This article needs to beupdated. The reason given is: Information about the organization (like committee leadership) and parliamentary leaders is outdated. Changes should reflect the parliamentary election in 2021 and the change of government. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2022)
Parliamentarianism was established in 1884, with the Storting operating a form of "qualified unicameralism", in which it divided its membership into two internal chambers making Norway a de factobicameral parliament, theLagting and theOdelsting.[3] Following a constitutional amendment in 2007, this was abolished, taking effect following the 2009 election.[4]
The parliament in its present form wasfirst constituted atEidsvoll in 1814, although its origins can be traced back to the allting, as early as the 9th century, a type ofthing, or common assembly of free men inGermanic societies that would gather at a place called a thingstead and were presided over bylawspeakers. The alltings were where legal and political matters were discussed. These gradually were formalised so that the things grew into regional 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 oral laws became codified and Norway unified as a geopolitical entity in the 10th century, the lagtings ("law things") were established as superior regional assemblies. During the mid-13th century, the by then archaic regional assemblies, theFrostating, theGulating, theEidsivating and theBorgarting, were amalgamated and the corpus of law was set down under the command of KingMagnus Lagabøte. This jurisdiction remained significant until KingFrederick III proclaimed absolute monarchy in 1660; this was ratified by the passage of theKing Act of 1665, and this became the constitution of theUnion of Denmark and Norway and remained so until 1814 and the foundation of the Storting.
On 27 June 1940 the presidium signed an appeal to King Haakon, seeking his abdication.[5] (The presidium then consisted of the presidents and vice-presidents of parliament,Odelstinget andLagtinget.[6]Ivar Lykke stepped in (according to mandate) in place of the president in exile,C. J. Hambro;[7] Lykke was one [of the six] who signed.[5])
In September 1940 the representatives were summoned toOslo, and voted in favour of the results of the negotiations between the presidium and the authorities of the German invaders.[5] (92 voted for, and 53 voted against.)[5] However, directives fromAdolf Hitler resulted in the obstruction of "the agreement of cooperation between parliament and [the] occupation force".[5]
The Storting has always beende factounicameral, but before a constitutional amendment in 2009 it wasde jurebicameral. After an election, the Storting would elect a quarter of its membership to form the Lagting, a sort of "upper house" or revising chamber, with the remaining three-quarters forming the Odelsting or "lower house".[4] The division was also used on very rare occasions in cases ofimpeachment. 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.
Lagting Hall, which also serves as the meeting room for theChristian Democratic Party's parliamentary group. The Lagting was discontinued in 2009.
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 forroyal assent. If the Lagting amended the Odelsting's draft, 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.[8] If it did not, then the bill would return to the Lagting. If the Lagting still proposed amendments, the bill would be submitted to a plenary session of the Storting. To be passed, the bill required the approval of a two-thirds majority of the plenary session. In all other cases a simple majority would suffice.[9] Three days had to pass between each time a chamber voted on a bill.[8] In all other cases, such as taxes andappropriations, the Storting would meet in plenary session.
A proposal to amend the constitution and abolish the Odelsting and Lagting was introduced in 2004 and was passed by the Storting on 20 February 2007 (159–1 with nine absentees).[10] It took effect with the newly elected Storting in 2009.[11]
The number of seats in the Storting has varied over the years. In 1882 there were 114 seats, increasing to 117 in 1903, 123 in 1906, 126 in 1918, 150 in 1921, 155 in 1973, 157 in 1985, 165 in 1989, and 169 as of 2005.
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 subjected to detailed consideration in the committee stage. The first reading takes place when parliament debates the recommendation from the committee, and then takes 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 theKing in Council for royal assent. If parliament comes to a different conclusion during 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 themonarch and countersigned by theprime minister. It then becomesNorwegian law from the date stated in the Act or decided by the government.
Articles 77–79 of the Norwegian constitution specifically grant the King of Norway the right to withhold Royal Assent from any bill passed by the Storting.[12] This right has never been exercised by any Norwegian monarch since thedissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905 (though it was exercised bySwedish monarchs before then when they ruled Norway). Should the king ever choose to exercise this privilege, Article 79 provides a means by which his veto may be overridden if the Storting passes the same bill after a general election:
"If a Bill has been passed unaltered by two sessions of the Storting, constituted after two separate successive elections and separated from each other by at least two intervening sessions of the Storting, without a divergent Bill having been passed by any Storting in the period between the first and last adoption, and it is then submitted to the King with a petition that His Majesty shall not refuse his assent to a Bill which, after the most mature deliberation, the Storting considers to be beneficial, it shall become law even if the Royal Assent is not accorded before the Storting goes into recess."[12]
Thepresidium is chaired by the president of the Storting, consisting of the president and fivevice presidents of the Storting. The system with five vice presidents was implemented in 2009. Before this there was a single holder of the office.[13][14]
There are four other committees, that run parallel to the standing committees. TheEnlarged 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 theEuropean Economic Area (EEA) and theEuropean Free Trade Area (EFTA). The committee conducts discussions with the government regarding directives from theEuropean Union.
TheElection 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. ThePreparatory Credentials Committee has 16 members and is responsible for approving the election.
Five public agencies are appointed by parliament rather than by the government. TheOffice of the Auditor General is theauditor of all branches of the public administration and is responsible for auditing, monitoring and advising all state economic activities. TheParliamentary Ombudsman is anombudsman responsible for public administration, who can investigate any public matter that has not been processed by an elected body, the courts, or within the military. TheOmbudsman for the Armed Forces is an ombudsman responsible for the military. TheOmbudsman for Civilian National Servicemen is responsible for people serving civilian national service. TheParliamentary Intelligence Oversight Committee is a seven-member body responsible for supervising public intelligence, surveillance, and security services. Parliament also appoints the five members of theNorwegian Nobel Committee that award theNobel Peace Prize.
Parliament has an administration of about 450 people, led by Director of the StortingMarianne Andreassen, who assumed office in 2018. She also acts as secretary for the presidium.[16]
Each party represented in parliament has a party group. It is led by a 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. The table reflects the results of the September 2021 election.
An election booth at the event of municipal and county voting, 2007
Members to the Storting are elected based onparty-list proportional representation inplural member constituencies. This means that representatives from different political parties are elected from each constituency. The constituencies are identical to the 19 formercounties of Norway. Although county mergers have brought the number of counties down to 15, the 19 constituencies are unchanged. The electorate does not vote for individuals but rather for party lists, with a ranked list of candidates nominated by the party. Parties may nominate candidates from outside their own constituency, and even Norwegian citizens currently living abroad.[26]
TheSainte-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 its share of votes, the party may seat more representatives throughleveling seats, provided that the nationwide percentage is above theelection threshold, currently at 4%. In 2009, nineteen seats were allocated via the leveling system.[26] Elections are held each four years (in odd-numbered years occurring after a year evenly divisible by four), normally on the second Monday of September.
Unlike most other parliaments, the Storting always serves its full four-year term; the Constitution does not allowsnap elections. Substitutes for each deputy are elected at the same time as each election, so by-elections are rare.
Norway switched its parliamentary elections from single-member districts decided by two-roundrun-offs to multi-member districts with proportional representation in 1919.[27][28]
The parliament has 169 members. If a member of parliament cannot serve (for instance because he or she is a member of the cabinet), a deputy representative serves instead. The deputy is the candidate from the same party who was listed on the ballot immediately behind the candidates who were elected in the last election.
In theplenary chamber, the seats are laid out in ahemicycle. Seats for cabinet members in attendance are provided on the first row, behind them the members of parliament are seated according to county, not party group. Viewed from the president's chair, Aust-Agder's representatives are seated near the front, furthest to the left, while the last members (Østfold) are seated furthest to the right and at the back.[29]
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 architectEmil 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 do also include offices and meeting rooms in the nearby buildings, since the Parliament building is too small to hold all the current staff of the legislature. The buildings in Akersgata 18, Prinsens Gate 26, Akersgata 21, Tollbugata 31 and Nedre Vollgate 18 also contains parliamentary staff and members of Parliament.
^Heldahl, Henrik (30 October 2023)."Stortinget enig: Du som velger får mindre makt" [The Storting in agreement: You the voter will get less power].Nettavisen (in Norwegian Bokmål). Oslo: Mediehuset Nettavisen. Retrieved30 August 2025....det nå blir lukkede lister ved stortingsvalg. [...there will now be closed lists for parliamentary elections.]
