County Governor is a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 government agency

Etat

Etat is a Norwegian state-, county- or municipal agency. An Etat is a subdivision of the administration, which has been given responsibility for a special area. An agency does not have a board of directors, but it does have a director, appointed by the subordinate organization. Normally decisions...

 represented in 18 of the Norwegian counties

Counties of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...

 responsible for a number of supervision and management duties. The Governor is the representative of the King and Government of Norway

Politics of Norway

Politics in Norway take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the King's council, the cabinet, led by the Prime Minister of Norway. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Storting, elected...

 in each county, functioning as the connection between the state and the municipalities

Municipalities of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

. The County Governors are subordinate to the Ministry of Government Administration and Reform

Norwegian Ministry of Government Administration and Reform

The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Government Administration and Reform is a Norwegian ministry established in 2006. The ministry is responsible for reform work, information technology, competition policy in addition to having the main responsibility for government employees and government organisation...

, 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

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 and local environmental impact

Environmental impact assessment

An environmental impact assessment is an assessment of the possible positive or negative impact that a proposed project may have on the environment, together consisting of the natural, social and economic aspects....

. The Governor is also responsible for civil matters including marriage

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

, divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

 and citizenship

Citizenship

Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...

. If a municipality do not have a balanced economy, the Governor will enter the municipality into the ROBEK registry

Register for Governmental Approval of Financial Obligations

The Register for Governmental Approval of Financial Obligations is a Norwegian government register of municipalities and counties who have not submitted a balanced budget...

, and obtain some control over the municipalitiy's finances.

The Governor of Svalbard

Governor of Svalbard

The Governor of Svalbard represents the Norwegian government in exercising its sovereignty over the Svalbard archipelago .The position reports to the Norwegian Ministry of Justice, but it maintains all Norwegian interests in the area, including environmental protection, law enforcement,...

 is not a regular Governor, and has a wider authority, including the police force

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of 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

County municipality (Norway)

A county municipality is a Norwegian public elected body that is responsible for certain public administrative and service tasks within a county. Each county consists of county municipality, with the exception of Oslo, which is both a municipality and a county municipality...

 was demerged

Demerger

Demerger is a form of corporate restructuring in which the an entity's business operations are segregated into one or more components. It is the converse of a merger or acquisition....

 to form a separate, elected body.

Governors

Current governors by county.

County	Governor
Aust-Agder Aust-Agder is a county in Norway, bordering Telemark, Rogaland, and Vest-Agder. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which is 2.2% of the total population in Norway. Its area is . The administrative center of the county is in Arendal....	Øystein Djupedal Øystein Djupedal Øystein Kåre Djupedal, born 5 May 1960 in Oslo, Norway, is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party and a member of Storting for Sør-Trøndelag County where he has sat since the 1993 election. For two years from 17 October 2005 until 18 October 2007 he was the Minister of Education and...
Buskerud Buskerud is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.-Geography:...	Kirsti Kolle Grøndahl Kirsti Kolle Grøndahl Kirsti Kolle Grøndahl is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party, currently County Governor of Buskerud. She was Minister of Education and Church Affairs from 1986 to 1988 and Minister of International Development from 1988 to 1989...
Finnmark Finnmark or Finnmárku is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.The county was formerly known as Finmarkens...	Gunnar Kjønnøy
Hedmark Hedmark is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Akershus. The county administration is in Hamar.Hedmark makes up the northeastern part of Østlandet, the southeastern part of the country. It includes a long part of the borderline with Sweden, Dalarna County and Värmland County. The...	Sylvia Brustad Sylvia Brustad Sylvia Brustad is a former Norwegian politician for the Norwegian Labour Party.Brustad graduated from high school in 1983, and attended the media courses at the folk high school in Ringsaker until 1985...  (acting)
Hordaland Hordaland is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen...	Lars Sponheim Lars Sponheim Lars Sponheim is a Norwegian politician. He was leader of the Liberal Party from 1996 to 2010. He was a member of the Storting from 1993 to 2009, and a government minister from 1997 to 2000 and from 2001 to 2005. He is the current County Governor of Hordaland, serving since March 2010.Sponheim was...
Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Sogn og Fjordane. The county administration is located in Molde, while Ålesund is the largest city.-The name:...	Lodve Solholm Lodve Solholm Lodve Solholm is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Møre og Romsdal in 1989, serving until 1993; he was out of parliament from 1993 to 1997, but was re-elected in 1997, 2001, and 2005.Solholm was President of the Lagting 2001–2005.He...
Nordland Nordland is a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...	Hill-Marta Solberg Hill-Marta Solberg Hill-Marta Solberg is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party, and a parliamentary representative for Nordland. She was Minister of Health and Social Affairs 1994-1996 and 1996-1997.-External links:...
Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag is a county constituting the northern part of Trøndelag in Norway. As of 2010, the county had 131,555 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-least populated county. The largest municipalities are Stjørdal, Steinkjer—the county seat, Levanger, Namsos and Verdal, all with between 21,000 and...	Inge Ryan Inge Ryan Inge Ryan is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party. Since 2009, he has been County Governor of Nord-Trøndelag...
Oppland Oppland is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....	Kristin Hille Valla Kristin Hille Valla Kristin Hille Valla is a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party.From 1989 to 1990, while the cabinet Syse held office, Hille Valla was appointed Minister of the Environment....
Oslo Oslo Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...  and Akershus Akershus - Geography :The county is conventionally divided into the traditional districts Follo and Romerike, which fill the vast part of the county, as well as the small exclave west of Oslo that consists of Asker and Bærum...	Hans J. Røsjorde Hans J. Røsjorde Hans Johan Røsjorde is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party. A former member of parliament specializing in defense matters, Røsjorde has resigned from active politics and currently serves as County Governor of Oslo and Akershus. He has held this position since 2001.-Early life and...
Rogaland Rogaland is a county in Western Norway, bordering Hordaland, Telemark, Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. It is the center of the Norwegian petroleum industry, and as a result of this, Rogaland has the lowest unemployment rate of any county in Norway, 1.1%...	Harald Thune Harald Thune Harald Torfinn Thune is a Norwegian civil servant.He was born in Gulen. He took his education at the University of Bergen, graduating with the cand.jur. degree in 1978. He then embarked on a career as a civil servant....  (acting)
Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane is a county in Norway, bordering Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland. The county administration is in the town of Hermansverk in Leikanger municipality while the largest town is Førde....	Anne Karin Hamre
Sør-Trøndelag Sør-Trøndelag - References :...	Kåre Gjønnes Kåre Gjønnes Kåre Gjønnes is a Norwegian politician for the Christian People's Party. He has been County Governor of Sør-Trøndelag from 1993, but went on leave from 1997 till 2000 to serve as Minister of Agriculture. He was also Minister of Nordic Cooperation in 2000.-References:...
Telemark Telemark is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...	Kari Nordheim-Larsen Kari Nordheim-Larsen Kari Nordheim-Larsen is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1992 to 1996 and again from 1996 to 1997; she was also Minister of Children and Family Affairs from 1993 to 1994. In 2006 Nordheim-Larsen was appointed County Governor of...
Troms Troms or Romsa is a county in North Norway, bordering Finnmark to the northeast and Nordland in the southwest. To the south is Norrbotten Län in Sweden and further southeast is a shorter border with Lapland Province in Finland. To the west is the Norwegian Sea...	Svein Ludvigsen Svein Ludvigsen Svein Harald Ludvigsen is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. Ludvigsen was born in Hillesøy, the son of a fishing boat captain. Before entering politics Ludvigsen worked as a businessman and local banker...
Vest-Agder Vest-Agder In the 16th century, Dutch merchant vessels began to visit ports in southern Norway to purchase salmon and other goods. Soon thereafter the export of timber began, as oak from southern Norway was exceptionally well suited for shipbuilding...	Ann-Kristin Olsen Ann-Kristin Olsen Ann-Kristin Olsen is a Norwegian jurist and civil servant. Known as the first female chief of police in Norway, and the first female Governor of Svalbard, she has served as County Governor of Vest-Agder since 1998.-Early life:...
Vestfold Vestfold is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg.Vestfold is located west of the Oslofjord, as the name indicates. It includes many smaller, but well-known towns in Norway, such as Larvik, Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Horten. The river Numedalslågen runs...	Erling Lae Erling Lae Erling Lae is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party.He was born in Oslo, is a cand.philol. by education and formerly worked as a journalist. From 1981 to 1985 he was a political advisor in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Administration. He was elected to Oslo city council in 1991,...
Østfold Østfold is a county in southeastern Norway, bordering Akershus and southwestern Sweden , while Buskerud and Vestfold is on the other side of the bay. The seat of the county administration is Sarpsborg, and Fredrikstad is the largest city.Many manufacturing facilities are situated here. Moss and...	Anne Enger

Most governors are former politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

s or have a background in the police force

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of 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.