Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Norway)
59°54′52.56″N 10°43′44.98″E / 59.9146000°N 10.7291611°E
Det kongelige utenriksdepartementet Det kongelege utanriksdepartementet | |
Government of Norway | |
Headquarters | Victoria Terrasse, Oslo, Norway |
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Annual budget | Nok.34 billion |
Ministers responsible | |
Agency executive |
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Child agencies | |
Website | Official website |
Footnotes | |
List of Norwegian ministries |
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (
The ministry is headed by
The ministry also holds a position of
History
The
The initial purposes of the newly formed Foreign Ministry were to represent Norway's interests through diplomatic channels, and to provide consular services for Norwegian shipping and commerce overseas. In 1906, the Storting decided to establish six embassies in Europe, with two more in the Americas: one in the United States and one in Argentina. 20 consular offices were also opened.
During World War I, the foreign ministry was confronted with unprecedented challenges in maintaining neutrality for Norway, in particular in order to protect its merchant fleet.
In 1922, the ministry was consolidated and reorganised to ensure fuller cooperation between the diplomatic and consular branches. The reorganization included the formation of a designated career path for diplomats that included completion of a university entrance examination and professional experience from international trade. The economic hardship of the times forced austerity measures at the ministry for the next several years.
When Norway was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1940, the government fled to the United Kingdom and reconstituted in exile in Bracknell, outside London. Kingston House in London was later used. The government moved back to Norway following the peace in 1945.
After the end of
Organisation
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is organised with 110 foreign missions and three subordinate organisations: Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), Norwegian Agency for Exchange Cooperation (Norec) and the development country investment fund Norfund. The Ministry and foreign missions have a total staff of approx. 2,400.
Name
The formal name of the ministry is the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (
The political level
Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt
Minister of International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim
- State Secretaries for Foreign Affairs Henrik Thune, Eivind Vad Petersson (both Labour).
- State Secretary for International Development Bjørg Sandkjær (Centre Party)
- Political Advisor Eirin Kristin Kjær (Labour)
- Secretariat of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Secretariat of the Minister of International Development
- Foreign Service Control Unit
- Communication Unit
- Legal Adviser
The operational level
The top public servant is the Secretary General (utenriksråd) with an Assistant Secretary General as substitute (the latter also with a special responsibility for international development issues).
The Ministry currently has nine departments, each headed by a Director General[2] (known in Norwegian as ekspedisjonssjef)[3]
- Department for European Affairs and International Trade
- Department for Security Policy and the High North
- Department for Regional Affairs
- Department for Multilateral Affairs
- Department for Sustainable Development
- Department for Culture, Business Relations and Protocol
- Legal Affairs Department
- Human and Financial Resources Department
- Services Department
Subsidiaries
See also
- Foreign relations of Norway
- List of diplomatic missions in Norway
- List of diplomatic missions of Norway
References
- ISBN 978-0-19-022270-3, retrieved 2022-01-29
- ^ Departments - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Norway
- ^ Avdelinger i Utenriksdepartementet, Government of Norway