amazing how the leftist party has managed to maintain these positions for eight decades - this fact indicates the full compliance of the socialist ideology with the Norwegian idea of ​​justice and the agreement that has developed in society.

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Norway is one of the most developed European countries. It is located on the Scandinavian Peninsula and borders three countries. Thus, its neighbors are Russia and Finland. The official name is the Kingdom of Norway.

Government of Norway

Norway's government structure is a constitutional monarchy, the head of which is the king. He performs representative functions. Officially, the King of Norway heads the executive branch, but in reality many of his powers are limited by the country's legislature. He also has some powers in relation to parliament: opening sessions, speaking at meetings, etc. Currently, Harald V is the king of Norway.

The Kingdom of Norway is a unitary state in its territorial structure. It consists of 19 regions, or so-called counties. They are in turn divided into municipalities, the average population of which is generally less than 5 thousand people.

Legislature of Norway

Legislative power in the Kingdom of Norway is exercised by the people through the Norwegian Parliament, which is called the Storting. It is unicameral, but to pass laws its members are divided into the Lagting (upper house) and Odelsting (lower house).

In its current form, the country's legislative body has existed since the beginning of the 19th century, but its roots go back far into history - back to the ninth century. Even then, on the territory of modern Norway, there were local institutions that united into a single interregional assembly. This organ bore the same name as modern Norway.

Parliamentary elections

The country's legislative institution consists of 169 members (before 2005 it consisted of 165). To qualify for a seat, a candidate must be eligible to vote and have resided in Norway for at least ten years. Parliamentary elections take place once every four years. Moreover, their end should occur in September.

The composition of parliament is determined by a proportional electoral system, in which parliamentary seats are distributed according to the votes received. This system has been in operation in Norway since the First World War. One hundred and fifty deputies are appointed on the basis of electoral lists, and the remaining nineteen receive equalizing mandates. These seats are awarded to parties that receive fewer seats than the percentage of votes received.

All citizens of the country who are over 18 years old have the right to vote. For voting, Norway is divided into 19 districts (coinciding with the borders of the regions). Each of which in turn is divided into polling stations (these are communes). Depending on the size of the population, the districts are allocated a different number of seats in the Storting.

Functions performed by the Storting

The main thing in Norway is the adoption and repeal of the country's laws, as well as the establishment of the state budget. In addition to this, he is also empowered to set taxes, customs duties, etc. He can grant government loans, allocates funds to eliminate the country's debts, and also sets the amount of expenses for the maintenance of the king and his family.

The Norwegian Parliament also has the right to require information about alliances and treaties concluded by the head of the country with foreign states, the provision of all official documents of the State Council (the highest executive body of the country), and also appoint a number of officials (an auditor to review government reports and a special person to monitor the entire apparatus of officials). Another important function of the Storting is the granting of citizenship.

Procedure for passing laws

At the first regular session after the parliamentary elections, the Storting selects from among its members those who will join the Lagting. The number of the upper house is a quarter of all deputies, and the Odelsting forms the remaining three quarters.

The first step in the adoption of laws is the introduction of a bill into the lower house of parliament, which can be done by both its members and officials of the Norwegian government. After the bill is adopted by the Odelsting, it is submitted for consideration to the Lagting, which can either approve the submitted document or attach comments to it and return it back. In this case, the deputies of the lower house again consider the bill, and after this there may be either a refusal to further work on its adoption, or it is sent for reconsideration to Lagting. At the same time, Odelsting may make changes to the document, or may leave it unchanged.

After the bill receives the approval of the entire Storting (parliament), it is sent to the king for signature. The latter has the right to either approve the proposed document or return it back to the lower house. In this case, the bill cannot be repeatedly sent to the head of state for signature during the same parliamentary session.

2017 elections

In September, regular parliamentary elections were held in the Kingdom of Norway. More than 20 political parties, represented by 4,437 candidates, took part in them.

The election was won by the Norwegian Labor Party (NLP) (27.4% of the vote), but together with its partners the NLP received 9 fewer seats than the union led by Høyre's conservatives (25.1%). As a result, the right got 89 seats, the left - 80. Attendance at the elections was more than 75%.

Parliament, or the Storting, was formed on the same day on which the main document of the country was adopted, regulating its sovereignty, as well as the rights and freedoms of citizens. This historical event happened in 1814, on May 17. For almost a hundred years now, this day has been declared a national holiday and a day of national pride for the small state described. The building where Norway's best political minds meet is located directly opposite the Royal Palace. It was designed by E. Langlet in 1866 for a competition announced among artists and architects in Norway. An interesting fact is that the project was not reviewed within the time allotted for selecting the winners, and even winners were appointed, according to whose sketches construction was to begin. We do not know how Langlet’s drawings got to the right recipient at the last moment, but the fact is historically known that the members of the commission liked them so much that this modest architect was unanimously recognized as the best. Construction of the Parliament building took more than five years and was finally completed in 1866. No less interesting is the story associated with the creation of the statues of two lions that guard the entrance to the Storting. According to historical documents, the drawings depicting these sculptures were made by a talented prisoner of the Akerkhsus fortress named Christopher Borch. The state government liked the sketches of the statues so much that by decision of a special commission the death penalty was abolished for the prisoner. Currently, 169 deputies who belong to 7 different parties sit in the semicircular Parliament building until late at night, of which the most numerous is the Social Democratic Labor Party, which has held a leading position for 84 years. If you want to visit the Storting, you only need a guide; entry to the Parliament building is free.