Fylkeskommune

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Logo of the former Fylkeskommune Akershus
Photo: Brage Aronson

The Fylkeskommune is the political unit of a Norwegian province ( Fylke ). For every county with the exception of Oslo there is a county commune, which must have the same name as the county. The associated parliament is the Fylkesting , which is headed by the Fylkesordfører . In contrast to the Fylkesmann , who is appointed by the Norwegian government and is the head of the administration, the Fylkesting MPs are directly elected by the people.

history

In 1837 a law stipulated that certain mayors, the Fylkesmann and the bailiffs of a province should meet once a year to decide on the budget of a Fylkeskommune. The provinces did not have their own tax revenues, but were dependent on the taxes of the municipalities and the state.

After the end of the Second World War, the Fylkeskommunen were given more and more tasks, such as the operation of hospitals from 1969. In 1976 the office of the Fylkesmann was split off and was no longer responsible for the administration, but served as the district president. This year, a change in the law also resulted in the first direct election of MPs in Fylkesting and the introduction of a tax for the provinces. Overall, the Fylkeskommunen became more independent from the municipalities and the state of Norway through the changes during this period.

Shortly after this change, the influence of the Fylkekom decreased again. In 2002 the operation of the hospitals was taken over from them. The turnout is also rather low compared to the national parliamentary and local elections. The local reforms, which will take full effect from 2020, will again hand over more tasks to the provinces in order to strengthen them.

organization

The legislature of a Fylkeskommune is the Fylkesting , which is represented in some areas by the Fylkesutvalg. The Fylkesutvalg is made up of at least five representatives elected by Parliament from its own ranks. The Fylkesutvalg decides, among other things, the budget. The chairman of the Fylkesutvalg is the Fylkesordfører ( Mayor of Fylkes ), who leads the meetings of the Fylkesting and the Fylkesutvalg. Until 1964, the Fylkesmann appointed by the Norwegian government took over the management of Fylkesutvalg.

The head of administration of a Fylkeskommune has been Fylkesrådmann since 1976 . Before that, the Fylkesmann was responsible for the administrative management of his province in addition to his current position. The Fylkesrådmann's area of ​​responsibility includes monitoring that the administration complies with the laws that have been passed. He is not elected by the population, but is hired as an official.

Area of ​​responsibility

The county councils are responsible for secondary schools, libraries, cultural administration, power generation, roads, dental health and economic development. Until 2002, the general health infrastructure, including hospitals, was also part of her responsibilities.

Fylkeskommunen

By the end of 2017, Norway was divided into 19 fylkers. On January 1, 2018, the two provinces of Sør- and Nord-Trøndelag were merged into Trøndelag . On January 1, 2020, the number fell further to eleven through a resolution from June 2017. Since Oslo is not a county council, there are a total of ten county councils.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lov om kommuner og fylkeskommuner (kommuneloven) - Lovdata. Retrieved January 6, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Forskjellen på Fylkesmannen and Fylkeskommunen. Retrieved October 3, 2019 (Bokmål in Norwegian).
  3. ↑ Kommunal-og moderniseringsdepartementet: Styrker fylkeskommunene ved å flytte oppgaver. October 19, 2018, accessed October 3, 2019 (Norwegian).
  4. ↑ fylkesordfører . In: Store norske leksikon . June 30, 2014 (Norwegian, snl.no [accessed October 4, 2019]).
  5. ↑ fylkesrådmann . In: Store norske leksikon . August 28, 2014 (Norwegian, snl.no [accessed October 3, 2019]).
  6. ↑ Fylkeskommunens oppgaver | Ung.no. Retrieved October 3, 2019 (Bokmål in Norwegian).