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The Conservative Party (Norway)

2017-01-09T00:48:14Z

Efloean: update after the 2013 elections

{{PoliticalParty
| party_name = Norwegian Conservative Party
| party_articletitle = The Conservative Party (Norway)
| party_logo =
| website = [http://www.hoyre.no/artikler/2003/1/information_in_english hoyre.no]
| headquarters = [[Oslo]]
| leader = [[Erna Solberg]]
| parleader = [[Trond Helleland]]
| foundation = 1884
| ideology = [[Euroconservatism]] [[Liberal conservatism]]
| position = Center-right
| international = [[International Democrat Union|IDU]], [[European People's Party|EPP]]1
| colors = Blue, white
| footnotes = 1 Associated member, as Norway is a non-member of the [[European Union|EU]].
}}
The '''Norwegian Conservative Party''' ([[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]: '''Høyre''', '''H''', literally meaning '''Right''') is a political party in [[Norway]], representing [[euroconservatism]] and [[liberal conservatism]]. After the parliamentary election in 2013, the Conservative Party is the second largest political party of Norway, holding 48 of 169 seats in [[Storting]]. The party has since formed a government with the [[Progress Party (Norway)|Progress Party]]. Conservative Party leader since 2004 and Norwegian prime minister is [[Erna Solberg]].

== History ==
=== Early years ===
The party was founded in 1884, as the second political party in Norway, representing an opposition against the [[The Liberal Party (Norway)|Liberal Party]], founded earlier the same year. The Conservative Party was a reaction against [[parliamentarian]] and women's suffrage, and universal suffrage in general. The party wanted to maintain the union with [[Sweden]] (which was later dissolved after a referendum in 1905). Most of the members in the party's early beginning were governmental officers, traders and land owners.

The Conservative and Liberal Parties changed on having the governmental power in the early years, from 1884 to 1928, when [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]] established its first government, after winning the parliamentary election the same year; the Conservative Party's main enemy wasn't any longer the Liberal Party.

Before the [[World War II]], [[C. J. Hambro]] raised as the Conservative Party and Norway's most important parliamentarian. He led the Storting's Committee on Foreign Affairs, and was Parliament Speaker, in most of the 1930s. He warned against extremist ideologies a good while before the World War II came and others realized the same as him.

=== In opposition, 1945–1963 ===
From the end of the [[Second World War]] to 1963, the [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]]'s [[Einar Gerhardsen]] was the Prime Minister of Norway, while the Conservative Party was the largest party in opposition. The Labor Party's absolute majority in the parliament caused frustration in the Conservative Party. Despite this, the party got important leaders like C. J. Hambro, [[Alv Kjøs]], [[Sjur Lindebrække]] and [[John Lyng]].

=== New will, 1963–1981 ===
The Labour Party had to give the governmental power to the Conservative Party because of the scandal relating to the King's Bay mine accident. John Lyng's government couldn't govern Norway for long before the party had to give the power back to the Labour Party already the same year. Though, Lyng's right-wing coalition government gave hope for the right-wing opposition, and the Conservative Party became a part of [[Per Borten]]'s coalition government (1965–1971). Borten represented the [[Center Party (Norway)|Center Party]], and had to resign because of a scandal where Borten was accused of giving top secret documents to representatives from the [[European Union]]. However, later investigations and statements showed that Borten was innocent.

=== In charge, 1981–1990 ===
The Conservative Party won the 1981 parliamentary election, and [[Kåre Willoch]] became Prime Minister. The Willoch's first government was the first Conservative-only government sine [[Emil Stang]]'s second government (1893–1895), and since not been succeeded by another Conservative-only government. After the 1985 parliamentary election, also the [[Christian Democratic Party (Norway)|Christian Democrats]] and [[The Centre Party (Norway)|the Centre Party]] was included into the government, Willoch II. Willoch's government did things like removing the tax for fortune, and dissolving the [[Norwegian State Broadcasting|NRK]] monopoly of Norwegian broadcasting, leading to an explosion of the number of radio stations, and leading up to the creation of [[Norwegian TV2|TV2]] in 1991. After a dispute between [[The Progress Party (Norway)|the Progress Party]] and the government, Willoch's government fell in a vote of no confidence in 1986.

The Labour Party was in charge from 1986 to 1989, when a government consisting of the same parties as in Willoch II took the power. [[Jan P. Syse]] from the Conservative Party was Prime Minister until 1990, when his government fell due to a vote of no confidence, where the Centre Party voted against its own government because of Syse's decision about working for Norway's entering into the [[European Economic Area]]. Syse is per 2008 the last Prime Minister of Norway representing the Conservative Party.

=== Today, since 1991 ===
The discussion about joining the [[European Union]] was the most important case in the 1993 parliamentary election, and was the main reason that the Conservative Party dropped down from the place as second largest party, to being the third largest one. The Conservative Party was beaten by the [[The Centre Party (Norway)|Centre Party]], as the Centre Party became the largest opposer to a Norwegian membership of the EU. The referendum in 1994 gave the opposers a little majority, with 52,2 percent of the total vote (voter turnout was 88,6 percent, the highest in Norwegian history). The Conservative Party made it worst election result since the first World War in 1997, but raised in 2001, and came into a cabinet together with the Christian Democrats and the Liberal Party, supported by the Progressive Party. Lost the election in 2005, but improved in 2009, though without regaining power.

== Leaders ==
* [[Erna Solberg]] 2004–today
* [[Jan Petersen]] 1994–2004
* [[Kaci Kullmann Five]] 1991–1994
* [[Jan P. Syse]] 1988–1991
* [[Kaci Kullmann Five]] 1988
* [[Rolf Presthus]] 1986–1988
* [[Erling Norvik]] 1984–1986
* [[Jo Benkow]] 1980–1984
* [[Erling Norvik]] 1974–1980
* [[Kåre Willoch]] 1970–1974
* [[Sjur Lindebrække]] 1962–1970
* [[Alv Kjøs]] 1954–1962
* [[C. J. Hambro|Carl Joachim Hambro, Sr.]] 1950–1954
* [[Arthur Nordlie]] 1945–1950
* [[Ole Ludvig Bærøe]] 1937–1940
* [[Joh. H. Andresen]] 1934–1937
* [[C. J. Hambro|Carl Joachim Hambro, Sr.]] 1926–1934
* [[Ivar Lykke]] 1923–1926
* [[Otto B. Halvorsen]] 1919–1923
* [[Jens Bratlie]] 1911–1919
* [[Fredrik Stang, Jr.]] 1907–1911
* [[Edm. Harbitz]] 1905–1907
* [[Ole Larsen Skattebøl]] 1902–1905
* [[Francis Hagerup]] 1899–1902
* [[Emil Stang, Sr.]] 1896–1899
* [[Christian H. Schweigaard]] 1893–1896
* [[Emil Stang, Sr.]] 1891–1893
* [[Christian H. Schweigaard]] 1889–1891
* [[Emil Stang, Sr.]] 1884–1889

== Prime Ministers ==
* [[Jan P. Syse]] 1989–1990
* [[Kåre Willoch]], 1981–1986
* [[John Lyng]] 1963
* [[Ivar Lykke]] 1926–1928
* [[Otto B. Halvorsen]] 1923
* [[Otto B. Halvorsen]] 1920–1921
* [[Jens Bratlie]] 1912–1913
* [[Francis Hagerup]] 1903–1905
* [[Francis Hagerup]] 1895–1898
* [[Emil Stang, Sr.]] 1893–1895
* [[Emil Stang, Sr.]] 1889–1891
* [[Christian H. Schweigaard]] 1884
* [[Christian August Selmer]] 1880–1884

{{Political parties in Norway}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conservative Party}}
[[Category:Political Parties in Norway]]
[[Category:Member of the International Democrat Union]]

User:Efloean

2017-01-09T00:38:47Z

Efloean:

[[Category:Wikipedians on Conservapedia]]

User:Efloean

2014-07-01T17:09:03Z

Efloean:

{{Userboxtop|In a nutshell}}
{{User Wikipedian}}
{{User no}}
{{userboxbottom}}

Erik from Norway. Contributor to the Norwegian language Wikipedia.

[[Category:Wikipedians on Conservapedia]]
[[Category:European conservapedians]]
[[Category:Agnostic conservapedians]]

Norway

2009-12-27T12:33:18Z

Efloean:

{{Country
|name =''Kongeriket Norge''
|map =Norway rel96.jpg
|map2 =Norway location.png
|flag =Flag of Norway.png
|arms =Arms of Norway.png
|capital =Oslo
|capital-raw =
|government =Constitutional monarchy
|government-raw =
|language =Norwegian
|king =Harald V of Norway{{!}}Harald V
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Jens Stoltenberg
|pm-raw =
|area =148,746 sq mi
|pop =4,753,400 (2008)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =
|gdp-year =$213.6 billion (2006)
|gdp-pc =$46,300 (2006)
|currency =Norwegian krone
|idd =
|tld =
}}

'''Norway''' is a country in [[Scandinavia]]. The capital is [[Oslo]], and the principal language in [[Norwegian]], though [[Sami]] languages are also spoken in the far north. Norway is one of the few Western European nations not in the [[European Union]] but is a member of the Schengen Agreement group of countries which permit cross-border travel without passport control. It belongs to [[NATO]] and is a strong ally of the United States.

Norway has escaped the [[Recession of 2008]] largely unscathed, partly by tapping into its oil and gas-fueled sovereign wealth fund — currently valued at more than 2.4 trillion kroner ($400 billion). Unemployment stands at 3%, among the lowest in Europe.

Oil and gas pumped from North Sea platforms have made the country of 4.8 million people one of the world's richest nations. Norway is the world's third largest exporter of natural gas and the sixth largest exporter of oil. While oil production has been falling in recent years, natural gas production continues to rise.

==People==
Ethnically, Norwegians are predominantly Germanic, although in the far north there are communities of Sami (Lapps) who came to the area more than 10,000 years ago (according to secular archeology), probably from central Asia. In recent years, Norway has become home to increasing numbers of immigrants, foreign workers, and asylum-seekers from various parts of the world. Immigrants now total over 300,000; some have obtained Norwegian citizenship.

More than 10% of Norway's residents have foreign origins. They include many asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Eritrea. Their status is increasingly a political issue. Siv Jensen, leader of the right-wing Progress Party, demands tighter restrictions on immigration, claiming Norway is being "Islamified".

===Culture===
Although the Evangelical Lutheran Church is the state church, Norway has complete religious freedom. Education is free through the university level and is compulsory from ages 6 to 16. At least 12 months of military service and training are required of every eligible male. Norway's health system includes free hospital care, physician's compensation, cash benefits during illness and pregnancy, and other medical and dental plans. There is a public pension system.

Norway is in the top rank of nations in the number of books printed per capita, even though Norwegian is one of the world's smallest language groups. Norway's most famous writer is the dramatist Henrik Ibsen. Artists Edvard Munch and Christian Krogh were Ibsen's contemporaries. Munch drew part of his inspiration from Europe and in turn exercised a strong influence on later European expressionists. Sculptor Gustav Vigeland has a permanent exhibition in the Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo. Musical development in Norway since [[Edvard Grieg]] has followed either native folk themes or international trends.
===Religion===
The Lutheran religion replaced Catholicism around 1536.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church has been a state-funded and state-controlled church since 1660. It is led by 11 bishops who report to the government's ministry of church and cultural affairs. The king and at least one half of his ministers are required by law to belong to the established church. Lay councils are very active in parish life, especially among the fundamentalists of the south and west. As a result, the church has been able to support much social work and important missions in Africa and India. In relation to population, Norway has sent abroad the largest number of missionaries. The first woman minister was appointed in 1961. Although 88% of Norwegians belong to the Church of Norway, and 82% if babies are baptized in it, only 10% attend ten or more services a year.<ref> See [http://www.howto.co.uk/abroad/living-in-norway/church_religion_and_belief/ "Church, Religion and Belief"]</ref> During the 1970s and 1980s, a movement to sever the strong connection between the state and the Lutheran Church failed.<ref> Peder A. Eidberg, "Norwegian Free Churches and Religious Liberty: A History." ''Journal of Church and State'' 1995 37(4): 869-884. </ref>

Lutheranism remained the only religious option until the Dissenter Law of 1845 legalized free church congregations. Historians see this law as a restricted reform: Norwegians could leave the Lutheran Church only after they turned eighteen, and civil service jobs were still restricted to Lutherans. Thereafter, liberal groups such as the Norwegian Council of Dissenting Churches worked to end legal discrimination on the basis of religion. In 1969, religious restrictions on the hiring of public school teachers were finally lifted. Today Norwegians enjoy complete freedom of worship. By a law passed in 1969 the state provides financing for the officially registered dissenting churches. Dissenters include 44,000 Pentecostals; a Lutheran Free Church, with about 20,000 members; a Methodist Episcopal Church, with about 20,000 members; 12,000 Baptists; about 21,500 Roman Catholics, and over 76,000 Muslims, the fastest growing group. According to polls some 31-72% of Norwegians are either agnostics or atheists. <ref>http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_atheist.html</ref>

==Government==
The functions of the king are mainly ceremonial, but he has influence as the symbol of national unity. Although the 1814 constitution grants important executive powers to the king, these are almost always exercised by the Council of Ministers in the name of the king (King's Council). The Council of Ministers consists of a prime minister--chosen by the political parties represented in the Storting--and other ministers.

The 169 members of the Storting are elected from 19 fylker (counties) for 4-year terms according to a complicated system of proportional representation. After elections, the Storting divides into two chambers, the Odelsting and the Lagting, which meet separately or jointly depending on the legislative issue under consideration.

The special High Court of the Realm hears impeachment cases; the regular courts include the Supreme Court (17 permanent judges and a president), courts of appeal, city and county courts, the labor court, and conciliation councils. Judges attached to regular courts are appointed by the king in council after nomination by the Ministry of Justice.

Each fylke is headed by a governor appointed by the king in council, with one governor exercising authority in both Oslo and the adjacent county of Akershus.
[[File:Norway-map.gif|thumb|270px]]

===Politics===
Norway's left-leaning government narrowly defeated a splintered center-right opposition in the September 2009 elections. Prime Minister [[Jens Stoltenberg]]'s ruling [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]] government came under challenge by [[Siv Jensen]] and her right-wing populist [[Progress Party (Norway)|Progress Party]] (which has gained support by calling for lowering Norway's notoriously high taxes and tightening immigration rules), as well as [[Erna Solberg]] and her center-right [[Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative Party]]. Debate centered on how to manage the Nordic welfare state's oil wealth.<ref>See Karl Ritter, [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090914/ap_on_re_eu/eu_norway_election "Norway election focused on oil wealth," ''AP'' Sept. 14, 2009] </ref>

Until the 1981 election, Norway had been governed by majority [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]] governments since 1935, except for three periods (1963, 1965-71, and 1972-73). The Labor Party lost its majority in the Storting in the 1981 elections. Since that time, minority and coalition governments have been the rule. The two conservative parties in, the old Conservative Party and the younger Progressive Party increased their electoral support from 23% in 1975 to 34% in the election of 1987. The electoral mobilization by these conservative parties was mainly based on an ideologically inspired rhetoric of reduced government spending and corresponding tax reductions.

From 1981 to 1997, governments alternated between Labor minority governments under [[Gro Harlem Brundtland]] and Conservative-led coalition governments under [[Kåre Willoch]] and [[Jan P. Syse]]. The first government coalition led by Christian Democrat [[Kjell Magne Bondevik]] came to power in 1997, but fell in March 2000 over the issue of proposed gas-fired power plants, opposed by Bondevik due to their impact on [[climate change]]. The Labor Party's [[Jens Stoltenberg]], a Brundtland protégé, took over in a minority Labor government but lost power in the September 2001 election when Labor posted its worse performance since World War I. Bondevik once again became Prime Minister, this time as head of a minority government with the Conservatives and Liberals in a coalition heavily dependent upon the right-populist Progress Party.

The September 2005 elections ended the Bondevik government, and the Labor party came back with its most substantial victory in years, securing 60 of the 169 seats in Parliament. While this election result once more made Labor the undisputed heavyweight in Norwegian politics, Stoltenberg, chastened by his previous stint as the head of a minority government, reached out to the far left Socialist Left party and agrarian Center party to form a coalition government that commanded a majority of seats in Parliament. The current government is the first majority government in Norway in over 20 years, but the governing coalition has had to bridge substantial policy differences to build this majority.

Norway, [[Iceland]] and [[Switzerland]] are the only countries in Western Europe that do not belong to the [[European Union]].

Norway is one of five European countries that permit [[same-sex marriage]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7978495.stm Sweden allows same sex marriage]</ref>

===Principal Government Officials===
*King, [[Harald V of Norway|Harald V]]
*Prime Minister, [[Jens Stoltenberg]]
*Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre
*Minister of Defense, Anne-Grethe Strøm-Erichsen
*Ambassador to the United States, Wegger Christian Strømmen
*Ambassador to NATO, Kim Traavik
*Ambassador to the United Nations, Johan Ludvik Løvald

===Foreign Relations===
Norway supports international cooperation and the peaceful settlement of disputes, recognizing the need for maintaining a strong national defense through collective security. Accordingly, the cornerstones of Norwegian policy are active membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and support for the United Nations and its specialized agencies. Norway also pursues a policy of economic, social, and cultural cooperation with other Nordic countries--Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland--through the Nordic Council.

In addition to strengthening traditional ties with developed countries, Norway seeks to build friendly relations with developing countries and has undertaken humanitarian and development aid efforts with selected African and Asian nations. Norway also is dedicated to encouraging democracy, assisting refugees, and protecting human rights throughout the world.
===Military===
The ''Economist'' magazine Intelligence Unit used measures of military spending and actions and violent crime rates to find that Norway is the most peaceful country in the world.<ref>See [http://www.ppu.org.uk/newsx/news_013.html report]</ref>

Norway spends about 1.8% of GDP on defense, about the NATO average. Military spending has fallen from 7.4% of the national budget in 1990 to 4.8% in 2004.

The principle of universal military service has long been accepted by most Norwegians. All men between the ages of 19 and 45 must serve 12 months in the army or 15 months in the navy or air force. The army, based on five regional commands, has a peacetime strength of about 19,000 and is posted mainly in the north near Russia. A home defense force of some 85,000 is trained for special tasks in local areas. The navy has 5 frigates, 15 submarines, and numerous small craft for patrolling the coast.

The Royal Norwegian Air Force (Luftforsvaret) became an independent service in 1944. In peacetime, it has about 3,000 personnel, and in time of war, some 17,500. It has 10 squadrons that operate from seven air stations and fly a variety of aircraft and helicopters, including F-16 fighters. It also operates six missile batteries and 10 short-range point defense missile systems.

In 2009, 500 Norwegian soldiers serve under NATO command in Afghanistan.

==Economy==
Norway is one of the world's richest countries in per capita terms. It has an important stake in promoting a liberal environment for foreign trade. Its large shipping fleet is one of the most modern among maritime nations. Metals, pulp and paper products, chemicals, shipbuilding, and fishing are the most significant traditional industries.
[[Image:Dalen Telemarken Norway.jpg|thumb|340px|Dalen, Telemarken, Norway. Photochrom print, between ca. 1890 and ca. 1900.]]
Norway's emergence as a major oil and gas producer in the mid-1970s transformed the economy. Large sums of investment capital poured into the offshore oil sector, leading to greater increases in Norwegian production costs and wages than in the rest of western Europe up to the time of the global recovery of the mid-1980s. The influx of oil revenue also permitted Norway to expand an already extensive social welfare system. Norway has established a state Petroleum Fund that exceeded $132.6 billion as of December 2004. The fund primarily will be used to help finance government programs once oil and gas resources become depleted. Norway is currently enjoying large foreign trade surpluses thanks to high oil prices. Unemployment remains currently low (3%-4% range), and the prospects for economic growth are encouraging thanks to the government's stimulative fiscal policy and economic recovery in the United States and Europe.

Norway voted against joining the European Union (EU) in a 1994 referendum. With the exception of the agricultural and fisheries sectors, however, Norway enjoys free trade with the EU under the framework of the European Economic Area. This agreement aims to apply the four freedoms of the EU's internal market (goods, persons, services, and capital) to Norway. As a result, Norway normally adopts and implements most EU directives. Norwegian monetary policy is aimed at maintaining a stable exchange rate for the krone against European currencies, of which the euro is a key operating parameter. Norway is not a member of the EU's Economic and Monetary Union and does not have a fixed exchange rate. Its principal trading partners are in the EU; the United States ranks sixth.

===Energy Resources===
Norway has a highly-developed oil and natural gas sector. Norway's oil production peaked in 2001 at 3.42 million barrels per day (bbl/d) and has been steadily declining since, reaching 2.47 million bbl/d in 2008. Natural gas production, on the other hand, has been steadily increasing since 1993, reaching 3.5 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2008. All of Norway's oil and natural gas fields are located subsea on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Most of the new discoveries being made are natural gas. The Norwegian government is committed to developing the frontier Barents Sea region as existing North Sea fields mature.<ref> For current statistics, see [http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/country/country_energy_data.cfm?fips=NO Energy Information Administration, "Norway Energy Profile" (2009)] </ref>

Offshore hydrocarbon deposits were discovered in the 1960s, and development began in the 1970s. Norway is now the world's third-largest gas exporter and provides much of western Europe's crude oil and gas requirements. In 2003, Norwegian oil and gas exports accounted for 56% of total merchandise exports. In addition, offshore exploration and production have stimulated onshore economic activities. Foreign companies, including many American ones, participate actively in the petroleum sector.

One issue that has hampered the development of oil and natural gas reserves in the northern Barents Sea area has been the lack of a defined maritime boundary between Norway and Russia. However, on June 5, 2009, Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom and Norwegian state-controlled oil company StatoilHydro signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding to work together in exploring and developing their Arctic sea regions. According to a joint statement, the two companies will work together on development of the Shtokman field, some 345 miles from land in 1,148 feet of water. It holds estimated gas reserves of around 113 trillion cubic feet.

Hydropower provides nearly all of Norway's electricity, and all of the gas and most of the oil produced is exported.

==History==
===Pre-Viking===
Hunting tribes were displaced by farmers after 3000 B.C. By 400 AD the inhabitants had contacts with Gaul, used [[runic]] writing, and expanded their settlements. After 400 AD, migrations brought in new peoples from the south to "Northern Way", or Norway. The first local kingdoms were created to bolster local defenses. For example, the Ynglings, a branch of the first Swedish royal house, established one of the earliest kingdoms west of the Oslofjord.
===Vikings===

The [[Viking]] period (9th to 11th centuries) was one of national unification and expansion.

see [[Viking]]
[[File:Vikings.jpg|thumb|280px]]

About 900 AD Harald Fairhair established a large kingdom by winning, in alliance with the earl of Lade (Trøndelag) a victory over other local kings. Harald's victory caused disgruntled subordinate chieftains to join the growing Viking movement. The growth in population forced some Norwegians to spread inland on to poorer soils and others to seek their fortunes as raiders, traders, or settlers across the western sea. The Vikings proved to be superb sailors and ferocious warriors; their raids turned into landing operations and settlements.

The sparsely inhabited Scottish islands were settled first; the first recorded Viking raid on England came in 793 AD. In the following two centuries Norse Vikings plundered far and wide. Kingdoms were carved out in Ireland, Scotland, northeast England, and northern France, and the Faeroes, Iceland, and eventually Greenland were colonized. In addition to advanced ships, the Vikings had good iron tools and weapons and were expert wood-carvers. Overseas, the Vikings developed trade wherever they settled. In Norway, markets, the forerunners of towns that grew up in the 11th century, sprang up beside the fjords.

===Medieval Norway===
Inside Norway the Middle Ages were a time of political turmoil. Harald Fairhair's throne was fought over for nearly a century bloody civil wars among kings and earls, pagans and Christians, and between Norwegians and Danes. Olav II (reigned 1016-1028) briefly united Norway and introduced Christianity. He was killed in 1030 by rebel nobles who had allied themselves with Denmark. After his death Olav was hailed almost at once as a national saint; he was canonized in 1154. Trondheim cathedral was founded in his honor, and his family regained and kept the throne after a brief period of Danish rule (1028-1035).

English Christian missionaries had a major impact; their monasteries became the owners of large estates. The Viking traditions died out, surviving in the carvings on the new churches of dragons and other pagan symbols. Harald Hardraade (Hard Ruler) was the last Norwegian king to claim England (1066), but he was killed in England. In 1170 the papacy made Trondheim the seat of an archbishop, with five suffragan bishops in Norway and six in the western islands, Iceland, and Greenland. Norway became the ecclesiastical center for the widely dispersed Norse peoples.

The civil wars over control of the throne died out during the long reign of Haakon IV (1217-1263), and Norway entered upon the brief "age of greatness." Haakon reorganized the national government, with a royal council, regional governors, and judicial officers all appointed by the king. A national legal code was established in 1274. Iceland and Greenland accepted the king of Norway as ruler, and effective power was exerted in the Faeroes, Shetland, and Orkney in Scotland.<ref> The other Norse territories in Scotland were formally surrendered in 1266 to the Scottish king.</ref> Overseas trade flourished during this period, and Haakon IV, who usually resided in Bergen where the trade was centered, concluded his first commercial treaty with the English king.

The 13th century was the last period of early Norwegian independence and greatness. During the 100 years from the reign of Haakon IV to that of Haakon V (1299-1319) the Norwegian sagas, the stories of Norway's past, were gathered. In Iceland, Snorri Sturluson wrote the "Heimskringla" and the "Younger Edda," and Sturla Thordsson, a nephew of Snorri, wrote the "Islendingasaga," the "Sturlingasaga," and the "Haakon Haakonssonsaga,'' which comprise the earliest masterpieces of Scandinavian literature.

===Union of Kalmar===
The Norwegian royal line died out in 1387, and the country entered a dark period under the control of Denmark. The Norwegian merchant class began to decline after 1250 when the German [[Hanseatic League]] (the mercantile organization of north German towns) established agents in Bergen, who supplied essential imports of Baltic grain in exchange for north Norway's traditional export of dried cod. The aristocracy collapsed during the Black Plague, which killed half the population in 1349. The resulting economic calamity destroyed most of the dairy farming, the dominant form of agriculture on most aristocratic estates. Thus Norway was already the weakest Scandinavian kingdom when the extinction of the royal lines in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark led to the union of the three countries (1397) under the Union of Kalmar. Norway lost its king and court and aristocracy, its commerce declined; it stopped producing great literature. Outsiders, mostly Danish-speaking Danes, were in control; Norwegian tradition claims the harshness of the Danish misrule created a greater unity among Norwegians.

The population grew slowly, from 500,000 in 1660 to 900,000 in 1814--the vast majority were poor and eked out a living as farmers and/or fishermen.

===19th Century===
In 1814, as a result of the Napoleonic wars, Norway was separated from [[Denmark]] and combined with [[Sweden]]. Norway at last had its own government--the Storthing or parliament was now comprised of Norwegians--with a Swedish viceroy representing the king of Sweden. The king tried to stop the growing independence of the Storthing but failed; by the 1830s the peasants comprised half the Storthing and they demanded strict economy and stripped the remaining nobles (mostly Danes) of their aristocratic titles and pretensions.

As nationalism emerged across Europe it appeared as well in Norway; the "Young Norway" movement romanticized the peasants and ridiculed the king. An upper class party of merchants also emerged--both parties were led by poets who celebrated the Norwegian language. The new king Oscar I (reigned 1844-57) allowed a separate Norwegian flag for merchant ships, which increasingly became important on the Atlantic. [[Whaling]] became a major industry, as the economy began to improve in the 1840s. The first railway opened, and steamships provided easy travel along the long coastline.

The threat of socialism emerged when The Thranittforeningene (Workers' Associations), started by socialist Marcus Thrane, formed Norway's first modern mass political movement. At its peak in 1849-50 the Thranites included both propertied and unpropertied and urban and rural Norwegians brought together by anxieties over maintaining their economic position in a period marked by international economic depression and the beginnings of Norway's transition to a modern society.

By the 1880s the peasants could sell their holdings and buy passages to America. About a fourth of the families, specially the younger ones, did so, and headed to Minnesota and neighboring states. About one in four returned to Norway, but their tales of life in the New World only stimulated more emigration.

The viceroy system was dropped and Norway had its own prime minister from 1873--albeit one chosen by the king. Norway celebrated its 1000th anniversary as a nation as serious political tensions with the king continued throughout the latter part of the 19th century. By the 1890s the Norwegians demanded a role in diplomacy, which the Swedes refused to allow. The union with Sweden persisted until 1905, when Norway demanded and received complete independence, and could now have its own king and diplomats.

All men were given the vote in 1898, and most women in 1907.

===20th century===
The Norwegian Government offered the throne of Norway to Danish Prince Carl in 1905. After a plebiscite approving the establishment of a monarchy, the Parliament unanimously elected him king. He took the name of Haakon VII, after the kings of independent Norway.

Before 1900 Norway was one of the poorest countires in Europe, with an economy focused on farming, forestry, and fishing. Norway's harsh environment--the high latitudes and short growing seasons, the poor soils, the excessive precipitation, and the cool summers--have made farming difficult. Today only 3% of the land is used for farming; the main products are forage grains and dairy products. About one of every four Norwegian families cultivates its own garden plot.

In the 20th century new industries based on cheap waterpower and raw materials harvested from Norway's farms, forests, seas, and mines replaced agriculture as the prime employer. The very large merchant fleet became a major contributor to the nation's wealth. After 1970 vast offshore oil resources made the country rich.

===World War II===
Norway tried and failed to be neutral during [[World War I]], but was invaded by the Germans in 1940<ref> François Kersaudy, ''Norway 1940'' (1991). 272 pp.</ref> and ruled by traitors, led by Quisling. The king and the government escaped to Britain in 1940, serving as symbolic leader of a nation under occupation by the Nazis. In 1940-45, sharp jokes about the occupiers circulated widely among Norwegians. The jokes contained contempt for the oppressors, ridicule of Nazi ideology, depictions of the cruelty of Nazi methods, and mockery of the inflated self-image of the Germans. All of the jokes served to boost morale, educate Norwegians about the occupation, and encourage a sense of solidarity.<ref> Kathleen Stokker, "Heil Hitler - God Save the King: Jokes and the Norwegian Resistance 1940-1945." ''Western Folklore'' 1991 50(2): 171-190. </ref>

===Postwar===
King Haakon returned in triumph in 1945. He died in 1957 and was succeeded by his son, Olav V, who died in January 1991. Upon Olav's death, his son Harald was crowned as King Harald V.
====Welfare state====
The Scandinavian countries first established strong welfare states in the 1920s and 1930s. Benefits for the middle as well as lower classes became lavish, and Social Democrats raised income taxes until they became the world's highest. Despite this, Norway (and the rest of Scandinavia) retained private enterprise. Unlike France, England, and Germany, Scandinavian states owned and ran very few companies other than public utilities and railroads. Across Scandinavia the major sompanies like Saab, Ericsson, Nokia, and Volvo have always belonged to stockholders.

The Norwegian Labor Party won a majority in 1945, a time that required cooperation among Norwegian political parties for national reconstruction after the German occupation. Labor Party leaders were willing to recognize a role for privately owned business and for market forces in economic planning both on pragmatic grounds and because party leaders in exile in London during the war had seen successful cooperation between British industry and government. The Labor Party acknowledged that private ownership was more effective than state management in improving efficiency. The state's role expanded in the direction of redistributing, rather than producing, national wealth. Although the Labor Party moved toward democratic socialism, the tension between broader participation, particularly by workers in management, and effective planning persisted into the 1970s.<ref> Trond Bergh, "Pragmatic and Democratic Socialism: Ideological and Political Trends in the Norwegian Labour Party during the 1940s and 1950s." ''Scandinavian Journal of History'' 1991 16 (3): 205-213. </Ref>

In 1945, all Norwegian political parties right and left agreed that extensive government economic controls would be needed for a period of postwar reconstruction. The Labor government's objectives were economic growth through expansion of the manufacturing sector and modernization. When government controls potentially interfered with the effort to increase industrial exports, the latter got priority. Similarly, although the private sector resisted attempts to institutionalize state corporatism, the government's flexibility led to increased cooperation between the government and manufacturing industries. The Labor Party and its opponents disagreed not on the need for modernization in postwar Norway but on the direction to take to the common goal.<ref> Even Lange, and Helge Pharo, "Planning and Economic Policy in Norway, 1945-1960" ''Scandinavian Journal af History'' 1991 16 (3): 215-228</ref>

In Norway (and the rest of Scandinavia) marginal tax rates on wages, and the value added taxes (which are assessed like sales taxes) remain the highest in the world. But capital gains taxes and real estate assessments are low or non-existent. The region is ahead of the United States in a few areas of market reforms: All four countries have school vouchers and allow individual control over some social security taxes.<ref> Eli Lehrer, "Scandinavia's Surprising Turn from Socialism." ''The American Enterprise'' v. 13 #8 Dec. 2002. pp 42+ online at [[Questia]]</ref>

====Cold War====
The wartime horrors led Norwegians to reject neutrality in the [[Cold War]], and they turned instead to collective security in alliance with the United States. Norway was one of the signers of the NATO Treaty in 1949 and was a founding member of the [[United Nations]] in 1945. Indeed, the first UN General Secretary, Trygve Lie, was a Norwegian. Under the terms of the will of Alfred Nobel, the Storting (Parliament) elects the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee who award the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] to champions of peace.

==Internet==
According to Alexa traffic statistics, Conservapedia enjoys its second highest national traffic rank in Norway.[http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservapedia.com%2F]

==Further reading==
===Guides===
* ''Norway'' (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by Snorre Evensberget (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Norway-Eyewitness-Travel-Guides-Evensberget/dp/078949339X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960453&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* ''Norway'' (Country Guide) by Anthony Ham (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Norway-Country-Guide-Anthony-Ham/dp/1741045797/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960453&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]
* ''Insight Guide Norway'' by Simon Ryder and Cameron Duffy (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Insight-Guide-Norway-Guides/dp/9812587128/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960453&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* ''Frommer's Norway'' by Darwin Porter (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/Frommers-Norway-Complete-Darwin-Porter/dp/0470432136/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960453&sr=1-8 excerpt and text search]
* ''Norway - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture'' by Linda March (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Norway-Culture-essential-customs-culture/dp/1857333314/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960453&sr=1-11 excerpt and text search]

===History===
====Surveys====
* Bain, Robert Nisbet. ''Scandinavia; a Political History of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1513 to 1900'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Scandinavia-Political-History-Denmark-Norway/dp/0543939006/ref=sr_1_44?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960971&sr=1-44 excerpt and text search]
* Derry, Thomas Kingston. ''A History of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.'' (1979). 447 pp.; standard scholarly history
* Dreyer, Grøndahl , et al. ''A History of Norway: From the Ice Age to the Age of Petroleum'' (1999) standard scholarly history
* Nordstrom, Byron J. ''Scandinavia since 1500'' (2000), standard scholarly history [http://www.questia.com/read/111772948?title=Scandinavia%20since%201500 online edition]
* Sjovik, Jan. ''Historical Dictionary of Norway'' (2008), standard reference book

====Specialized====
* Archer, Clive. '' Norway outside the European Union: Norway and European Integration from 1994 to 2004'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Norway-outside-European-Union-Integration/dp/0415282799/ref=sr_1_58?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252961077&sr=1-58 excerpt and text search]
* Berdal, Mats R. ''The United States, Norway and the Cold War, 1954-60.'' (1997). 268pp
* Beyer, Harald. ''A History of Norwegian Literature'' (1956) [http://www.questia.com/read/23498525?title=A%20History%20of%20Norwegian%20Literature online edition]
* Cole, Wayne S. ''Norway and the United States, 1905-1955: Two Democracies in Peace and War.'' (1989). 221 pp.
* Derry, Thomas Kingston. ''Haakon VII of Norway: The Man and the Monarch'' (1983) [http://www.questia.com/read/77549523?title=Haakon%20VII%20of%20Norway%3a%20The%20Man%20and%20the%20Monarch online edition]
* Einhorn. Eric S., and John Logue. ''Modern Welfare States: Scandinavian Politics and Policy in the Global Age'' (2003) [http://www.questia.com/read/113176873?title=Modern%20Welfare%20States%3a%20%20Scandinavian%20Politics%20and%20Policy%20in%20the%20Global%20Age online edition]
* Gjelsvik, Tore. ''Norwegian Resistance, 1940-1945.'' (1979). 224 pp.
* Gran, Thorvald. ''The State in the Modernization Process: The Case of Norway, 1850-1970.'' Oslo: Ad Notam Gyldendal, 1994. 415 pp.
* Greve, Tim. ''Haakon VII of Norway: The Man and the Monarch.'' (1983). 212 pp.; he reigned 1905-57.
* Haywood, John. ''The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings'' (1995) [http://www.amazon.com/Penguin-Historical-Atlas-Vikings-Hist/dp/0140513280/ref=pd_sim_dbs_b_2 excerpt and text search]
* Hovde, B. J. ''The Scandinavian Countries, 1720-1865: The Rise of the Middle Classes'' (1948) [http://www.questia.com/read/23307473?title=The%20Scandinavian%20Countries%2c%201720-1865%3a%20The%20Rise%20of%20the%20Middle%20Classes%20-%20Vol.%201 online edition]
* Lowell, Briant Lindsay. ''Scandinavian Exodus: Demography and Social Development of 19th-Century Rural Communities.'' (1987). 262 pp.
* Naess, Harald S., ed. ''A History of Norwegian Literature.'' (1993). 435 pp. [http://www.questia.com/read/9898528?title=A%20History%20of%20Norwegian%20Literature online edition]
* Petrow, Richard. ''The Bitter Years: The Invasion and Occupation of Denmark and Norway, April 1940-May 1945'' (1974)
* Rommetvedt, Hilmar. ''The Rise of the Norwegian Parliament'' (2003), recent history [http://www.questia.com/read/108508058?title=The%20Rise%20of%20the%20Norwegian%20Parliament online edition]
* Royal Institute of International Affairs. ''The Scandinavian States and Finland: A Political and Economic Survey'' (1951) [http://www.questia.com/read/57951997?title=The%20Scandinavian%20States%20and%20Finland%3a%20%20A%20Political%20and%20Economic%20Survey%20%281951%29 online edition]
* Rust, Val D. ''The Democratic Tradition and the Evolution of Schooling in Norway.'' (1989). 333 pp.

==External links==
* [http://www.howto.co.uk/abroad/living-in-norway/ "Living and Working in Norway"], useful coverage of many topics
* [http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2741143.ece search Oslo newspaper stories]

== References ==
<references/>

{{Copyright Details (US Government)}}
Source = [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3421.htm]

[[Category:Norway]]
[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:Scandinavian Countries]]
[[Category:Political Parties in Norway]]

Norway

2009-12-27T12:32:45Z

Efloean: link fix

{{Country
|name =''Kongeriket Norge''
|map =Norway rel96.jpg
|map2 =Norway location.png
|flag =Flag of Norway.png
|arms =Arms of Norway.png
|capital =Oslo
|capital-raw =
|government =Constitutional monarchy
|government-raw =
|language =Norwegian
|king =Harald V of Norway
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Jens Stoltenberg
|pm-raw =
|area =148,746 sq mi
|pop =4,753,400 (2008)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =
|gdp-year =$213.6 billion (2006)
|gdp-pc =$46,300 (2006)
|currency =Norwegian krone
|idd =
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}}

'''Norway''' is a country in [[Scandinavia]]. The capital is [[Oslo]], and the principal language in [[Norwegian]], though [[Sami]] languages are also spoken in the far north. Norway is one of the few Western European nations not in the [[European Union]] but is a member of the Schengen Agreement group of countries which permit cross-border travel without passport control. It belongs to [[NATO]] and is a strong ally of the United States.

Norway has escaped the [[Recession of 2008]] largely unscathed, partly by tapping into its oil and gas-fueled sovereign wealth fund — currently valued at more than 2.4 trillion kroner ($400 billion). Unemployment stands at 3%, among the lowest in Europe.

Oil and gas pumped from North Sea platforms have made the country of 4.8 million people one of the world's richest nations. Norway is the world's third largest exporter of natural gas and the sixth largest exporter of oil. While oil production has been falling in recent years, natural gas production continues to rise.

==People==
Ethnically, Norwegians are predominantly Germanic, although in the far north there are communities of Sami (Lapps) who came to the area more than 10,000 years ago (according to secular archeology), probably from central Asia. In recent years, Norway has become home to increasing numbers of immigrants, foreign workers, and asylum-seekers from various parts of the world. Immigrants now total over 300,000; some have obtained Norwegian citizenship.

More than 10% of Norway's residents have foreign origins. They include many asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Eritrea. Their status is increasingly a political issue. Siv Jensen, leader of the right-wing Progress Party, demands tighter restrictions on immigration, claiming Norway is being "Islamified".

===Culture===
Although the Evangelical Lutheran Church is the state church, Norway has complete religious freedom. Education is free through the university level and is compulsory from ages 6 to 16. At least 12 months of military service and training are required of every eligible male. Norway's health system includes free hospital care, physician's compensation, cash benefits during illness and pregnancy, and other medical and dental plans. There is a public pension system.

Norway is in the top rank of nations in the number of books printed per capita, even though Norwegian is one of the world's smallest language groups. Norway's most famous writer is the dramatist Henrik Ibsen. Artists Edvard Munch and Christian Krogh were Ibsen's contemporaries. Munch drew part of his inspiration from Europe and in turn exercised a strong influence on later European expressionists. Sculptor Gustav Vigeland has a permanent exhibition in the Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo. Musical development in Norway since [[Edvard Grieg]] has followed either native folk themes or international trends.
===Religion===
The Lutheran religion replaced Catholicism around 1536.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church has been a state-funded and state-controlled church since 1660. It is led by 11 bishops who report to the government's ministry of church and cultural affairs. The king and at least one half of his ministers are required by law to belong to the established church. Lay councils are very active in parish life, especially among the fundamentalists of the south and west. As a result, the church has been able to support much social work and important missions in Africa and India. In relation to population, Norway has sent abroad the largest number of missionaries. The first woman minister was appointed in 1961. Although 88% of Norwegians belong to the Church of Norway, and 82% if babies are baptized in it, only 10% attend ten or more services a year.<ref> See [http://www.howto.co.uk/abroad/living-in-norway/church_religion_and_belief/ "Church, Religion and Belief"]</ref> During the 1970s and 1980s, a movement to sever the strong connection between the state and the Lutheran Church failed.<ref> Peder A. Eidberg, "Norwegian Free Churches and Religious Liberty: A History." ''Journal of Church and State'' 1995 37(4): 869-884. </ref>

Lutheranism remained the only religious option until the Dissenter Law of 1845 legalized free church congregations. Historians see this law as a restricted reform: Norwegians could leave the Lutheran Church only after they turned eighteen, and civil service jobs were still restricted to Lutherans. Thereafter, liberal groups such as the Norwegian Council of Dissenting Churches worked to end legal discrimination on the basis of religion. In 1969, religious restrictions on the hiring of public school teachers were finally lifted. Today Norwegians enjoy complete freedom of worship. By a law passed in 1969 the state provides financing for the officially registered dissenting churches. Dissenters include 44,000 Pentecostals; a Lutheran Free Church, with about 20,000 members; a Methodist Episcopal Church, with about 20,000 members; 12,000 Baptists; about 21,500 Roman Catholics, and over 76,000 Muslims, the fastest growing group. According to polls some 31-72% of Norwegians are either agnostics or atheists. <ref>http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_atheist.html</ref>

==Government==
The functions of the king are mainly ceremonial, but he has influence as the symbol of national unity. Although the 1814 constitution grants important executive powers to the king, these are almost always exercised by the Council of Ministers in the name of the king (King's Council). The Council of Ministers consists of a prime minister--chosen by the political parties represented in the Storting--and other ministers.

The 169 members of the Storting are elected from 19 fylker (counties) for 4-year terms according to a complicated system of proportional representation. After elections, the Storting divides into two chambers, the Odelsting and the Lagting, which meet separately or jointly depending on the legislative issue under consideration.

The special High Court of the Realm hears impeachment cases; the regular courts include the Supreme Court (17 permanent judges and a president), courts of appeal, city and county courts, the labor court, and conciliation councils. Judges attached to regular courts are appointed by the king in council after nomination by the Ministry of Justice.

Each fylke is headed by a governor appointed by the king in council, with one governor exercising authority in both Oslo and the adjacent county of Akershus.
[[File:Norway-map.gif|thumb|270px]]

===Politics===
Norway's left-leaning government narrowly defeated a splintered center-right opposition in the September 2009 elections. Prime Minister [[Jens Stoltenberg]]'s ruling [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]] government came under challenge by [[Siv Jensen]] and her right-wing populist [[Progress Party (Norway)|Progress Party]] (which has gained support by calling for lowering Norway's notoriously high taxes and tightening immigration rules), as well as [[Erna Solberg]] and her center-right [[Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative Party]]. Debate centered on how to manage the Nordic welfare state's oil wealth.<ref>See Karl Ritter, [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090914/ap_on_re_eu/eu_norway_election "Norway election focused on oil wealth," ''AP'' Sept. 14, 2009] </ref>

Until the 1981 election, Norway had been governed by majority [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]] governments since 1935, except for three periods (1963, 1965-71, and 1972-73). The Labor Party lost its majority in the Storting in the 1981 elections. Since that time, minority and coalition governments have been the rule. The two conservative parties in, the old Conservative Party and the younger Progressive Party increased their electoral support from 23% in 1975 to 34% in the election of 1987. The electoral mobilization by these conservative parties was mainly based on an ideologically inspired rhetoric of reduced government spending and corresponding tax reductions.

From 1981 to 1997, governments alternated between Labor minority governments under [[Gro Harlem Brundtland]] and Conservative-led coalition governments under [[Kåre Willoch]] and [[Jan P. Syse]]. The first government coalition led by Christian Democrat [[Kjell Magne Bondevik]] came to power in 1997, but fell in March 2000 over the issue of proposed gas-fired power plants, opposed by Bondevik due to their impact on [[climate change]]. The Labor Party's [[Jens Stoltenberg]], a Brundtland protégé, took over in a minority Labor government but lost power in the September 2001 election when Labor posted its worse performance since World War I. Bondevik once again became Prime Minister, this time as head of a minority government with the Conservatives and Liberals in a coalition heavily dependent upon the right-populist Progress Party.

The September 2005 elections ended the Bondevik government, and the Labor party came back with its most substantial victory in years, securing 60 of the 169 seats in Parliament. While this election result once more made Labor the undisputed heavyweight in Norwegian politics, Stoltenberg, chastened by his previous stint as the head of a minority government, reached out to the far left Socialist Left party and agrarian Center party to form a coalition government that commanded a majority of seats in Parliament. The current government is the first majority government in Norway in over 20 years, but the governing coalition has had to bridge substantial policy differences to build this majority.

Norway, [[Iceland]] and [[Switzerland]] are the only countries in Western Europe that do not belong to the [[European Union]].

Norway is one of five European countries that permit [[same-sex marriage]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7978495.stm Sweden allows same sex marriage]</ref>

===Principal Government Officials===
*King, [[Harald V of Norway|Harald V]]
*Prime Minister, [[Jens Stoltenberg]]
*Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre
*Minister of Defense, Anne-Grethe Strøm-Erichsen
*Ambassador to the United States, Wegger Christian Strømmen
*Ambassador to NATO, Kim Traavik
*Ambassador to the United Nations, Johan Ludvik Løvald

===Foreign Relations===
Norway supports international cooperation and the peaceful settlement of disputes, recognizing the need for maintaining a strong national defense through collective security. Accordingly, the cornerstones of Norwegian policy are active membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and support for the United Nations and its specialized agencies. Norway also pursues a policy of economic, social, and cultural cooperation with other Nordic countries--Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland--through the Nordic Council.

In addition to strengthening traditional ties with developed countries, Norway seeks to build friendly relations with developing countries and has undertaken humanitarian and development aid efforts with selected African and Asian nations. Norway also is dedicated to encouraging democracy, assisting refugees, and protecting human rights throughout the world.
===Military===
The ''Economist'' magazine Intelligence Unit used measures of military spending and actions and violent crime rates to find that Norway is the most peaceful country in the world.<ref>See [http://www.ppu.org.uk/newsx/news_013.html report]</ref>

Norway spends about 1.8% of GDP on defense, about the NATO average. Military spending has fallen from 7.4% of the national budget in 1990 to 4.8% in 2004.

The principle of universal military service has long been accepted by most Norwegians. All men between the ages of 19 and 45 must serve 12 months in the army or 15 months in the navy or air force. The army, based on five regional commands, has a peacetime strength of about 19,000 and is posted mainly in the north near Russia. A home defense force of some 85,000 is trained for special tasks in local areas. The navy has 5 frigates, 15 submarines, and numerous small craft for patrolling the coast.

The Royal Norwegian Air Force (Luftforsvaret) became an independent service in 1944. In peacetime, it has about 3,000 personnel, and in time of war, some 17,500. It has 10 squadrons that operate from seven air stations and fly a variety of aircraft and helicopters, including F-16 fighters. It also operates six missile batteries and 10 short-range point defense missile systems.

In 2009, 500 Norwegian soldiers serve under NATO command in Afghanistan.

==Economy==
Norway is one of the world's richest countries in per capita terms. It has an important stake in promoting a liberal environment for foreign trade. Its large shipping fleet is one of the most modern among maritime nations. Metals, pulp and paper products, chemicals, shipbuilding, and fishing are the most significant traditional industries.
[[Image:Dalen Telemarken Norway.jpg|thumb|340px|Dalen, Telemarken, Norway. Photochrom print, between ca. 1890 and ca. 1900.]]
Norway's emergence as a major oil and gas producer in the mid-1970s transformed the economy. Large sums of investment capital poured into the offshore oil sector, leading to greater increases in Norwegian production costs and wages than in the rest of western Europe up to the time of the global recovery of the mid-1980s. The influx of oil revenue also permitted Norway to expand an already extensive social welfare system. Norway has established a state Petroleum Fund that exceeded $132.6 billion as of December 2004. The fund primarily will be used to help finance government programs once oil and gas resources become depleted. Norway is currently enjoying large foreign trade surpluses thanks to high oil prices. Unemployment remains currently low (3%-4% range), and the prospects for economic growth are encouraging thanks to the government's stimulative fiscal policy and economic recovery in the United States and Europe.

Norway voted against joining the European Union (EU) in a 1994 referendum. With the exception of the agricultural and fisheries sectors, however, Norway enjoys free trade with the EU under the framework of the European Economic Area. This agreement aims to apply the four freedoms of the EU's internal market (goods, persons, services, and capital) to Norway. As a result, Norway normally adopts and implements most EU directives. Norwegian monetary policy is aimed at maintaining a stable exchange rate for the krone against European currencies, of which the euro is a key operating parameter. Norway is not a member of the EU's Economic and Monetary Union and does not have a fixed exchange rate. Its principal trading partners are in the EU; the United States ranks sixth.

===Energy Resources===
Norway has a highly-developed oil and natural gas sector. Norway's oil production peaked in 2001 at 3.42 million barrels per day (bbl/d) and has been steadily declining since, reaching 2.47 million bbl/d in 2008. Natural gas production, on the other hand, has been steadily increasing since 1993, reaching 3.5 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2008. All of Norway's oil and natural gas fields are located subsea on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Most of the new discoveries being made are natural gas. The Norwegian government is committed to developing the frontier Barents Sea region as existing North Sea fields mature.<ref> For current statistics, see [http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/country/country_energy_data.cfm?fips=NO Energy Information Administration, "Norway Energy Profile" (2009)] </ref>

Offshore hydrocarbon deposits were discovered in the 1960s, and development began in the 1970s. Norway is now the world's third-largest gas exporter and provides much of western Europe's crude oil and gas requirements. In 2003, Norwegian oil and gas exports accounted for 56% of total merchandise exports. In addition, offshore exploration and production have stimulated onshore economic activities. Foreign companies, including many American ones, participate actively in the petroleum sector.

One issue that has hampered the development of oil and natural gas reserves in the northern Barents Sea area has been the lack of a defined maritime boundary between Norway and Russia. However, on June 5, 2009, Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom and Norwegian state-controlled oil company StatoilHydro signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding to work together in exploring and developing their Arctic sea regions. According to a joint statement, the two companies will work together on development of the Shtokman field, some 345 miles from land in 1,148 feet of water. It holds estimated gas reserves of around 113 trillion cubic feet.

Hydropower provides nearly all of Norway's electricity, and all of the gas and most of the oil produced is exported.

==History==
===Pre-Viking===
Hunting tribes were displaced by farmers after 3000 B.C. By 400 AD the inhabitants had contacts with Gaul, used [[runic]] writing, and expanded their settlements. After 400 AD, migrations brought in new peoples from the south to "Northern Way", or Norway. The first local kingdoms were created to bolster local defenses. For example, the Ynglings, a branch of the first Swedish royal house, established one of the earliest kingdoms west of the Oslofjord.
===Vikings===

The [[Viking]] period (9th to 11th centuries) was one of national unification and expansion.

see [[Viking]]
[[File:Vikings.jpg|thumb|280px]]

About 900 AD Harald Fairhair established a large kingdom by winning, in alliance with the earl of Lade (Trøndelag) a victory over other local kings. Harald's victory caused disgruntled subordinate chieftains to join the growing Viking movement. The growth in population forced some Norwegians to spread inland on to poorer soils and others to seek their fortunes as raiders, traders, or settlers across the western sea. The Vikings proved to be superb sailors and ferocious warriors; their raids turned into landing operations and settlements.

The sparsely inhabited Scottish islands were settled first; the first recorded Viking raid on England came in 793 AD. In the following two centuries Norse Vikings plundered far and wide. Kingdoms were carved out in Ireland, Scotland, northeast England, and northern France, and the Faeroes, Iceland, and eventually Greenland were colonized. In addition to advanced ships, the Vikings had good iron tools and weapons and were expert wood-carvers. Overseas, the Vikings developed trade wherever they settled. In Norway, markets, the forerunners of towns that grew up in the 11th century, sprang up beside the fjords.

===Medieval Norway===
Inside Norway the Middle Ages were a time of political turmoil. Harald Fairhair's throne was fought over for nearly a century bloody civil wars among kings and earls, pagans and Christians, and between Norwegians and Danes. Olav II (reigned 1016-1028) briefly united Norway and introduced Christianity. He was killed in 1030 by rebel nobles who had allied themselves with Denmark. After his death Olav was hailed almost at once as a national saint; he was canonized in 1154. Trondheim cathedral was founded in his honor, and his family regained and kept the throne after a brief period of Danish rule (1028-1035).

English Christian missionaries had a major impact; their monasteries became the owners of large estates. The Viking traditions died out, surviving in the carvings on the new churches of dragons and other pagan symbols. Harald Hardraade (Hard Ruler) was the last Norwegian king to claim England (1066), but he was killed in England. In 1170 the papacy made Trondheim the seat of an archbishop, with five suffragan bishops in Norway and six in the western islands, Iceland, and Greenland. Norway became the ecclesiastical center for the widely dispersed Norse peoples.

The civil wars over control of the throne died out during the long reign of Haakon IV (1217-1263), and Norway entered upon the brief "age of greatness." Haakon reorganized the national government, with a royal council, regional governors, and judicial officers all appointed by the king. A national legal code was established in 1274. Iceland and Greenland accepted the king of Norway as ruler, and effective power was exerted in the Faeroes, Shetland, and Orkney in Scotland.<ref> The other Norse territories in Scotland were formally surrendered in 1266 to the Scottish king.</ref> Overseas trade flourished during this period, and Haakon IV, who usually resided in Bergen where the trade was centered, concluded his first commercial treaty with the English king.

The 13th century was the last period of early Norwegian independence and greatness. During the 100 years from the reign of Haakon IV to that of Haakon V (1299-1319) the Norwegian sagas, the stories of Norway's past, were gathered. In Iceland, Snorri Sturluson wrote the "Heimskringla" and the "Younger Edda," and Sturla Thordsson, a nephew of Snorri, wrote the "Islendingasaga," the "Sturlingasaga," and the "Haakon Haakonssonsaga,'' which comprise the earliest masterpieces of Scandinavian literature.

===Union of Kalmar===
The Norwegian royal line died out in 1387, and the country entered a dark period under the control of Denmark. The Norwegian merchant class began to decline after 1250 when the German [[Hanseatic League]] (the mercantile organization of north German towns) established agents in Bergen, who supplied essential imports of Baltic grain in exchange for north Norway's traditional export of dried cod. The aristocracy collapsed during the Black Plague, which killed half the population in 1349. The resulting economic calamity destroyed most of the dairy farming, the dominant form of agriculture on most aristocratic estates. Thus Norway was already the weakest Scandinavian kingdom when the extinction of the royal lines in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark led to the union of the three countries (1397) under the Union of Kalmar. Norway lost its king and court and aristocracy, its commerce declined; it stopped producing great literature. Outsiders, mostly Danish-speaking Danes, were in control; Norwegian tradition claims the harshness of the Danish misrule created a greater unity among Norwegians.

The population grew slowly, from 500,000 in 1660 to 900,000 in 1814--the vast majority were poor and eked out a living as farmers and/or fishermen.

===19th Century===
In 1814, as a result of the Napoleonic wars, Norway was separated from [[Denmark]] and combined with [[Sweden]]. Norway at last had its own government--the Storthing or parliament was now comprised of Norwegians--with a Swedish viceroy representing the king of Sweden. The king tried to stop the growing independence of the Storthing but failed; by the 1830s the peasants comprised half the Storthing and they demanded strict economy and stripped the remaining nobles (mostly Danes) of their aristocratic titles and pretensions.

As nationalism emerged across Europe it appeared as well in Norway; the "Young Norway" movement romanticized the peasants and ridiculed the king. An upper class party of merchants also emerged--both parties were led by poets who celebrated the Norwegian language. The new king Oscar I (reigned 1844-57) allowed a separate Norwegian flag for merchant ships, which increasingly became important on the Atlantic. [[Whaling]] became a major industry, as the economy began to improve in the 1840s. The first railway opened, and steamships provided easy travel along the long coastline.

The threat of socialism emerged when The Thranittforeningene (Workers' Associations), started by socialist Marcus Thrane, formed Norway's first modern mass political movement. At its peak in 1849-50 the Thranites included both propertied and unpropertied and urban and rural Norwegians brought together by anxieties over maintaining their economic position in a period marked by international economic depression and the beginnings of Norway's transition to a modern society.

By the 1880s the peasants could sell their holdings and buy passages to America. About a fourth of the families, specially the younger ones, did so, and headed to Minnesota and neighboring states. About one in four returned to Norway, but their tales of life in the New World only stimulated more emigration.

The viceroy system was dropped and Norway had its own prime minister from 1873--albeit one chosen by the king. Norway celebrated its 1000th anniversary as a nation as serious political tensions with the king continued throughout the latter part of the 19th century. By the 1890s the Norwegians demanded a role in diplomacy, which the Swedes refused to allow. The union with Sweden persisted until 1905, when Norway demanded and received complete independence, and could now have its own king and diplomats.

All men were given the vote in 1898, and most women in 1907.

===20th century===
The Norwegian Government offered the throne of Norway to Danish Prince Carl in 1905. After a plebiscite approving the establishment of a monarchy, the Parliament unanimously elected him king. He took the name of Haakon VII, after the kings of independent Norway.

Before 1900 Norway was one of the poorest countires in Europe, with an economy focused on farming, forestry, and fishing. Norway's harsh environment--the high latitudes and short growing seasons, the poor soils, the excessive precipitation, and the cool summers--have made farming difficult. Today only 3% of the land is used for farming; the main products are forage grains and dairy products. About one of every four Norwegian families cultivates its own garden plot.

In the 20th century new industries based on cheap waterpower and raw materials harvested from Norway's farms, forests, seas, and mines replaced agriculture as the prime employer. The very large merchant fleet became a major contributor to the nation's wealth. After 1970 vast offshore oil resources made the country rich.

===World War II===
Norway tried and failed to be neutral during [[World War I]], but was invaded by the Germans in 1940<ref> François Kersaudy, ''Norway 1940'' (1991). 272 pp.</ref> and ruled by traitors, led by Quisling. The king and the government escaped to Britain in 1940, serving as symbolic leader of a nation under occupation by the Nazis. In 1940-45, sharp jokes about the occupiers circulated widely among Norwegians. The jokes contained contempt for the oppressors, ridicule of Nazi ideology, depictions of the cruelty of Nazi methods, and mockery of the inflated self-image of the Germans. All of the jokes served to boost morale, educate Norwegians about the occupation, and encourage a sense of solidarity.<ref> Kathleen Stokker, "Heil Hitler - God Save the King: Jokes and the Norwegian Resistance 1940-1945." ''Western Folklore'' 1991 50(2): 171-190. </ref>

===Postwar===
King Haakon returned in triumph in 1945. He died in 1957 and was succeeded by his son, Olav V, who died in January 1991. Upon Olav's death, his son Harald was crowned as King Harald V.
====Welfare state====
The Scandinavian countries first established strong welfare states in the 1920s and 1930s. Benefits for the middle as well as lower classes became lavish, and Social Democrats raised income taxes until they became the world's highest. Despite this, Norway (and the rest of Scandinavia) retained private enterprise. Unlike France, England, and Germany, Scandinavian states owned and ran very few companies other than public utilities and railroads. Across Scandinavia the major sompanies like Saab, Ericsson, Nokia, and Volvo have always belonged to stockholders.

The Norwegian Labor Party won a majority in 1945, a time that required cooperation among Norwegian political parties for national reconstruction after the German occupation. Labor Party leaders were willing to recognize a role for privately owned business and for market forces in economic planning both on pragmatic grounds and because party leaders in exile in London during the war had seen successful cooperation between British industry and government. The Labor Party acknowledged that private ownership was more effective than state management in improving efficiency. The state's role expanded in the direction of redistributing, rather than producing, national wealth. Although the Labor Party moved toward democratic socialism, the tension between broader participation, particularly by workers in management, and effective planning persisted into the 1970s.<ref> Trond Bergh, "Pragmatic and Democratic Socialism: Ideological and Political Trends in the Norwegian Labour Party during the 1940s and 1950s." ''Scandinavian Journal of History'' 1991 16 (3): 205-213. </Ref>

In 1945, all Norwegian political parties right and left agreed that extensive government economic controls would be needed for a period of postwar reconstruction. The Labor government's objectives were economic growth through expansion of the manufacturing sector and modernization. When government controls potentially interfered with the effort to increase industrial exports, the latter got priority. Similarly, although the private sector resisted attempts to institutionalize state corporatism, the government's flexibility led to increased cooperation between the government and manufacturing industries. The Labor Party and its opponents disagreed not on the need for modernization in postwar Norway but on the direction to take to the common goal.<ref> Even Lange, and Helge Pharo, "Planning and Economic Policy in Norway, 1945-1960" ''Scandinavian Journal af History'' 1991 16 (3): 215-228</ref>

In Norway (and the rest of Scandinavia) marginal tax rates on wages, and the value added taxes (which are assessed like sales taxes) remain the highest in the world. But capital gains taxes and real estate assessments are low or non-existent. The region is ahead of the United States in a few areas of market reforms: All four countries have school vouchers and allow individual control over some social security taxes.<ref> Eli Lehrer, "Scandinavia's Surprising Turn from Socialism." ''The American Enterprise'' v. 13 #8 Dec. 2002. pp 42+ online at [[Questia]]</ref>

====Cold War====
The wartime horrors led Norwegians to reject neutrality in the [[Cold War]], and they turned instead to collective security in alliance with the United States. Norway was one of the signers of the NATO Treaty in 1949 and was a founding member of the [[United Nations]] in 1945. Indeed, the first UN General Secretary, Trygve Lie, was a Norwegian. Under the terms of the will of Alfred Nobel, the Storting (Parliament) elects the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee who award the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] to champions of peace.

==Internet==
According to Alexa traffic statistics, Conservapedia enjoys its second highest national traffic rank in Norway.[http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservapedia.com%2F]

==Further reading==
===Guides===
* ''Norway'' (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by Snorre Evensberget (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Norway-Eyewitness-Travel-Guides-Evensberget/dp/078949339X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960453&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* ''Norway'' (Country Guide) by Anthony Ham (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Norway-Country-Guide-Anthony-Ham/dp/1741045797/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960453&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]
* ''Insight Guide Norway'' by Simon Ryder and Cameron Duffy (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Insight-Guide-Norway-Guides/dp/9812587128/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960453&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* ''Frommer's Norway'' by Darwin Porter (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/Frommers-Norway-Complete-Darwin-Porter/dp/0470432136/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960453&sr=1-8 excerpt and text search]
* ''Norway - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture'' by Linda March (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Norway-Culture-essential-customs-culture/dp/1857333314/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960453&sr=1-11 excerpt and text search]

===History===
====Surveys====
* Bain, Robert Nisbet. ''Scandinavia; a Political History of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1513 to 1900'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Scandinavia-Political-History-Denmark-Norway/dp/0543939006/ref=sr_1_44?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960971&sr=1-44 excerpt and text search]
* Derry, Thomas Kingston. ''A History of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.'' (1979). 447 pp.; standard scholarly history
* Dreyer, Grøndahl , et al. ''A History of Norway: From the Ice Age to the Age of Petroleum'' (1999) standard scholarly history
* Nordstrom, Byron J. ''Scandinavia since 1500'' (2000), standard scholarly history [http://www.questia.com/read/111772948?title=Scandinavia%20since%201500 online edition]
* Sjovik, Jan. ''Historical Dictionary of Norway'' (2008), standard reference book

====Specialized====
* Archer, Clive. '' Norway outside the European Union: Norway and European Integration from 1994 to 2004'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Norway-outside-European-Union-Integration/dp/0415282799/ref=sr_1_58?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252961077&sr=1-58 excerpt and text search]
* Berdal, Mats R. ''The United States, Norway and the Cold War, 1954-60.'' (1997). 268pp
* Beyer, Harald. ''A History of Norwegian Literature'' (1956) [http://www.questia.com/read/23498525?title=A%20History%20of%20Norwegian%20Literature online edition]
* Cole, Wayne S. ''Norway and the United States, 1905-1955: Two Democracies in Peace and War.'' (1989). 221 pp.
* Derry, Thomas Kingston. ''Haakon VII of Norway: The Man and the Monarch'' (1983) [http://www.questia.com/read/77549523?title=Haakon%20VII%20of%20Norway%3a%20The%20Man%20and%20the%20Monarch online edition]
* Einhorn. Eric S., and John Logue. ''Modern Welfare States: Scandinavian Politics and Policy in the Global Age'' (2003) [http://www.questia.com/read/113176873?title=Modern%20Welfare%20States%3a%20%20Scandinavian%20Politics%20and%20Policy%20in%20the%20Global%20Age online edition]
* Gjelsvik, Tore. ''Norwegian Resistance, 1940-1945.'' (1979). 224 pp.
* Gran, Thorvald. ''The State in the Modernization Process: The Case of Norway, 1850-1970.'' Oslo: Ad Notam Gyldendal, 1994. 415 pp.
* Greve, Tim. ''Haakon VII of Norway: The Man and the Monarch.'' (1983). 212 pp.; he reigned 1905-57.
* Haywood, John. ''The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings'' (1995) [http://www.amazon.com/Penguin-Historical-Atlas-Vikings-Hist/dp/0140513280/ref=pd_sim_dbs_b_2 excerpt and text search]
* Hovde, B. J. ''The Scandinavian Countries, 1720-1865: The Rise of the Middle Classes'' (1948) [http://www.questia.com/read/23307473?title=The%20Scandinavian%20Countries%2c%201720-1865%3a%20The%20Rise%20of%20the%20Middle%20Classes%20-%20Vol.%201 online edition]
* Lowell, Briant Lindsay. ''Scandinavian Exodus: Demography and Social Development of 19th-Century Rural Communities.'' (1987). 262 pp.
* Naess, Harald S., ed. ''A History of Norwegian Literature.'' (1993). 435 pp. [http://www.questia.com/read/9898528?title=A%20History%20of%20Norwegian%20Literature online edition]
* Petrow, Richard. ''The Bitter Years: The Invasion and Occupation of Denmark and Norway, April 1940-May 1945'' (1974)
* Rommetvedt, Hilmar. ''The Rise of the Norwegian Parliament'' (2003), recent history [http://www.questia.com/read/108508058?title=The%20Rise%20of%20the%20Norwegian%20Parliament online edition]
* Royal Institute of International Affairs. ''The Scandinavian States and Finland: A Political and Economic Survey'' (1951) [http://www.questia.com/read/57951997?title=The%20Scandinavian%20States%20and%20Finland%3a%20%20A%20Political%20and%20Economic%20Survey%20%281951%29 online edition]
* Rust, Val D. ''The Democratic Tradition and the Evolution of Schooling in Norway.'' (1989). 333 pp.

==External links==
* [http://www.howto.co.uk/abroad/living-in-norway/ "Living and Working in Norway"], useful coverage of many topics
* [http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2741143.ece search Oslo newspaper stories]

== References ==
<references/>

{{Copyright Details (US Government)}}
Source = [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3421.htm]

[[Category:Norway]]
[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:Scandinavian Countries]]
[[Category:Political Parties in Norway]]

Bergen

2009-12-27T12:31:55Z

Efloean: Created page with ''''Bergen''' is the second largest city in Norway, located at the western coast in the county of Hordaland. Bergen is the capital of Hordaland, and is often called the ca...'

'''Bergen''' is the second largest city in [[Norway]], located at the western coast in the county of [[Hordaland]]. Bergen is the capital of Hordaland, and is often called the capital of Western Norway. Bergen is known for its scenic location between the coastal landscape and mighty mountains. As of 2009, the city has 256,580 inhabitants, and the metro no less than 375,489 inhabitants.

The city was founded in the year 1070 by King Olav Kyrre, who called the site Bjørgvin (''bjørg'', "berg", ''vin'', "meadow"), meaning "the meadow among the mountains". Bergen has through its history been a leading international city of trade and shipping, and was the largest city in the Nordic countries until the 17th century, and the largest city in Norway until the 1830's.

== Sister cities ==
*[[Asmara]], [[Eritrea]]
*[[Gothenburg]], [[Sweden]]
*[[Newcastle]], [[United Kingdom]]
*[[Seattle]], [[United States]]
*[[Turku]], [[Finland]]
*[[Aarhus]], [[Denmark]]

== External links ==
*[https://www.bergen.kommune.no/aktuelt/english/ Official website] (English)
*[http://www.bergen-guide.com/ Bergen Guide] (English)

[[Category:Norwegian Cities and Towns]]

Category:Norwegian Cities and Towns

2009-12-27T12:11:49Z

Efloean: Created page with 'Category:Norway Category:European Cities and Towns'

[[Category:Norway]]
[[Category:European Cities and Towns]]

Oslo

2009-12-27T12:11:36Z

Efloean:

'''Oslo''' is the capital of [[Norway]].

[[category:Norwegian Cities and Towns]]
[[Category:Capital Cities]]

Oslo

2009-12-27T12:10:37Z

Efloean:

'''Oslo''' is the capital of [[Norway]].

[[category:Cities in Norway]]
[[Category:Capital Cities]]

C. J. Hambro

2009-12-27T12:09:57Z

Efloean: typo

{{Officeholder
|name=Carl Joachim Hambro, Sr.
|image=
|party=[[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Norwegian Conservative Party]]
|spouse=Gudrun "Dudu" Grieg (†1943) Gyda Christensen
|religion=
|offices=
{{Officeholder/Norwegian MP
|term=1919–1957
|district=[[Oslo]]
}}
}}
'''Carl Joachim Hambro, Sr.''' (born 5 January 1885 in [[Bergen]], died 15 December 1964 in [[Oslo]]), commonly known as '''C. J. Hambro''', was a [[Norway|Norwegian]] author, editor and [[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative]] politician. He spent most of his life as journalist and editor of ''[[Morgenbladet]]'', a right-wing newspaper in Oslo. Hambro was known as a great orator and rhetorican, and is known as the foremost parlamentarian of Norway in the 20th century. He was member of the [[Storting]], representing the Conservative Party, 1919–1957, and was Parliamentary Speaker 1926–1933 and 1935–1945, as well as parliamentary leader 1926–1958 and party leader 1926–1934 and 1950–1954. Despite of this, Hambro never became Prime Minister nor member of the cabinet.

He played a crucial role at the time the [[Germany|German]] invasion on 9 April 1940. With only six hours advance notice, he managed to organize the escape of King [[Haakon VII of Norway|Haakon VII]] and his family, the government, the parliament and the gold reserves of the Bank of Norway. They all left on a train commissioned by Hambro, just 30 minutes before the Germans arrived in Oslo. Before the war, Hambro had warned the politicians and the public against extremist ideologies as [[nazism]] and [[communism]] for many years.

{{QuoteBox2|width=35%|align=left|quote=The conservatism stands in every state in nearest context with tradition and historical development, and with the national treasures which previous generations have collected.|source=C. J. Hambro on conservatism}}
 
__TOC__
== Background ==

== Political work ==
{{QuoteBox2|width=20%|align=right|quote=It is not any possibility to claim neutrality without a minimum of power to protect it.|source=C. J. Hambro on neutrality}}

== Bibliography ==
Hambro wrote more than 35 books, primarily in Norwegian.

;Works entirely in English
*1940 – ''I Saw It Happen in Norway''
*1942 – ''How to Win the Peace''

== External links ==
*[http://www.stortinget.no/no/Representanter-og-komiteer/Representantene/Representantfordeling/Representant/?perid=CAHM&tab=Biography The Storting's biography on C. J. Hambro] (Norwegian)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hambro, C. J.}}
[[Category:Norwegians]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]

User:Efloean

2009-12-22T15:38:19Z

Efloean: Important note

{{Userboxtop|Different fancy boxes}}
{{User Worldconservative}}
{{User free speech}}
{{User noforcedreligion}}
{{User Wikipedian}}
{{User Life begins|age}}
{{User no}}
{{userboxbottom}}
:''My contributions to this wiki are limited, as I unfortunately can't edit this wiki for very much of the time I'm out of bed.''

My name is Erik. I am 15 years old, and live in [[Norway]]. I define myself as a [[liberal conservatism|liberal conservative]], which tends to be unknown for most Americans, but very much alive in Europe.

If I should fit into one of the American political parties, I would fit best into [[Libertarian Party]], though I disagree with that party at certain points as war on drugs and gun control. I'm member of Norwegian Young Conservatives (''Unge Høyre''). I share most of the ideals of the other editors here, but I may disagree with you in cases like [[gun control]] and [[gay rights]] – I am heterosexual, but as I am [[atheist]]ic, my opinions are not coloured by religion. Therefore, I think it is wrong to connect [[socialism]], gay rights and atheism to eachother, as they don't have anything to do with eachother in primary.

=== Languages ===
I speak Norwegian as native language, and also these languages: English (intermediate), Faroese (intermediate) and Spanish (a little). Danish and Swedish are mutually intelligible with Norwegian, so I understand they also, though the Danish language is known for its special pronunciation.

[[Category:Wikipedians on Conservapedia]]
[[Category:European conservapedians]]
[[Category:Agnostic conservapedians]]

Talk:Homosexual denial

2009-12-22T15:36:38Z

Efloean:

I believe this article should be restructured or, as it appears now, deleted, simply on the grounds on the Conservapedia Commandments: "Do not post personal opinion on an encyclopedia entry. Opinions can be posted on Talk:pages or on debate or discussion pages." This article got many personal opinions, most notably "No conclusion can be drawn from the premises". The article is also against both "Everything you post must be true and verifiable" and "Always cite and give credit to your sources, even if in the public domain", as it got no sources/references/citations at all. [[User:Efloean|Efloean]] 14:10, 20 December 2009 (EST)
:I do not think that this is a personal opinion. The logic, I think, is like this:
:*P1. A iff B and C
:*P2. B is true
:*P3. A = D
:*P4. Not A
:*C1. Not C
:(Hope the notation is right) Maybe it should be put in another article, or in an essay. But the logic is fine.--[[User:Wuhao1911|Wuhao1911]] 15:05, 20 December 2009 (EST)
::Then I suggest to move it to the essay namespace. My answer came a bit late as I can't edit this wiki for very much of the time when I'm awake. [[User:Efloean|Efloean]] 10:36, 22 December 2009 (EST)

Talk:Homosexual denial

2009-12-20T19:30:58Z

Efloean: typo

Talk:Homosexual denial

2009-12-20T19:10:57Z

Efloean: suggestion for deletion

I believe this article should be restructured or, as it stands now, deleted, simply on the grounds on the Conservapedia Commandments: "Do not post personal opinion on an encyclopedia entry. Opinions can be posted on Talk:pages or on debate or discussion pages." This article got many personal opinions, most notably "No conclusion can be drawn from the premises". The article is also against both "Everything you post must be true and verifiable" and "Always cite and give credit to your sources, even if in the public domain", as it got no sources/references/citations at all. [[User:Efloean|Efloean]] 14:10, 20 December 2009 (EST)

The Conservative Party (Norway)

2009-12-20T19:03:36Z

Efloean:

{{PoliticalParty
| party_name = Norwegian Conservative Party
| party_articletitle = The Conservative Party (Norway)
| party_logo =
| website = [http://www.hoyre.no/artikler/2003/1/information_in_english hoyre.no]
| headquarters = [[Oslo]]
| leader = [[Erna Solberg]]
| parleader = [[Erna Solberg]]
| foundation = 1884
| ideology = [[Euroconservatism]] [[Liberal conservatism]]
| position = Center-right
| international = [[International Democrat Union|IDU]], [[European People's Party|EPP]]1
| colors = Blue, white
| footnotes = 1 Associated member, as Norway is a non-member of the [[European Union|EU]].
}}
The '''Norwegian Conservative Party''' ([[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]: '''Høyre''', '''H''', literally meaning '''Right''') is a political party in [[Norway]], representing [[euroconservatism]] and [[liberal conservatism]]. After the last parliamentary election in [[2009]], the Conservative Party is the third largest political party of Norway, holding 30 of 169 seats in [[Storting]]. The party is currently in opposition to the center-left government together the other right-wing parties. Party leader since [[2004]] is [[Erna Solberg]].

== History ==
=== Early years ===
The party was founded in 1884, as the second political party in Norway, representing a opposition against the [[The Liberal Party (Norway)|Liberal Party]], founded earlier the same year. The Conservative Party was a reaction against [[parliamentarian]] and women's suffrage, and universal suffrage in general. The party wanted to maintain the union with [[Sweden]] (which was later dissolved after a referendum in 1905). Most of the members in the party's early beginning were governmental officers, traders and land owners.

The Conservative and Liberal Parties changed on having the governmental power in the early years, from 1884 to 1928, when [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]] established its first government, after winning the parliamentary election the same year; the Conservative Party's main enemy wasn't any longer the Liberal Party.

Before the [[World War II]], [[C. J. Hambro]] raised as the Conservative Party and Norway's most important parlamentarian. He led the Storting's Committee on Foreign Affairs, and was Parliament Speaker, in most of the 1930's. He warned against extremist ideologies a good while before the World War II came and others realized the same as him.

=== In opposition, 1945–1963 ===
From the end of the [[Second World War]] to 1963, the [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]]'s [[Einar Gerhardsen]] was the Prime Minister of Norway, while the Conservative Party was the largest party in opposition. The Labor Party's absolute majority in the parliament caused frustration in the Conservative Party. Despite this, the party got important leaders like C. J. Hambro, [[Alv Kjøs]], [[Sjur Lindebrække]] and [[John Lyng]].

=== New will, 1963–1981 ===
The Labour Party had to give the governmental power to the Conservative Party because of the scandal relating to the King's Bay mine accident. John Lyng's government couldn't govern Norway for long before the party had to give the power back to the Labour Party already the same year. Though, Lyng's right-wing coalition government gave hope for the right-wing opposition, and the Conservative Party became a part of [[Per Borten]]'s coalition government (1965–1971). Borten represented the [[Center Party (Norway)|Center Party]], and had to resign because of a scandal where Borten was accused of giving top secret documents to representatives from the [[European Union]]. However, later investigations and statements showed that Borten was innocent.

=== In charge, 1981–1990 ===
The Conservative Party won the 1981 parliamentary election, and [[Kåre Willoch]] became Prime Minister. The Willoch's first government was the first Conservative-only government sine [[Emil Stang]]'s second government (1893–1895), and since not been succeeded by another Conservative-only government. After the 1985 parliamentary election, also the [[Christian Democratic Party (Norway)|Christian Democrats]] and [[The Centre Party (Norway)|the Centre Party]] was included into the the government, Willoch II. Willoch's government did things like removing the tax for fortune, and dissolving the [[Norwegian State Broadcasting|NRK]] monopoly of Norwegian broadcasting, leading to an explosion of the number of radio stations, and leading up to the creation of [[Norwegian TV2|TV2]] in 1991. After a dispute between [[The Progress Party (Norway)|the Progress Party]] and the government, Willoch's government fell in a vote of no confidence in 1986.

The Labour Party was in charge from 1986 to 1989, when a government consisting of the same parties as in Willoch II took the power. [[Jan P. Syse]] from the Conservative Party was Prime Minister until 1990, when his government fell due to a vote of no confidence, where the Centre Party voted against it's own government because of Syse's decision about working for Norway's entering into the [[European Economic Area]]. Syse is per 2008 the last Prime Minister of Norway representing the Conservative Party.

=== Today, since 1991 ===
The discussion about joining the [[European Union]] was the most important case in the 1993 parliamentary election, and was the main reason that the Conservative Party dropped down from the place as second largest party, to being the third largest one. The Conservative Party was beaten by the [[The Centre Party (Norway)|Centre Party]], as the Centre Party became the largest opposer to a Norwegian membership of the EU. The referendum in 1994 gave the opposers a little majority, with 52,2 percent of the total vote (voter turnout was 88,6 percent, the highest in Norwegian history). The Conservative Party made it worst election result since the first World War in 1997, but raised in 2001, and came into a cabinet together with the Christian Democrats and the Liberal Party, supported by the Progressive Party. Lost the election in 2005, but is expected to make good results together with the Progressive Party in 2009.

== Criticism ==
*''Party for the rich''. This believe has been uphold by the left-wing parties in more than hundred years, mainly because the Conservative Party was an interest party for the middle and upper class in the beginning. Today, the worker's class has more or less disappeared in Norway, and most people can define themselves as middle class. It is internal stated: "The Conservative Party shall be a party for everybody, not just those who vote for us. We shall be the party for the nurse, the industrial worker, the engineer, the bank director, and the immigrant boy. If the unemployed man at home in a small apartment in Oslo doesn't vote for us, that doesn't mean that we won't make it easier for him to get a job again."
*''Only tax cuts for the rich''. Used as an argument by, especially, the Labour Party against the Conservative Party, most recently in the 2005 parliamentary election. The party supports tax cuts for everybody (and was done when the party was in government; 2001–2005), not just the rich, so the criticism is built upon wrong facts.

== Leaders ==
* [[Erna Solberg]] 2004–today
* [[Jan Petersen]] 1994–2004
* [[Kaci Kullmann Five]] 1991–1994
* [[Jan P. Syse]] 1988–1991
* [[Kaci Kullmann Five]] 1988
* [[Rolf Presthus]] 1986–1988
* [[Erling Norvik]] 1984–1986
* [[Jo Benkow]] 1980–1984
* [[Erling Norvik]] 1974–1980
* [[Kåre Willoch]] 1970–1974
* [[Sjur Lindebrække]] 1962–1970
* [[Alv Kjøs]] 1954–1962
* [[C. J. Hambro|Carl Joachim Hambro, Sr.]] 1950–1954
* [[Arthur Nordlie]] 1945–1950
* [[Ole Ludvig Bærøe]] 1937–1940
* [[Joh. H. Andresen]] 1934–1937
* [[C. J. Hambro|Carl Joachim Hambro, Sr.]] 1926–1934
* [[Ivar Lykke]] 1923–1926
* [[Otto B. Halvorsen]] 1919–1923
* [[Jens Bratlie]] 1911–1919
* [[Fredrik Stang, Jr.]] 1907–1911
* [[Edm. Harbitz]] 1905–1907
* [[Ole Larsen Skattebøl]] 1902–1905
* [[Francis Hagerup]] 1899–1902
* [[Emil Stang, Sr.]] 1896–1899
* [[Christian H. Schweigaard]] 1893–1896
* [[Emil Stang, Sr.]] 1891–1893
* [[Christian H. Schweigaard]] 1889–1891
* [[Emil Stang, Sr.]] 1884–1889

== Prime Ministers ==
* [[Jan P. Syse]] 1989–1990
* [[Kåre Willoch]], 1981–1986
* [[John Lyng]] 1963
* [[Ivar Lykke]] 1926–1928
* [[Otto B. Halvorsen]] 1923
* [[Otto B. Halvorsen]] 1920–1921
* [[Jens Bratlie]] 1912–1913
* [[Francis Hagerup]] 1903–1905
* [[Francis Hagerup]] 1895–1898
* [[Emil Stang, Sr.]] 1893–1895
* [[Emil Stang, Sr.]] 1889–1891
* [[Christian H. Schweigaard]] 1884
* [[Christian August Selmer]] 1880–1884

{{Political parties in Norway}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conservative Party}}
[[Category:Political Parties in Norway]]

Høyre

2009-12-20T19:00:06Z

Efloean: Redirected page to The Conservative Party (Norway)

#redirect [[The Conservative Party (Norway)]]

C. J. Hambro

2009-12-20T18:58:52Z

Efloean:

{{Officeholder
|name=Carl Joachim Hambro, Sr.
|image=
|party=[[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Norwegian Conservative Party]]
|spouse=Gudrun "Dudu" Grieg (†1943) Gyda Christensen
|religion=
|offices=
{{Officeholder/Norwegian MP
|term=1919–1957
|district=[[Oslo]]
}}
}}
'''Carl Joachim Hambro, Sr.''' (born 5 January 1885 in [[Bergen]], died 15 December 1964 in [[Oslo]]), commonly known as '''C. J. Hambro''', was a [[Norway|Norwegian]] author, editor and [[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative]] politician. He spent most of his life as journalist and editor of ''[[Morgenbladet]]'', a right-wing newspaper in Oslo. Hambro was known as a great orator and rhetorican, and is known as the foremost parlamentarian of Norway in the 20th century. He was member of the [[Storting]], representing the Conservative Party, 1919–1957, and was Parliamentary Speaker 1926–1933 and 1935–1945, as well as parliamentary leader 1926–1958 and party leader 1926–1934 and 1950–1954. Despite of this, Hambro never became Prime Minister nor member of the cabinet.

He played a crucial role at the time the [[Germany|German]] invasion on 9 April 1940. With only six hours advance notice, he managed to organize the escape of king [[Haakon VII of Norway|Haakon VII]] and his family, the government, the parliament and the gold reserves of the Bank of Norway. They all left on a train commissioned by Hambro, just 30 minutes before the Germans arrived in Oslo. Before the war, Hambro had warned the politicians and the public against extremist ideologies as [[nazism]] and [[communism]] for many years.

{{QuoteBox2|width=35%|align=left|quote=The conservatism stands in every state in nearest context with tradition and historical development, and with the national treasures which previous generations have collected.|source=C. J. Hambro on conservatism}}
 
__TOC__
== Background ==

== Political work ==
{{QuoteBox2|width=20%|align=right|quote=It is not any possibility to claim neutrality without a minimum of power to protect it.|source=C. J. Hambro on neutrality}}

== Bibliography ==
Hambro wrote more than 35 books, primarily in Norwegian.

;Works entirely in English
*1940 – ''I Saw It Happen in Norway''
*1942 – ''How to Win the Peace''

== External links ==
*[http://www.stortinget.no/no/Representanter-og-komiteer/Representantene/Representantfordeling/Representant/?perid=CAHM&tab=Biography The Storting's biography on C. J. Hambro] (Norwegian)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hambro, C. J.}}
[[Category:Norwegians]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]

Template:Officeholder/Norwegian MP

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C. J. Hambro

2009-12-20T18:34:06Z

Efloean:

{{Officeholder
|name=Carl Joachim Hambro, Sr.
|image=
|party=[[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Norwegian Conservative Party]]
|spouse=Gudrun "Dudu" Grieg (†1943) Gyda Christensen
|religion=
|offices=
}}
'''Carl Joachim Hambro, Sr.''' (born 5 January 1885 in [[Bergen]], died 15 December 1964 in [[Oslo]]), commonly known as '''C. J. Hambro''', was a [[Norway|Norwegian]] author, editor and [[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative]] politician. He spent most of his life as journalist and editor of ''[[Morgenbladet]]'', a right-wing newspaper in Oslo. Hambro was known as a great orator and rhetorican, and is known as the foremost parlamentarian of Norway in the 20th century. He was member of the [[Storting]], representing the Conservative Party, 1919–1957, and was Parliamentary Speaker 1926–1933 and 1935–1945, as well as parliamentary leader 1926–1958 and party leader 1926–1934 and 1950–1954. Despite of this, Hambro never became Prime Minister nor member of the cabinet.

He played a crucial role at the time the [[Germany|German]] invasion on 9 April 1940. With only six hours advance notice, he managed to organize the escape of king [[Haakon VII of Norway|Haakon VII]] and his family, the government, the parliament and the gold reserves of the Bank of Norway. They all left on a train commissioned by Hambro, just 30 minutes before the Germans arrived in Oslo. Before the war, Hambro had warned the politicians and the public against extremist ideologies as [[nazism]] and [[communism]] for many years.

{{QuoteBox2|width=35%|align=left|quote=The conservatism stands in every state in nearest context with tradition and historical development, and with the national treasures which previous generations have collected.|source=C. J. Hambro on conservatism}}
 
__TOC__
== Background ==

== Political work ==
{{QuoteBox2|width=20%|align=right|quote=It is not any possibility to claim neutrality without a minimum of power to protect it.|source=C. J. Hambro on neutrality}}

== Bibliography ==
Hambro wrote more than 35 books, primarily in Norwegian.

;Works entirely in English
*1940 – ''I Saw It Happen in Norway''
*1942 – ''How to Win the Peace''

== External links ==
*[http://www.stortinget.no/no/Representanter-og-komiteer/Representantene/Representantfordeling/Representant/?perid=CAHM&tab=Biography The Storting's biography on C. J. Hambro] (Norwegian)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hambro, C. J.}}
[[Category:Norwegians]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]

C. J. Hambro

2009-12-20T17:51:22Z

Efloean: Created page with ''''Carl Joachim Hambro, Sr.''' (born 5 January 1885 in Bergen, died 15 December 1964 in Oslo), commonly known as '''C. J. Hambro''', was a Norwegian author, ed...'

'''Carl Joachim Hambro, Sr.''' (born 5 January 1885 in [[Bergen]], died 15 December 1964 in [[Oslo]]), commonly known as '''C. J. Hambro''', was a [[Norway|Norwegian]] author, editor and [[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative]] politician. He spent most of his life as journalist and editor of ''[[Morgenbladet]]'', a right-wing newspaper in Oslo. Hambro was known as a great orator and rhetorican, and is known as the foremost parlamentarian of Norway in the 20th century. He represented the Conservative Party in the [[Storting]] 1919–1957, and was Parliamentary Speaker 1926–1933 and 1935–1945, as well as parliamentary leader 1926–1958 and party leader 1926–1934 and 1950–1954. Despite of this, Hambro never became Prime Minister nor member of the cabinet.

He played a crucial role at the time the [[Germany|German]] invasion on 9 April 1940. With only six hours advance notice, he managed to organize the escape of king [[Haakon VII of Norway|Haakon VII]] and his family, the government, the parliament and the gold reserves of the Bank of Norway. They all left on a train commissioned by Hambro, just 30 minutes before the Germans arrived in Oslo. Before the war, Hambro had warned the politicians and the public against extremist ideologies as [[nazism]] and [[communism]] for many years.

{{QuoteBox2|width=35%|align=left|quote=The conservatism stands in every state in nearest context with tradition and historical development, and with the national treasures which previous generations have collected.|source=C. J. Hambro on conservatism}}
 
__TOC__

== Background ==

== Political work ==
{{QuoteBox2|width=20%|align=right|quote=It is not any possibility to claim neutrality without a minimum of power to protect it.|source=C. J. Hambro on neutrality}}

== Bibliography ==
Hambro wrote more than 35 books, primarily in Norwegian.

;Works entirely in English
*1940 – ''I Saw It Happen in Norway''
*1942 – ''How to Win the Peace''

== External links ==
*[http://www.stortinget.no/no/Representanter-og-komiteer/Representantene/Representantfordeling/Representant/?perid=CAHM&tab=Biography The Storting's biography on C. J. Hambro] (Norwegian)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hambro, C. J.}}
[[Category:Norwegians]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]

Socialist Left Party (Norway)

2009-12-20T17:34:09Z

Efloean: /* References */

The '''Socialist Left Party''' (''Sosialistisk Venstreparti'' in Norwegian) is a [[socialist]] political party in Norway. It was founded in 1973.

==History==
SV was originally founded as the '''Socialist Electoral League'''. It was founded by a confederation of different [[socialist]] parties within the country. In its first year, it won 16 seats in the [[Parliament]]. In 1975, it was decided that the confederation should be merged into one singular entity, hence the SV. It's popularity grew greatly in the 1980s, when it fought for issues such as world peace, removal of economic disparities, and [[Gun control|disarmament]].

The popularity began to decline again in the early 1990s. In 1993, they held only 13 seats in the Norwegian Parliament. The unpopularity remained through the 1990s, regardless of staunch support for a referendum against Norway's entrance into the [[European Union]]. After the election of Kristin Halvorsen as the new party leader in 1997, however, popularity again began to rise. She achieved an unprecedented level of consensus within the party, a problem which many socialist parties struggle with to this day.<ref>See [[Socialist Party of America]].</ref>

==Politics==
The SV, like many other [[liberal|leftist]] organizations, opposed the American involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. They did, however, support [[NATO]] bombings in [[Kosovo]] during the ethnic cleansing by Slobodan Milošević.<ref>Regardless of the "consensus", many members of the party were against the air strikes, claiming that "violence would only lead to more violence."</ref> According the party program from 2005-present, the [[United States]] is the "greatest threat to world peace."

==The Party Today==
The party currently holds 15 seats in the [[parliament]]. The party's current leader threatened to leave politics in 2007 if universal kindergarten had not been implemented. As of September 21, 2008, this has yet to be accomplished.

==External Links==
*[http://www1.sv.no/sentralt/historie.php Encyclopedia II - Socialist Left Party]
*[http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww1.sv.no%2Fsentralt%2Fhistorie.php&sl=no&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 SV's historie, translated from Norwegian by Google Language Tools.]

==References==
<references/>

{{Political parties in Norway}}

[[Category:Socialism]]
[[Category:Political Parties in Norway]]

Storting

2009-12-20T17:31:59Z

Efloean: Redirected page to Stortinget

#redirect [[Stortinget]]

Islam

2009-12-20T17:01:15Z

Efloean: cn

'''Islam''' is a [[monotheism|monotheistic]] [[Abrahamic religion]] based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]] Ibn Abdallah, a seventh century [[Arab]] religious and [[politics|political]] figure. The word "Islam" means "submission" (to Allah) in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Because the triconsonantal root of Islam, slm, carries the connotations of surrender, some academics and polemicists argue that slm implies the surrender of a defeated enemy, implying forceful conversion.

A follower of Islam is called a Muslim or Moslem, a term which means "one who submits (to God)". The older term [[Mohammedan]] means "follower of Muhammad", and has been used for centuries. Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", and "Saracen". Saracen as a term for muslims was limited to the crusade era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the biblical connection of Hagar the mother of Ishmael who is reported as the patriarch of Islam.<ref>For example see the account of Jeremias Cacavelas: The Siege of Vienna,1683</ref>Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from mispelling's of the above.

Muslims follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be [[God]]'s ("Allah", '''الله''' in [[Arabic]]) last and greatest [[prophet]]. The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the Quran, the Hadith, and the Sunnah.The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the prophet", which all muslims are called on to replicate.The faith teaches that the [[Archangel]] [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Poclaim",which is found in the 96th Sura of the Quran.

Muslims believe that God revealed the [[Qur'an]] (or Koran) to Muhammad who was illiterate and uneducated. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Quran is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref>. The Quran was not written down in a systemised fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recenscion.The Qur'an is considered to be the pure and holy word of God, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic theology the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Quran, only the delivering ot the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.

Like [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]], Islam originated in the [[Middle East]]. Islam claims to trace its roots back to [[Abraham]]. Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.

Based upon this belief, the Bible, Old and New Testament, is believed to have become corrupted through the translations and misinterpretations accumulated over the millenia. The criticism of the Torah centers around the reconstruction of the existing Biblical text required after the "Babylonian captivity". The criticism of the New Testament centers in the many disputed gnostic texts which contradict the orthodox biblical canon. Interestingly, Islamic jurisprudence accepts that the Injil was complete and whole up until the revelation of Muhammad. Therefore there is some inconsistency in the claims made against the New Testament. For more information, see [[The Bible versus the Qur'an]]
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]

Islam is the second largest religion in the world, with over 1.5 billion followers, the number of Muslims is rapidly growing, mainly due to high birth rates, in both Muslim-majority and other countries . Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but cannot keep up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref>
<ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref>

Many believe that Islam is, with [[Atheism]], currently the greatest threat to [[Christianity]] and [[Christian values]], <ref>[http://christianblogs.christianet.com/1134840164.htm Is Islam a Threat to Christianity?]</ref><ref>[http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/5/8/183305.shtml Islam's Threat to the West]</ref><ref>[http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/stock/050413 Why Islam Hates Christianity]</ref> and the overwhelming majority of modern international [[terrorist|terrorists]] who make headlines are Muslims. It should be noted that only a small extremist sect of Muslims participate in this activity, using the concept of "[[Jihad]]" (Holy War), to justify their actions. It should also be noted that contrary to popular conception the department of homeland security considers right wing white supremacist terrorist groups to be the most important domestic terror threat<ref>citation needed</ref>.

==Historical Background==

See [[History of the Muslim World]] or [[History of Islam]]

According to Islamic belief, in approximately 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], located in the Hijaz (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] (or Jibreel) to "recite" the message of [[Allah]] (Arabic for God). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgment day.

The message to Muhammad was to be God's last and fullest revelation, a direct copy of the Umm Al Khitab, the mother of all books located in heaven next to God; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or the city - as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Muhammad's forces, composed of the sahaba (companions) from Mecca ,and the Ansar (allied tribes from Yathrib) started attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632.
[[File:Islam750.jpg|thumb|590px]]

Tribal elders in a traditional council called the "Shura" elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten year reign, Islam invaded and spread through conquest and negotiation into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of [[Iran]]. Umar was assassinated by a Persian (modern day Iran) in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Iran, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].

The Muslim armies conquered and superseded the ancient Sassanid and Byzantine empires which had ruled before. Within a generation of Muhammad's death Muslim armies occupied an empire stretching from the Nile river to the far off Iranian province of khorasan. Reasons for the rapid conquest are varied and obscure. The Arab armies were more akin to tribal war bands raiding and settling where and when they could. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires had been at war for centuries. The constant simmering conflict between Constantinople and Persia reached a climax in the early 7th century. The Sassanids conquered briefly Egypt and the Levant threatening the central Byzantine heartland of Anatolia. Under the military reforms of the emperor Heraclius, the Byzantine army consolidated and counter attacked, recapturing all that they had lost and capturing the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 628.

This brief end of the Roman-Persian wars disrupted the frontier areas which had predicated their economies on raiding and mercenary activities. Two major areas in Arabia were directly affected. The Lackmid tribe and the Gassanid tribe both acted as mercenaries for the Persians and Romans. The official religion of both tribes analogically mirrored that of their overseers. Monophysite Christianity was common, particularly of the Jacobite sect. The death of Muhammad and the subsequent Ridda wars occupied these warrior tribes until the reign of Caliph Umar. Additionally, there was great religious unrest in the levant and Egypt. These areas resented the ruinous taxes and the harsh orthodoxy imposed by the emperor in Constantinople.

The same climate was present in the Sassanid realm with the rise of the dualism of the Manicheans. Under the Caliph Umar ,the Arab tribes which had concluded the infighting following the death of Muhammad were allowed to raid into the Byzantine and Sassanid fronteirs. The weakened state of both regimes from both military and economic exhaustion and religious unrest made them fertile picking grounds for the tribal warbands. The Arabs were chiefly successful in holding these areas in that they upheld a lightweight regime of low taxes based in the Islamic laws and distant government. Rather than employing an army of bureaucrats and nobility, the early Arab empire was more favorable towards maintaining the existing government structures under the leadership of Arab tribes. In this atmosphere it is hardly surprising to note the reports from both Muslim and Christian sources of peaceful capitulation and invitation of the invading forces.

==Divisions Within Islam==
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, religious dissidents who broke away from the main body of Muslims because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D.

The Shia Muslim community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgement day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni.

There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name possibly derived from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen.

==Religious Guidance==
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Qur'an as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from God. Some utterances that Mohammed was unsure about, dubbed the Satanic verses, would later be incorporated in a novel in modern times by [[Salman Rushdie]] who would then be subject to a death degree from the leader of Iran for his writing.

The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Qur'an that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Qur'an is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Qur'an as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.

Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Muslim countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.

====Clergy====
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulama, who often are educated men familiar with the Qur'an and able to offer commentaries on Qur'anic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims.

Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Qur'an or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of God, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Qur'an, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior.

===Five Pillars of Islam===
*'''Shahadah (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except God, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of God''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam.

*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to Pray to God five times each day while facing [[Mecca]].

*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of the value of most valuables and savings held for a full [[lunar year]].

*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must fast during daylight hours during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Some Muslim sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.

*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives.

==Other Aspects of Islam==
[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pages from the Qur'an, the holy book of the Islamic religion.]]
====Jihad====
Jihad is the "effort" or "struggle" each Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. Jihad also can be applied to warfare; participating in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad often was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims.

====Osama bin Laden and Fundamentalists====
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of a particular brand of Islam popular in Saudi Arabia, has stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers maintain that the number of Muslims who believe as bin Laden does is growing, and others go further to suggest that all "fundamentalist" Muslims are enemies of the West. But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow bin Laden or other terrorists. These observers suggest that the fundamentalists disagree with bin Laden as much as do Westerners. It is hard to know the truth. Many westerners are still haunted by the images of cheering crowds dancing in the streets when the 9/11 attacks were announced and were disappointed at the lack of prominent condemnation of the attack from Islamic circles worldwide.

====People of the Book====
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Qur'an and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, tracing its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of God's promise. Islam believes that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Qur'an, but there is still an earlier link between the three religions. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Qur'an and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.

====Women in Islam====
For the most part, the Qur'an treats men and [[woman|women]] equally, applies the same injunctions and prohibitions to men and women, and grants many of the same privileges and benefits. But women are treated separately in certain instances. For example, women are required to "... draw their outer garments around them ... that they may be known (to be Muslims) and not annoyed (by men)." (Qur'an 33:59) Covering the head and body in public (hijab) is viewed by many Muslim women as a protection of their modesty, a way to discourage men's covetous eyes. The principle of hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and regular "street clothes" may be voluntary and acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[Burqa]] was enforced in Taliban Afghanistan. The treatment of women may depend upon rural or urban settings, educational level, society norms, tradition, or other factors. As of 2008, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are the only two Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of modest garb.

Islamic dress is a regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education.

Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit - should a man die, his brothers, sons and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of the criminal law of the country, and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions, but to a lesser extent. In contrast, Turkey has a majority Muslim population yet still grants women rights near-equal to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level.

Muslim apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, and point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and womens' rights are compatible, and point to past Christian-dominated cultures such as medieval Europe as examples that other religions can be distorted to justify oppression.

Muslim women's status is controversial. Some critics claim that Muslim men oppress Muslim women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities. Defenders of some practices suggest that many of them, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect, not constrict, women, or that many Muslim women adopt the life style of the veil voluntarily. There are Muslim women who agree and disagree with the critics.

====Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem====
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions.

At first, Jerusalem was Islam's holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the Dome of the Rock mosque. According to the Qur'an (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.

====Restrictions====
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims are proscribed from drinking alcoholic beverages. Observant Muslims do not collect interest.

====Non-Muslim Practices====
Some practices have been associated with Islam because they occur in Islamic countries, but actually are not a part of Islam. For example, female circumcision is not mentioned in the Qur'an, but is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" but not obligatory condition. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, notably in Eritrea, Yemen, and Egypt. Another example of a practice that has been associated incorrectly with Islam is honor killing, in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that dishonored the family through unmarried pregnancy or promiscuous behavior. The "honor killing" is more ancient and possibly tribalistic pagan in origin.

==Islam and Christianity==
While Muslims do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the resurrection, they consider him and his mother to be of God's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Qur'an warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref>

The Qur'an states that non-believers will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified (same as similar statements in the Bible and the Torah):

{{cquote|Surely, disbelievers are those who said:
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah.
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.

Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The Messiah , son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ).
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat).
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."
}}
::(Qur'an 5:73-75)

However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in [[Arabic]]) as a founding prophet.

==Islam and Paganism==

Although Muslims profess belief in a single [[God]], some believe Islam has its roots in an earlier polytheistic system.<ref>[http://www.chick.com/information/religions/islam/]</ref> By this thinking God is linked to an earlier moon deity, although it should be brought up that there is no mention of this in the Qur'an, where Allah is cited as the God of [[Abraham]].<ref>The Qur'an, Sura 37 [http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Quran-Allamah-Nooruddin/dp/0963206702]</ref><ref>Abramahov, "Islamic Theology". Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, 1988. [http://www.amazon.com/Islamic-Theology-Binyamin-Abrahamov/dp/0748611029/sr=8-4/qid=1172042917/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/105-1837174-2630046?ie=UTF8&s=books]</ref>

==Sharia==
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]].]]
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Qur'an; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of God by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.

Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Some Islamic scholars accept Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established before the 19th century, while other scholars view Sharia as a changing body, and include Islamic legal theory from the contemporary period.{{fact}}

Sharia law is used in many modern Islamic theocracies and prescribes very harsh treatments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, converting from Islam is punishable by death.<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref>
==Terminology==
Additional archaic terms for Muslims include , but are not limited to, "Hagarene" and "Saracen". The term Hagarene was more common in post-crusade Europe as it made specific reference to the biblical mother of Ishmael. Ishmael in the Muslim faith plays an analogous theological role to Isaac.{{citation needed}} Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]]<ref>Schimmel, (1992)</ref>

==Ex-Muslims==
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of Ex-Muslims hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations." <ref> [http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref>

<ref>''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back] </ref>

==Prominent Muslims==
*[[Muhammad]]
*[[Muhammad Ali]]
*[[Ahmed Deedat]]
*[[Yusef Islam]]
*[[Prince Naseem Hamed]]
*[[Rezazadeh Hossein]]
*[[Ayatollah Khomeini]]
*[[Ayatollah Khamenei]]
*[[Mohammad Khatami]]
*[[Osama Bin Laden]]
*[[Muhammad Yunus]]

== See also ==
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]
*[[Arab American]]
*[[Islamic republic]]
*[[Qur'an]]
*[[Ramadan]]
==Further reading==
* Armour, Rollin. ''Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-Christianity-West-Troubled-History/dp/1570754071/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]
* Armstrong, Karen. ''Islam: A Short History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Berkey, Jonathan P. ''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Formation-Islam-Religion-Society-600-1800/dp/0521588138/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]
* Esposito, John J. ''The Oxford History of Islam'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]
* Lewis, Bernard. ''Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East'' (2001), by leading conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-People-Events-Middle/dp/0812695186/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]
* Newby, Gordon. ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Concise-Encyclopedia-Islam-Gordon-Newby/dp/1851682953/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342942&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Robinson, Chase F. ed. ''The New Cambridge History of Islam'' (Volume 1) (2009), summarizes advanced scholarship
* Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. ''Historical Atlas of Islam'' (2004)
* Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. (1992)
* Sonn, Tamara and Mary Williamsburg. ''A Brief History of Islam'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Blackwell-Histories-Religion/dp/1405109009/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]
* Wheatcroft, Andrew. ''Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Infidels-History-Conflict-Between-Christendom/dp/0812972392/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]

==External links==
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]
* Congressional Research Service, "Islam: A Primer", Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain and the source of part of this article [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Worldviews]]

The Conservative Party (Norway)

2009-12-20T16:45:58Z

Efloean:

The '''Norwegian Conservative Party''' ([[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]: '''Høyre''', '''H''', literally meaning '''Right''') is a political party in [[Norway]], representing [[euroconservatism]] and [[liberal conservatism]]. After the last parliamentary election in [[2009]], the Conservative Party is the third largest political party of Norway, holding 30 of 169 seats in [[Storting]]. The party is currently in opposition to the center-left government together the other right-wing parties. Party leader since [[2004]] is [[Erna Solberg]].

== History ==
=== Early years ===
The party was founded in 1884, as the second political party in Norway, representing a opposition against the [[The Liberal Party (Norway)|Liberal Party]], founded earlier the same year. The Conservative Party was a reaction against [[parliamentarian]] and women's suffrage, and universal suffrage in general. The party wanted to maintain the union with [[Sweden]] (which was later dissolved after a referendum in 1905). Most of the members in the party's early beginning were governmental officers, traders and land owners.

The Conservative and Liberal Parties changed on having the governmental power in the early years, from 1884 to 1928, when [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]] established its first government, after winning the parliamentary election the same year; the Conservative Party's main enemy wasn't any longer the Liberal Party.

Before the [[World War II]], [[C. J. Hambro]] raised as the Conservative Party and Norway's most important parlamentarian. He led the Storting's Committee on Foreign Affairs, and was Parliament Speaker, in most of the 1930's. He warned against extremist ideologies a good while before the World War II came and others realized the same as him.

=== In opposition, 1945–1963 ===
From the end of the [[Second World War]] to 1963, the [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]]'s [[Einar Gerhardsen]] was the Prime Minister of Norway, while the Conservative Party was the largest party in opposition. The Labor Party's absolute majority in the parliament caused frustration in the Conservative Party. Despite this, the party got important leaders like C. J. Hambro, [[Alv Kjøs]], [[Sjur Lindebrække]] and [[John Lyng]].

=== New will, 1963–1981 ===
The Labour Party had to give the governmental power to the Conservative Party because of the scandal relating to the King's Bay mine accident. John Lyng's government couldn't govern Norway for long before the party had to give the power back to the Labour Party already the same year. Though, Lyng's right-wing coalition government gave hope for the right-wing opposition, and the Conservative Party became a part of [[Per Borten]]'s coalition government (1965–1971). Borten represented the [[Center Party (Norway)|Center Party]], and had to resign because of a scandal where Borten was accused of giving top secret documents to representatives from the [[European Union]]. However, later investigations and statements showed that Borten was innocent.

=== In charge, 1981–1990 ===
The Conservative Party won the 1981 parliamentary election, and [[Kåre Willoch]] became Prime Minister. The Willoch's first government was the first Conservative-only government sine [[Emil Stang]]'s second government (1893–1895), and since not been succeeded by another Conservative-only government. After the 1985 parliamentary election, also the [[Christian Democratic Party (Norway)|Christian Democrats]] and [[The Centre Party (Norway)|the Centre Party]] was included into the the government, Willoch II. Willoch's government did things like removing the tax for fortune, and dissolving the [[Norwegian State Broadcasting|NRK]] monopoly of Norwegian broadcasting, leading to an explosion of the number of radio stations, and leading up to the creation of [[Norwegian TV2|TV2]] in 1991. After a dispute between [[The Progress Party (Norway)|the Progress Party]] and the government, Willoch's government fell in a vote of no confidence in 1986.

The Labour Party was in charge from 1986 to 1989, when a government consisting of the same parties as in Willoch II took the power. [[Jan P. Syse]] from the Conservative Party was Prime Minister until 1990, when his government fell due to a vote of no confidence, where the Centre Party voted against it's own government because of Syse's decision about working for Norway's entering into the [[European Economic Area]]. Syse is per 2008 the last Prime Minister of Norway representing the Conservative Party.

=== Today, since 1991 ===
The discussion about joining the [[European Union]] was the most important case in the 1993 parliamentary election, and was the main reason that the Conservative Party dropped down from the place as second largest party, to being the third largest one. The Conservative Party was beaten by the [[The Centre Party (Norway)|Centre Party]], as the Centre Party became the largest opposer to a Norwegian membership of the EU. The referendum in 1994 gave the opposers a little majority, with 52,2 percent of the total vote (voter turnout was 88,6 percent, the highest in Norwegian history). The Conservative Party made it worst election result since the first World War in 1997, but raised in 2001, and came into a cabinet together with the Christian Democrats and the Liberal Party, supported by the Progressive Party. Lost the election in 2005, but is expected to make good results together with the Progressive Party in 2009.

== Criticism ==
*''Party for the rich''. This believe has been uphold by the left-wing parties in more than hundred years, mainly because the Conservative Party was an interest party for the middle and upper class in the beginning. Today, the worker's class has more or less disappeared in Norway, and most people can define themselves as middle class. It is internal stated: "The Conservative Party shall be a party for everybody, not just those who vote for us. We shall be the party for the nurse, the industrial worker, the engineer, the bank director, and the immigrant boy. If the unemployed man at home in a small apartment in Oslo doesn't vote for us, that doesn't mean that we won't make it easier for him to get a job again."
*''Only tax cuts for the rich''. Used as an argument by, especially, the Labour Party against the Conservative Party, most recently in the 2005 parliamentary election. The party supports tax cuts for everybody (and was done when the party was in government; 2001–2005), not just the rich, so the criticism is built upon wrong facts.

== Leaders ==
* [[Erna Solberg]] 2004–today
* [[Jan Petersen]] 1994–2004
* [[Kaci Kullmann Five]] 1991–1994
* [[Jan P. Syse]] 1988–1991
* [[Kaci Kullmann Five]] 1988
* [[Rolf Presthus]] 1986–1988
* [[Erling Norvik]] 1984–1986
* [[Jo Benkow]] 1980–1984
* [[Erling Norvik]] 1974–1980
* [[Kåre Willoch]] 1970–1974
* [[Sjur Lindebrække]] 1962–1970
* [[Alv Kjøs]] 1954–1962
* [[C. J. Hambro|Carl Joachim Hambro, Sr.]] 1950–1954
* [[Arthur Nordlie]] 1945–1950
* [[Ole Ludvig Bærøe]] 1937–1940
* [[Joh. H. Andresen]] 1934–1937
* [[C. J. Hambro|Carl Joachim Hambro, Sr.]] 1926–1934
* [[Ivar Lykke]] 1923–1926
* [[Otto B. Halvorsen]] 1919–1923
* [[Jens Bratlie]] 1911–1919
* [[Fredrik Stang, Jr.]] 1907–1911
* [[Edm. Harbitz]] 1905–1907
* [[Ole Larsen Skattebøl]] 1902–1905
* [[Francis Hagerup]] 1899–1902
* [[Emil Stang, Sr.]] 1896–1899
* [[Christian H. Schweigaard]] 1893–1896
* [[Emil Stang, Sr.]] 1891–1893
* [[Christian H. Schweigaard]] 1889–1891
* [[Emil Stang, Sr.]] 1884–1889

== Prime Ministers ==
* [[Jan P. Syse]] 1989–1990
* [[Kåre Willoch]], 1981–1986
* [[John Lyng]] 1963
* [[Ivar Lykke]] 1926–1928
* [[Otto B. Halvorsen]] 1923
* [[Otto B. Halvorsen]] 1920–1921
* [[Jens Bratlie]] 1912–1913
* [[Francis Hagerup]] 1903–1905
* [[Francis Hagerup]] 1895–1898
* [[Emil Stang, Sr.]] 1893–1895
* [[Emil Stang, Sr.]] 1889–1891
* [[Christian H. Schweigaard]] 1884
* [[Christian August Selmer]] 1880–1884

{{Political parties in Norway}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conservative Party}}
[[Category:Political Parties in Norway]]

The Conservative Party (Norway)

2009-12-20T15:57:02Z

Efloean: /* Early years */

'''The Conservative Party''' (Norwegian: ''Høyre'' (''H''), literally meaning ''right'') is a political party in [[Norway]], representing European [[conservatism]] and [[liberal conservatism]]. Per the Norwegian parliamentary election of 2005, the Conservative Party is Norway's third largest political party, currently being in opposition together the other right-wing parties. Current leader is [[Erna Solberg]].

==History==
===Early years===
The party was founded in 1884, as the second political party in Norway, representing a opposition against the [[The Liberal Party (Norway)|Liberal Party]], founded earlier the same year. The Conservative Party was a reaction against [[parliamentarian]] and women's suffrage, and universal suffrage in general. The party wanted to maintain the union with [[Sweden]] (which was later dissolved after a referendum in 1905). Most of the members in the party's early beginning were governmental officers, traders and land owners.

The Conservative and Liberal Parties changed on having the governmental power in the early years, from 1884 to 1928, when [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]] established its first government, after winning the parliamentary election the same year; the Conservative Party's main enemy wasn't any longer the Liberal Party.

Before the [[World War II]], [[C.J. Hambro]] raised as the Conservative Party and Norway's most important parlamentarian. He led the Storting's Committee on Foreign Affairs, and was Parliament Speaker, in most of the 1930's. He warned against extremist ideologies a good while before the World War II came and others realized the same as him.

===In opposition, 1945–1963===
From the end of the [[Second World War]] to 1963, the [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]]'s [[Einar Gerhardsen]] was the Prime Minister of Norway, while the Conservative Party was the largest party in opposition. The Labor Party's absolute majority in the parliament caused frustration in the Conservative Party. Despite this, the party got important leaders like C.J. Hambro, [[Alv Kjøs]], [[Sjur Lindebrække]] and [[John Lyng]].

===New will, 1963–1981===
The Labour Party had to give the governmental power to the Conservative Party because of the scandal relating to the King's Bay mine accident. John Lyng's government couldn't govern Norway for long before the party had to give the power back to the Labour Party already the same year. Though, Lyng's right-wing coalition government gave hope for the right-wing opposition, and the Conservative Party became a part of [[Per Borten]]'s coalition government (1965–1971). Borten represented the [[Center Party (Norway)|Center Party]], and had to resign because of a scandal where Borten was accused of giving top secret documents to representatives from the [[European Union]]. However, later investigations and statements showed that Borten was innocent.

===In charge, 1981–1990===
The Conservative Party won the 1981 parliamentary election, and [[Kåre Willoch]] became Prime Minister. The Willoch's first government was the first Conservative-only government sine [[Emil Stang]]'s second government (1893–1895), and since not been succeeded by another Conservative-only government. After the 1985 parliamentary election, also the [[Christian Democratic Party (Norway)|Christian Democrats]] and [[The Centre Party (Norway)|the Centre Party]] was included into the the government, Willoch II. Willoch's government did things like removing the tax for fortune, and dissolving the [[Norwegian State Broadcasting|NRK]] monopoly of Norwegian broadcasting, leading to an explosion of the number of radio stations, and leading up to the creation of [[Norwegian TV2|TV2]] in 1991. After a dispute between [[The Progress Party (Norway)|the Progress Party]] and the government, Willoch's government fell in a vote of no confidence in 1986.

The Labour Party was in charge from 1986 to 1989, when a government consisting of the same parties as in Willoch II took the power. [[Jan P. Syse]] from the Conservative Party was Prime Minister until 1990, when his government fell due to a vote of no confidence, where the Centre Party voted against it's own government because of Syse's decision about working for Norway's entering into the [[European Economic Area]]. Syse is per 2008 the last Prime Minister of Norway representing the Conservative Party.

===Today, since 1991===
The discussion about joining the [[European Union]] was the most important case in the 1993 parliamentary election, and was the main reason that the Conservative Party dropped down from the place as second largest party, to being the third largest one. The Conservative Party was beaten by the [[The Centre Party (Norway)|Centre Party]], as the Centre Party became the largest opposer to a Norwegian membership of the EU. The referendum in 1994 gave the opposers a little majority, with 52,2 percent of the total vote (voter turnout was 88,6 percent, the highest in Norwegian history). The Conservative Party made it worst election result since the first World War in 1997, but raised in 2001, and came into a cabinet together with the Christian Democrats and the Liberal Party, supported by the Progressive Party. Lost the election in 2005, but is expected to make good results together with the Progressive Party in 2009.

== Criticism ==
*''Party for the rich''. This believe has been uphold by the left-wing parties in more than hundred years, mainly because the Conservative Party was an interest party for the middle and upper class in the beginning. Today, the worker's class has more or less disappeared in Norway, and most people can define themselves as middle class. It is internal stated: "The Conservative Party shall be a party for everybody, not just those who vote for us. We shall be the party for the nurse, the industrial worker, the engineer, the bank director, and the immigrant boy. If the unemployed man at home in a small apartment in Oslo doesn't vote for us, that doesn't mean that we won't make it easier for him to get a job again."
*''Only tax cuts for the rich''. Used as an argument by, especially, the Labour Party against the Conservative Party, most recently in the 2005 parliamentary election. The party supports tax cuts for everybody (and was done when the party was in government; 2001–2005), not just the rich, so the criticism is built upon wrong facts.

==Prime Ministers==
*[[Jens Bratlie]], 1912–1913
*[[Otto Bahr Halvorsen]], 1920–1921 and 1923
*[[Ivar Lykke]], 1926–1928
*[[John Lyng]], 1963
*[[Kåre Willoch]], 1981–1986
*[[Jan P. Syse]], 1989–1990

==See also==
*[[Stortinget]]

{{Political parties in Norway}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conservative Party}}
[[Category:Political Parties in Norway]]

The Conservative Party (Norway)

2009-12-20T15:53:43Z

Efloean: /* New will, 1963–1981 */

'''The Conservative Party''' (Norwegian: ''Høyre'' (''H''), literally meaning ''right'') is a political party in [[Norway]], representing European [[conservatism]] and [[liberal conservatism]]. Per the Norwegian parliamentary election of 2005, the Conservative Party is Norway's third largest political party, currently being in opposition together the other right-wing parties. Current leader is [[Erna Solberg]].

==History==
===Early years===
The party was founded in 1884, as the second political party in Norway, representing a opposition against the [[The Liberal Party (Norway)|Liberal Party]], founded earlier the same year. The Conservative Party was a reaction against [[parliamentarian]] and women's suffrage, and universal suffrage in general. The party wanted to maintain the present union with [[Sweden]] (which was later dissolved after a referendum in 1905). Most of the members in the party's early beginning were governmental officers, traders and land owners.

The Conservative and Liberal Parties changed on having the governmental power in the early years, from 1884 to 1928, when [[Labour Party (Norway)|the Labour Party]] established its first government, after winning the parliamentary election the same year; the Conservative Party's main enemy wasn't any longer the Liberal Party.

===In opposition, 1945–1963===
From the end of the [[Second World War]] to 1963, the [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]]'s [[Einar Gerhardsen]] was the Prime Minister of Norway, while the Conservative Party was the largest party in opposition. The Labor Party's absolute majority in the parliament caused frustration in the Conservative Party. Despite this, the party got important leaders like C.J. Hambro, [[Alv Kjøs]], [[Sjur Lindebrække]] and [[John Lyng]].

===New will, 1963–1981===
The Labour Party had to give the governmental power to the Conservative Party because of the scandal relating to the King's Bay mine accident. John Lyng's government couldn't govern Norway for long before the party had to give the power back to the Labour Party already the same year. Though, Lyng's right-wing coalition government gave hope for the right-wing opposition, and the Conservative Party became a part of [[Per Borten]]'s coalition government (1965–1971). Borten represented the [[Center Party (Norway)|Center Party]], and had to resign because of a scandal where Borten was accused of giving top secret documents to representatives from the [[European Union]]. However, later investigations and statements showed that Borten was innocent.

===In charge, 1981–1990===
The Conservative Party won the 1981 parliamentary election, and [[Kåre Willoch]] became Prime Minister. The Willoch's first government was the first Conservative-only government sine [[Emil Stang]]'s second government (1893–1895), and since not been succeeded by another Conservative-only government. After the 1985 parliamentary election, also the [[Christian Democratic Party (Norway)|Christian Democrats]] and [[The Centre Party (Norway)|the Centre Party]] was included into the the government, Willoch II. Willoch's government did things like removing the tax for fortune, and dissolving the [[Norwegian State Broadcasting|NRK]] monopoly of Norwegian broadcasting, leading to an explosion of the number of radio stations, and leading up to the creation of [[Norwegian TV2|TV2]] in 1991. After a dispute between [[The Progress Party (Norway)|the Progress Party]] and the government, Willoch's government fell in a vote of no confidence in 1986.

The Labour Party was in charge from 1986 to 1989, when a government consisting of the same parties as in Willoch II took the power. [[Jan P. Syse]] from the Conservative Party was Prime Minister until 1990, when his government fell due to a vote of no confidence, where the Centre Party voted against it's own government because of Syse's decision about working for Norway's entering into the [[European Economic Area]]. Syse is per 2008 the last Prime Minister of Norway representing the Conservative Party.

===Today, since 1991===
The discussion about joining the [[European Union]] was the most important case in the 1993 parliamentary election, and was the main reason that the Conservative Party dropped down from the place as second largest party, to being the third largest one. The Conservative Party was beaten by the [[The Centre Party (Norway)|Centre Party]], as the Centre Party became the largest opposer to a Norwegian membership of the EU. The referendum in 1994 gave the opposers a little majority, with 52,2 percent of the total vote (voter turnout was 88,6 percent, the highest in Norwegian history). The Conservative Party made it worst election result since the first World War in 1997, but raised in 2001, and came into a cabinet together with the Christian Democrats and the Liberal Party, supported by the Progressive Party. Lost the election in 2005, but is expected to make good results together with the Progressive Party in 2009.

== Criticism ==
*''Party for the rich''. This believe has been uphold by the left-wing parties in more than hundred years, mainly because the Conservative Party was an interest party for the middle and upper class in the beginning. Today, the worker's class has more or less disappeared in Norway, and most people can define themselves as middle class. It is internal stated: "The Conservative Party shall be a party for everybody, not just those who vote for us. We shall be the party for the nurse, the industrial worker, the engineer, the bank director, and the immigrant boy. If the unemployed man at home in a small apartment in Oslo doesn't vote for us, that doesn't mean that we won't make it easier for him to get a job again."
*''Only tax cuts for the rich''. Used as an argument by, especially, the Labour Party against the Conservative Party, most recently in the 2005 parliamentary election. The party supports tax cuts for everybody (and was done when the party was in government; 2001–2005), not just the rich, so the criticism is built upon wrong facts.

==Prime Ministers==
*[[Jens Bratlie]], 1912–1913
*[[Otto Bahr Halvorsen]], 1920–1921 and 1923
*[[Ivar Lykke]], 1926–1928
*[[John Lyng]], 1963
*[[Kåre Willoch]], 1981–1986
*[[Jan P. Syse]], 1989–1990

==See also==
*[[Stortinget]]

{{Political parties in Norway}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conservative Party}}
[[Category:Political Parties in Norway]]

The Conservative Party (Norway)

2009-12-20T15:53:27Z

Efloean: /* In opposition, 1945–1963 */

'''The Conservative Party''' (Norwegian: ''Høyre'' (''H''), literally meaning ''right'') is a political party in [[Norway]], representing European [[conservatism]] and [[liberal conservatism]]. Per the Norwegian parliamentary election of 2005, the Conservative Party is Norway's third largest political party, currently being in opposition together the other right-wing parties. Current leader is [[Erna Solberg]].

==History==
===Early years===
The party was founded in 1884, as the second political party in Norway, representing a opposition against the [[The Liberal Party (Norway)|Liberal Party]], founded earlier the same year. The Conservative Party was a reaction against [[parliamentarian]] and women's suffrage, and universal suffrage in general. The party wanted to maintain the present union with [[Sweden]] (which was later dissolved after a referendum in 1905). Most of the members in the party's early beginning were governmental officers, traders and land owners.

The Conservative and Liberal Parties changed on having the governmental power in the early years, from 1884 to 1928, when [[Labour Party (Norway)|the Labour Party]] established its first government, after winning the parliamentary election the same year; the Conservative Party's main enemy wasn't any longer the Liberal Party.

===In opposition, 1945–1963===
From the end of the [[Second World War]] to 1963, the [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]]'s [[Einar Gerhardsen]] was the Prime Minister of Norway, while the Conservative Party was the largest party in opposition. The Labor Party's absolute majority in the parliament caused frustration in the Conservative Party. Despite this, the party got important leaders like C.J. Hambro, [[Alv Kjøs]], [[Sjur Lindebrække]] and [[John Lyng]].

===New will, 1963–1981===
The Labour Party had to give the governmental power to the Conservative Party because of the scandal relating to the King's Bay mine accident. [[John Lyng]]'s government couldn't govern Norway for long before the party had to give the power back to the Labour Party already the same year. Though, Lyng's right-wing coalition government gave hope for the right-wing opposition, and the Conservative Party became a part of [[Per Borten]]'s coalition government (1965–1971). Borten represented the [[Center Party (Norway)|Center Party]], and had to resign because of a scandal where Borten was accused of giving top secret documents to representatives from the [[European Union]]. However, later investigations and statements showed that Borten was innocent.

===In charge, 1981–1990===
The Conservative Party won the 1981 parliamentary election, and [[Kåre Willoch]] became Prime Minister. The Willoch's first government was the first Conservative-only government sine [[Emil Stang]]'s second government (1893–1895), and since not been succeeded by another Conservative-only government. After the 1985 parliamentary election, also the [[Christian Democratic Party (Norway)|Christian Democrats]] and [[The Centre Party (Norway)|the Centre Party]] was included into the the government, Willoch II. Willoch's government did things like removing the tax for fortune, and dissolving the [[Norwegian State Broadcasting|NRK]] monopoly of Norwegian broadcasting, leading to an explosion of the number of radio stations, and leading up to the creation of [[Norwegian TV2|TV2]] in 1991. After a dispute between [[The Progress Party (Norway)|the Progress Party]] and the government, Willoch's government fell in a vote of no confidence in 1986.

The Labour Party was in charge from 1986 to 1989, when a government consisting of the same parties as in Willoch II took the power. [[Jan P. Syse]] from the Conservative Party was Prime Minister until 1990, when his government fell due to a vote of no confidence, where the Centre Party voted against it's own government because of Syse's decision about working for Norway's entering into the [[European Economic Area]]. Syse is per 2008 the last Prime Minister of Norway representing the Conservative Party.

===Today, since 1991===
The discussion about joining the [[European Union]] was the most important case in the 1993 parliamentary election, and was the main reason that the Conservative Party dropped down from the place as second largest party, to being the third largest one. The Conservative Party was beaten by the [[The Centre Party (Norway)|Centre Party]], as the Centre Party became the largest opposer to a Norwegian membership of the EU. The referendum in 1994 gave the opposers a little majority, with 52,2 percent of the total vote (voter turnout was 88,6 percent, the highest in Norwegian history). The Conservative Party made it worst election result since the first World War in 1997, but raised in 2001, and came into a cabinet together with the Christian Democrats and the Liberal Party, supported by the Progressive Party. Lost the election in 2005, but is expected to make good results together with the Progressive Party in 2009.

== Criticism ==
*''Party for the rich''. This believe has been uphold by the left-wing parties in more than hundred years, mainly because the Conservative Party was an interest party for the middle and upper class in the beginning. Today, the worker's class has more or less disappeared in Norway, and most people can define themselves as middle class. It is internal stated: "The Conservative Party shall be a party for everybody, not just those who vote for us. We shall be the party for the nurse, the industrial worker, the engineer, the bank director, and the immigrant boy. If the unemployed man at home in a small apartment in Oslo doesn't vote for us, that doesn't mean that we won't make it easier for him to get a job again."
*''Only tax cuts for the rich''. Used as an argument by, especially, the Labour Party against the Conservative Party, most recently in the 2005 parliamentary election. The party supports tax cuts for everybody (and was done when the party was in government; 2001–2005), not just the rich, so the criticism is built upon wrong facts.

==Prime Ministers==
*[[Jens Bratlie]], 1912–1913
*[[Otto Bahr Halvorsen]], 1920–1921 and 1923
*[[Ivar Lykke]], 1926–1928
*[[John Lyng]], 1963
*[[Kåre Willoch]], 1981–1986
*[[Jan P. Syse]], 1989–1990

==See also==
*[[Stortinget]]

{{Political parties in Norway}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conservative Party}}
[[Category:Political Parties in Norway]]

The Conservative Party (Norway)

2009-12-20T15:52:04Z

Efloean: /* New will, 1963–1981 */

'''The Conservative Party''' (Norwegian: ''Høyre'' (''H''), literally meaning ''right'') is a political party in [[Norway]], representing European [[conservatism]] and [[liberal conservatism]]. Per the Norwegian parliamentary election of 2005, the Conservative Party is Norway's third largest political party, currently being in opposition together the other right-wing parties. Current leader is [[Erna Solberg]].

==History==
===Early years===
The party was founded in 1884, as the second political party in Norway, representing a opposition against the [[The Liberal Party (Norway)|Liberal Party]], founded earlier the same year. The Conservative Party was a reaction against [[parliamentarian]] and women's suffrage, and universal suffrage in general. The party wanted to maintain the present union with [[Sweden]] (which was later dissolved after a referendum in 1905). Most of the members in the party's early beginning were governmental officers, traders and land owners.

The Conservative and Liberal Parties changed on having the governmental power in the early years, from 1884 to 1928, when [[Labour Party (Norway)|the Labour Party]] established its first government, after winning the parliamentary election the same year; the Conservative Party's main enemy wasn't any longer the Liberal Party.

===In opposition, 1945–1963===
From the end of the [[Second World War]] to 1963, [[Labour Party (Norway)|the Labour Party]]'s [[Einar Gerhardsen]] was the Norwegian Prime Minister, while the Conservative Party was the largest party in opposition.

===New will, 1963–1981===
The Labour Party had to give the governmental power to the Conservative Party because of the scandal relating to the King's Bay mine accident. [[John Lyng]]'s government couldn't govern Norway for long before the party had to give the power back to the Labour Party already the same year. Though, Lyng's right-wing coalition government gave hope for the right-wing opposition, and the Conservative Party became a part of [[Per Borten]]'s coalition government (1965–1971). Borten represented the [[Center Party (Norway)|Center Party]], and had to resign because of a scandal where Borten was accused of giving top secret documents to representatives from the [[European Union]]. However, later investigations and statements showed that Borten was innocent.

===In charge, 1981–1990===
The Conservative Party won the 1981 parliamentary election, and [[Kåre Willoch]] became Prime Minister. The Willoch's first government was the first Conservative-only government sine [[Emil Stang]]'s second government (1893–1895), and since not been succeeded by another Conservative-only government. After the 1985 parliamentary election, also the [[Christian Democratic Party (Norway)|Christian Democrats]] and [[The Centre Party (Norway)|the Centre Party]] was included into the the government, Willoch II. Willoch's government did things like removing the tax for fortune, and dissolving the [[Norwegian State Broadcasting|NRK]] monopoly of Norwegian broadcasting, leading to an explosion of the number of radio stations, and leading up to the creation of [[Norwegian TV2|TV2]] in 1991. After a dispute between [[The Progress Party (Norway)|the Progress Party]] and the government, Willoch's government fell in a vote of no confidence in 1986.

The Labour Party was in charge from 1986 to 1989, when a government consisting of the same parties as in Willoch II took the power. [[Jan P. Syse]] from the Conservative Party was Prime Minister until 1990, when his government fell due to a vote of no confidence, where the Centre Party voted against it's own government because of Syse's decision about working for Norway's entering into the [[European Economic Area]]. Syse is per 2008 the last Prime Minister of Norway representing the Conservative Party.

===Today, since 1991===
The discussion about joining the [[European Union]] was the most important case in the 1993 parliamentary election, and was the main reason that the Conservative Party dropped down from the place as second largest party, to being the third largest one. The Conservative Party was beaten by the [[The Centre Party (Norway)|Centre Party]], as the Centre Party became the largest opposer to a Norwegian membership of the EU. The referendum in 1994 gave the opposers a little majority, with 52,2 percent of the total vote (voter turnout was 88,6 percent, the highest in Norwegian history). The Conservative Party made it worst election result since the first World War in 1997, but raised in 2001, and came into a cabinet together with the Christian Democrats and the Liberal Party, supported by the Progressive Party. Lost the election in 2005, but is expected to make good results together with the Progressive Party in 2009.

== Criticism ==
*''Party for the rich''. This believe has been uphold by the left-wing parties in more than hundred years, mainly because the Conservative Party was an interest party for the middle and upper class in the beginning. Today, the worker's class has more or less disappeared in Norway, and most people can define themselves as middle class. It is internal stated: "The Conservative Party shall be a party for everybody, not just those who vote for us. We shall be the party for the nurse, the industrial worker, the engineer, the bank director, and the immigrant boy. If the unemployed man at home in a small apartment in Oslo doesn't vote for us, that doesn't mean that we won't make it easier for him to get a job again."
*''Only tax cuts for the rich''. Used as an argument by, especially, the Labour Party against the Conservative Party, most recently in the 2005 parliamentary election. The party supports tax cuts for everybody (and was done when the party was in government; 2001–2005), not just the rich, so the criticism is built upon wrong facts.

==Prime Ministers==
*[[Jens Bratlie]], 1912–1913
*[[Otto Bahr Halvorsen]], 1920–1921 and 1923
*[[Ivar Lykke]], 1926–1928
*[[John Lyng]], 1963
*[[Kåre Willoch]], 1981–1986
*[[Jan P. Syse]], 1989–1990

==See also==
*[[Stortinget]]

{{Political parties in Norway}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conservative Party}}
[[Category:Political Parties in Norway]]

The Conservative Party (Norway)

2009-12-20T15:51:02Z

Efloean: /* New will, 1963–1981 */

'''The Conservative Party''' (Norwegian: ''Høyre'' (''H''), literally meaning ''right'') is a political party in [[Norway]], representing European [[conservatism]] and [[liberal conservatism]]. Per the Norwegian parliamentary election of 2005, the Conservative Party is Norway's third largest political party, currently being in opposition together the other right-wing parties. Current leader is [[Erna Solberg]].

==History==
===Early years===
The party was founded in 1884, as the second political party in Norway, representing a opposition against the [[The Liberal Party (Norway)|Liberal Party]], founded earlier the same year. The Conservative Party was a reaction against [[parliamentarian]] and women's suffrage, and universal suffrage in general. The party wanted to maintain the present union with [[Sweden]] (which was later dissolved after a referendum in 1905). Most of the members in the party's early beginning were governmental officers, traders and land owners.

The Conservative and Liberal Parties changed on having the governmental power in the early years, from 1884 to 1928, when [[Labour Party (Norway)|the Labour Party]] established its first government, after winning the parliamentary election the same year; the Conservative Party's main enemy wasn't any longer the Liberal Party.

===In opposition, 1945–1963===
From the end of the [[Second World War]] to 1963, [[Labour Party (Norway)|the Labour Party]]'s [[Einar Gerhardsen]] was the Norwegian Prime Minister, while the Conservative Party was the largest party in opposition.

===New will, 1963–1981===
The Labour Party had to give the governmental power to the Conservative Party because of the scandal relating to the King's Bay mine accident. [[John Lyng]]'s government couldn't govern Norway for long before the party had to give the power back to the Labour Party already the same year. Though, Lyng's right-wing coalition government gave hope for the right-wing opposition, and the Conservative Party became a part of [[Per Borten]]'s coalition government (1965–1971). Borten was from the [[Center Party (Norway)|Center Party]], and had to resign because of a scandal of giving top secret documents to representatives from the [[European Union]]. However, later investigations and testemonies showed that Borten was innocent.

===In charge, 1981–1990===
The Conservative Party won the 1981 parliamentary election, and [[Kåre Willoch]] became Prime Minister. The Willoch's first government was the first Conservative-only government sine [[Emil Stang]]'s second government (1893–1895), and since not been succeeded by another Conservative-only government. After the 1985 parliamentary election, also the [[Christian Democratic Party (Norway)|Christian Democrats]] and [[The Centre Party (Norway)|the Centre Party]] was included into the the government, Willoch II. Willoch's government did things like removing the tax for fortune, and dissolving the [[Norwegian State Broadcasting|NRK]] monopoly of Norwegian broadcasting, leading to an explosion of the number of radio stations, and leading up to the creation of [[Norwegian TV2|TV2]] in 1991. After a dispute between [[The Progress Party (Norway)|the Progress Party]] and the government, Willoch's government fell in a vote of no confidence in 1986.

The Labour Party was in charge from 1986 to 1989, when a government consisting of the same parties as in Willoch II took the power. [[Jan P. Syse]] from the Conservative Party was Prime Minister until 1990, when his government fell due to a vote of no confidence, where the Centre Party voted against it's own government because of Syse's decision about working for Norway's entering into the [[European Economic Area]]. Syse is per 2008 the last Prime Minister of Norway representing the Conservative Party.

===Today, since 1991===
The discussion about joining the [[European Union]] was the most important case in the 1993 parliamentary election, and was the main reason that the Conservative Party dropped down from the place as second largest party, to being the third largest one. The Conservative Party was beaten by the [[The Centre Party (Norway)|Centre Party]], as the Centre Party became the largest opposer to a Norwegian membership of the EU. The referendum in 1994 gave the opposers a little majority, with 52,2 percent of the total vote (voter turnout was 88,6 percent, the highest in Norwegian history). The Conservative Party made it worst election result since the first World War in 1997, but raised in 2001, and came into a cabinet together with the Christian Democrats and the Liberal Party, supported by the Progressive Party. Lost the election in 2005, but is expected to make good results together with the Progressive Party in 2009.

== Criticism ==
*''Party for the rich''. This believe has been uphold by the left-wing parties in more than hundred years, mainly because the Conservative Party was an interest party for the middle and upper class in the beginning. Today, the worker's class has more or less disappeared in Norway, and most people can define themselves as middle class. It is internal stated: "The Conservative Party shall be a party for everybody, not just those who vote for us. We shall be the party for the nurse, the industrial worker, the engineer, the bank director, and the immigrant boy. If the unemployed man at home in a small apartment in Oslo doesn't vote for us, that doesn't mean that we won't make it easier for him to get a job again."
*''Only tax cuts for the rich''. Used as an argument by, especially, the Labour Party against the Conservative Party, most recently in the 2005 parliamentary election. The party supports tax cuts for everybody (and was done when the party was in government; 2001–2005), not just the rich, so the criticism is built upon wrong facts.

==Prime Ministers==
*[[Jens Bratlie]], 1912–1913
*[[Otto Bahr Halvorsen]], 1920–1921 and 1923
*[[Ivar Lykke]], 1926–1928
*[[John Lyng]], 1963
*[[Kåre Willoch]], 1981–1986
*[[Jan P. Syse]], 1989–1990

==See also==
*[[Stortinget]]

{{Political parties in Norway}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conservative Party}}
[[Category:Political Parties in Norway]]

Norway

2009-12-20T15:47:30Z

Efloean: more stuf

{{Country
|name =''Kongeriket Norge''
|map =Norway rel96.jpg
|map2 =Norway location.png
|flag =Flag of Norway.png
|arms =Arms of Norway.png
|capital =Oslo
|capital-raw =
|government =Constitutional monarchy
|government-raw =
|language =Norwegian
|king =Harald V
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =[[Jens Stoltenberg]]
|pm-raw =
|area =148,746 sq mi
|pop =4,753,400 (2008)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =
|gdp-year =$213.6 billion (2006)
|gdp-pc =$46,300 (2006)
|currency =Norwegian krone
|idd =
|tld =
}}

'''Norway''' is a country in [[Scandinavia]]. The capital is [[Oslo]], and the principal language in [[Norwegian]], though [[Sami]] languages are also spoken in the far north. Norway is one of the few Western European nations not in the [[European Union]] but is a member of the Schengen Agreement group of countries which permit cross-border travel without passport control.

Norway has escaped the [[Recession of 2008]] largely unscathed, partly by tapping into its oil and gas-fueled sovereign wealth fund — currently valued at more than 2.4 trillion kroner ($400 billion). Unemployment stands at 3%, among the lowest in Europe.

Oil and gas pumped from North Sea platforms have made the country of 4.8 million people one of the world's richest nations. Norway is the world's third largest exporter of natural gas and the sixth largest exporter of oil. While oil production has been falling in recent years, natural gas production continues to rise.

==People==
Ethnically, Norwegians are predominantly Germanic, although in the far north there are communities of Sami (Lapps) who came to the area more than 10,000 years ago (according to secular archeology), probably from central Asia. In recent years, Norway has become home to increasing numbers of immigrants, foreign workers, and asylum-seekers from various parts of the world. Immigrants now total over 300,000; some have obtained Norwegian citizenship.

More than 10% of Norway's residents have foreign origins. They include many asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Eritrea. Their status is increasingly a political issue. Siv Jensen, leader of the right-wing Progress Party, demands tighter restrictions on immigration, claiming Norway is being "Islamified".

===Culture===
Although the Evangelical Lutheran Church is the state church, Norway has complete religious freedom. Education is free through the university level and is compulsory from ages 6 to 16. At least 12 months of military service and training are required of every eligible male. Norway's health system includes free hospital care, physician's compensation, cash benefits during illness and pregnancy, and other medical and dental plans. There is a public pension system.

Norway is in the top rank of nations in the number of books printed per capita, even though Norwegian is one of the world's smallest language groups. Norway's most famous writer is the dramatist Henrik Ibsen. Artists Edvard Munch and Christian Krogh were Ibsen's contemporaries. Munch drew part of his inspiration from Europe and in turn exercised a strong influence on later European expressionists. Sculptor Gustav Vigeland has a permanent exhibition in the Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo. Musical development in Norway since [[Edvard Grieg]] has followed either native folk themes or international trends.
===Religion===
The Lutheran religion replaced Catholicism around 1536.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church has been a state-funded and state-controlled church since 1660. It is led by 11 bishops who report to the government's ministry of church and cultural affairs. The king and at least one half of his ministers are required by law to belong to the established church. Lay councils are very active in parish life, especially among the fundamentalists of the south and west. As a result, the church has been able to support much social work and important missions in Africa and India. In relation to population, Norway has sent abroad the largest number of missionaries. The first woman minister was appointed in 1961. Although 88% of Norwegians belong to the Church of Norway, and 82% if babies are baptized in it, only 10% attend ten or more services a year.<ref> See [http://www.howto.co.uk/abroad/living-in-norway/church_religion_and_belief/ "Church, Religion and Belief"]</ref> During the 1970s and 1980s, a movement to sever the strong connection between the state and the Lutheran Church failed.<ref> Peder A. Eidberg, "Norwegian Free Churches and Religious Liberty: A History." ''Journal of Church and State'' 1995 37(4): 869-884. </ref>

Lutheranism remained the only religious option until the Dissenter Law of 1845 legalized free church congregations. Historians see this law as a restricted reform: Norwegians could leave the Lutheran Church only after they turned eighteen, and civil service jobs were still restricted to Lutherans. Thereafter, liberal groups such as the Norwegian Council of Dissenting Churches worked to end legal discrimination on the basis of religion. In 1969, religious restrictions on the hiring of public school teachers were finally lifted. Today Norwegians enjoy complete freedom of worship. By a law passed in 1969 the state provides financing for the officially registered dissenting churches. Dissenters include 44,000 Pentecostals; a Lutheran Free Church, with about 20,000 members; a Methodist Episcopal Church, with about 20,000 members; 12,000 Baptists; about 21,500 Roman Catholics, and over 76,000 Muslims, the fastest growing group. According to polls some 31-72% of Norwegians are either agnostics or atheists. <ref>http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_atheist.html</ref>

==Government==
The functions of the king are mainly ceremonial, but he has influence as the symbol of national unity. Although the 1814 constitution grants important executive powers to the king, these are almost always exercised by the Council of Ministers in the name of the king (King's Council). The Council of Ministers consists of a prime minister--chosen by the political parties represented in the Storting--and other ministers.

The 169 members of the Storting are elected from 19 fylker (counties) for 4-year terms according to a complicated system of proportional representation. After elections, the Storting divides into two chambers, the Odelsting and the Lagting, which meet separately or jointly depending on the legislative issue under consideration.

The special High Court of the Realm hears impeachment cases; the regular courts include the Supreme Court (17 permanent judges and a president), courts of appeal, city and county courts, the labor court, and conciliation councils. Judges attached to regular courts are appointed by the king in council after nomination by the Ministry of Justice.

Each fylke is headed by a governor appointed by the king in council, with one governor exercising authority in both Oslo and the adjacent county of Akershus.
[[File:Norway-map.gif|thumb|270px]]

===Politics===
Norway's left-leaning government narrowly defeated a splintered center-right opposition in the September 2009 elections. Prime Minister [[Jens Stoltenberg]]'s ruling [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]] government came under challenge by [[Siv Jensen]] and her right-wing populist [[Progress Party (Norway)|Progress Party]] (which has gained support by calling for lowering Norway's notoriously high taxes and tightening immigration rules), as well as [[Erna Solberg]] and her center-right [[Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative Party]]. Debate centered on how to manage the Nordic welfare state's oil wealth.<ref>See Karl Ritter, [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090914/ap_on_re_eu/eu_norway_election "Norway election focused on oil wealth," ''AP'' Sept. 14, 2009] </ref>

Until the 1981 election, Norway had been governed by majority [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]] governments since 1935, except for three periods (1963, 1965-71, and 1972-73). The Labor Party lost its majority in the Storting in the 1981 elections. Since that time, minority and coalition governments have been the rule. The two conservative parties in, the old Conservative Party and the younger Progressive Party increased their electoral support from 23% in 1975 to 34% in the election of 1987. The electoral mobilization by these conservative parties was mainly based on an ideologically inspired rhetoric of reduced government spending and corresponding tax reductions.

From 1981 to 1997, governments alternated between Labor minority governments under [[Gro Harlem Brundtland]] and Conservative-led coalition governments under [[Kåre Willoch]] and [[Jan P. Syse]]. The first government coalition led by Christian Democrat [[Kjell Magne Bondevik]] came to power in 1997, but fell in March 2000 over the issue of proposed gas-fired power plants, opposed by Bondevik due to their impact on [[climate change]]. The Labor Party's [[Jens Stoltenberg]], a Brundtland protégé, took over in a minority Labor government but lost power in the September 2001 election when Labor posted its worse performance since World War I. Bondevik once again became Prime Minister, this time as head of a minority government with the Conservatives and Liberals in a coalition heavily dependent upon the right-populist Progress Party.

The September 2005 elections ended the Bondevik government, and the Labor party came back with its most substantial victory in years, securing 60 of the 169 seats in Parliament. While this election result once more made Labor the undisputed heavyweight in Norwegian politics, Stoltenberg, chastened by his previous stint as the head of a minority government, reached out to the far left Socialist Left party and agrarian Center party to form a coalition government that commanded a majority of seats in Parliament. The current government is the first majority government in Norway in over 20 years, but the governing coalition has had to bridge substantial policy differences to build this majority.

Norway, [[Iceland]] and [[Switzerland]] are the only countries in Western Europe that do not belong to the [[European Union]].

Norway is one of five European countries that permit [[same-sex marriage]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7978495.stm Sweden allows same sex marriage]</ref>

===Principal Government Officials===
*King, [[Harald V of Norway|Harald V]]
*Prime Minister, [[Jens Stoltenberg]]
*Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre
*Minister of Defense, Anne-Grethe Strøm-Erichsen
*Ambassador to the United States, Wegger Christian Strømmen
*Ambassador to NATO, Kim Traavik
*Ambassador to the United Nations, Johan Ludvik Løvald

===Foreign Relations===
Norway supports international cooperation and the peaceful settlement of disputes, recognizing the need for maintaining a strong national defense through collective security. Accordingly, the cornerstones of Norwegian policy are active membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and support for the United Nations and its specialized agencies. Norway also pursues a policy of economic, social, and cultural cooperation with other Nordic countries--Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland--through the Nordic Council.

In addition to strengthening traditional ties with developed countries, Norway seeks to build friendly relations with developing countries and has undertaken humanitarian and development aid efforts with selected African and Asian nations. Norway also is dedicated to encouraging democracy, assisting refugees, and protecting human rights throughout the world.
===Military===
The ''Economist'' magazine Intelligence Unit used measures of military spending and actions and violent crime rates to find that Norway is the most peaceful country in the world.<ref>See [http://www.ppu.org.uk/newsx/news_013.html report]</ref>

Norway spends about 1.8% of GDP on defense, about the NATO average. Military spending has fallen from 7.4% of the national budget in 1990 to 4.8% in 2004.

The principle of universal military service has long been accepted by most Norwegians. All men between the ages of 19 and 45 must serve 12 months in the army or 15 months in the navy or air force. The army, based on five regional commands, has a peacetime strength of about 19,000 and is posted mainly in the north near Russia. A home defense force of some 85,000 is trained for special tasks in local areas. The navy has 5 frigates, 15 submarines, and numerous small craft for patrolling the coast.

The Royal Norwegian Air Force (Luftforsvaret) became an independent service in 1944. In peacetime, it has about 3,000 personnel, and in time of war, some 17,500. It has 10 squadrons that operate from seven air stations and fly a variety of aircraft and helicopters, including F-16 fighters. It also operates six missile batteries and 10 short-range point defense missile systems.

In 2009, 500 Norwegian soldiers serve under NATO command in Afghanistan.

==Economy==
Norway is one of the world's richest countries in per capita terms. It has an important stake in promoting a liberal environment for foreign trade. Its large shipping fleet is one of the most modern among maritime nations. Metals, pulp and paper products, chemicals, shipbuilding, and fishing are the most significant traditional industries.
[[Image:Dalen Telemarken Norway.jpg|thumb|340px|Dalen, Telemarken, Norway. Photochrom print, between ca. 1890 and ca. 1900.]]
Norway's emergence as a major oil and gas producer in the mid-1970s transformed the economy. Large sums of investment capital poured into the offshore oil sector, leading to greater increases in Norwegian production costs and wages than in the rest of western Europe up to the time of the global recovery of the mid-1980s. The influx of oil revenue also permitted Norway to expand an already extensive social welfare system. Norway has established a state Petroleum Fund that exceeded $132.6 billion as of December 2004. The fund primarily will be used to help finance government programs once oil and gas resources become depleted. Norway is currently enjoying large foreign trade surpluses thanks to high oil prices. Unemployment remains currently low (3%-4% range), and the prospects for economic growth are encouraging thanks to the government's stimulative fiscal policy and economic recovery in the United States and Europe.

Norway voted against joining the European Union (EU) in a 1994 referendum. With the exception of the agricultural and fisheries sectors, however, Norway enjoys free trade with the EU under the framework of the European Economic Area. This agreement aims to apply the four freedoms of the EU's internal market (goods, persons, services, and capital) to Norway. As a result, Norway normally adopts and implements most EU directives. Norwegian monetary policy is aimed at maintaining a stable exchange rate for the krone against European currencies, of which the euro is a key operating parameter. Norway is not a member of the EU's Economic and Monetary Union and does not have a fixed exchange rate. Its principal trading partners are in the EU; the United States ranks sixth.

===Energy Resources===
Norway has a highly-developed oil and natural gas sector. Norway's oil production peaked in 2001 at 3.42 million barrels per day (bbl/d) and has been steadily declining since, reaching 2.47 million bbl/d in 2008. Natural gas production, on the other hand, has been steadily increasing since 1993, reaching 3.5 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2008. All of Norway's oil and natural gas fields are located subsea on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Most of the new discoveries being made are natural gas. The Norwegian government is committed to developing the frontier Barents Sea region as existing North Sea fields mature.<ref> For current statistics, see [http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/country/country_energy_data.cfm?fips=NO Energy Information Administration, "Norway Energy Profile" (2009)] </ref>

Offshore hydrocarbon deposits were discovered in the 1960s, and development began in the 1970s. Norway is now the world's third-largest gas exporter and provides much of western Europe's crude oil and gas requirements. In 2003, Norwegian oil and gas exports accounted for 56% of total merchandise exports. In addition, offshore exploration and production have stimulated onshore economic activities. Foreign companies, including many American ones, participate actively in the petroleum sector.

One issue that has hampered the development of oil and natural gas reserves in the northern Barents Sea area has been the lack of a defined maritime boundary between Norway and Russia. However, on June 5, 2009, Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom and Norwegian state-controlled oil company StatoilHydro signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding to work together in exploring and developing their Arctic sea regions. According to a joint statement, the two companies will work together on development of the Shtokman field, some 345 miles from land in 1,148 feet of water. It holds estimated gas reserves of around 113 trillion cubic feet.

Hydropower provides nearly all of Norway's electricity, and all of the gas and most of the oil produced is exported.

==History==
===Pre-Viking===
Hunting tribes were displaced by farmers after 3000 B.C. By 400 AD the inhabitants had contacts with Gaul, used [[runic]] writing, and expanded their settlements. After 400 AD, migrations brought in new peoples from the south to "Northern Way", or Norway. The first local kingdoms were created to bolster local defenses. For example, the Ynglings, a branch of the first Swedish royal house, established one of the earliest kingdoms west of the Oslofjord.
===Vikings===

The [[Viking]] period (9th to 11th centuries) was one of national unification and expansion.

see [[Viking]]
[[File:Vikings.jpg|thumb|280px]]

About 900 AD Harald Fairhair established a large kingdom by winning, in alliance with the earl of Lade (Trøndelag) a victory over other local kings. Harald's victory caused disgruntled subordinate chieftains to join the growing Viking movement. The growth in population forced some Norwegians to spread inland on to poorer soils and others to seek their fortunes as raiders, traders, or settlers across the western sea. The Vikings proved to be superb sailors and ferocious warriors; their raids turned into landing operations and settlements.

The sparsely inhabited Scottish islands were settled first; the first recorded Viking raid on England came in 793 AD. In the following two centuries Norse Vikings plundered far and wide. Kingdoms were carved out in Ireland, Scotland, northeast England, and northern France, and the Faeroes, Iceland, and eventually Greenland were colonized. In addition to advanced ships, the Vikings had good iron tools and weapons and were expert wood-carvers. Overseas, the Vikings developed trade wherever they settled. In Norway, markets, the forerunners of towns that grew up in the 11th century, sprang up beside the fjords.

===Medieval Norway===
Inside Norway the Middle Ages were a time of political turmoil. Harald Fairhair's throne was fought over for nearly a century bloody civil wars among kings and earls, pagans and Christians, and between Norwegians and Danes. Olav II (reigned 1016-1028) briefly united Norway and introduced Christianity. He was killed in 1030 by rebel nobles who had allied themselves with Denmark. After his death Olav was hailed almost at once as a national saint; he was canonized in 1154. Trondheim cathedral was founded in his honor, and his family regained and kept the throne after a brief period of Danish rule (1028-1035).

English Christian missionaries had a major impact; their monasteries became the owners of large estates. The Viking traditions died out, surviving in the carvings on the new churches of dragons and other pagan symbols. Harald Hardraade (Hard Ruler) was the last Norwegian king to claim England (1066), but he was killed in England. In 1170 the papacy made Trondheim the seat of an archbishop, with five suffragan bishops in Norway and six in the western islands, Iceland, and Greenland. Norway became the ecclesiastical center for the widely dispersed Norse peoples.

The civil wars over control of the throne died out during the long reign of Haakon IV (1217-1263), and Norway entered upon the brief "age of greatness." Haakon reorganized the national government, with a royal council, regional governors, and judicial officers all appointed by the king. A national legal code was established in 1274. Iceland and Greenland accepted the king of Norway as ruler, and effective power was exerted in the Faeroes, Shetland, and Orkney in Scotland.<ref> The other Norse territories in Scotland were formally surrendered in 1266 to the Scottish king.</ref> Overseas trade flourished during this period, and Haakon IV, who usually resided in Bergen where the trade was centered, concluded his first commercial treaty with the English king.

The 13th century was the last period of early Norwegian independence and greatness. During the 100 years from the reign of Haakon IV to that of Haakon V (1299-1319) the Norwegian sagas, the stories of Norway's past, were gathered. In Iceland, Snorri Sturluson wrote the "Heimskringla" and the "Younger Edda," and Sturla Thordsson, a nephew of Snorri, wrote the "Islendingasaga," the "Sturlingasaga," and the "Haakon Haakonssonsaga,'' which comprise the earliest masterpieces of Scandinavian literature.

===Union of Kalmar===
The Norwegian royal line died out in 1387, and the country entered a dark period under the control of Denmark. The Norwegian merchant class began to decline after 1250 when the German [[Hanseatic League]] (the mercantile organization of north German towns) established agents in Bergen, who supplied essential imports of Baltic grain in exchange for north Norway's traditional export of dried cod. The aristocracy collapsed during the Black Plague, which killed half the population in 1349. The resulting economic calamity destroyed most of the dairy farming, the dominant form of agriculture on most aristocratic estates. Thus Norway was already the weakest Scandinavian kingdom when the extinction of the royal lines in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark led to the union of the three countries (1397) under the Union of Kalmar. Norway lost its king and court and aristocracy, its commerce declined; it stopped producing great literature. Outsiders, mostly Danish-speaking Danes, were in control; Norwegian tradition claims the harshness of the Danish misrule created a greater unity among Norwegians.

The population grew slowly, from 500,000 in 1660 to 900,000 in 1814--the vast majority were poor and eked out a living as farmers and/or fishermen.

===19th Century===
In 1814, as a result of the Napoleonic wars, Norway was separated from [[Denmark]] and combined with [[Sweden]]. Norway at last had its own government--the Storthing or parliament was now comprised of Norwegians--with a Swedish viceroy representing the king of Sweden. The king tried to stop the growing independence of the Storthing but failed; by the 1830s the peasants comprised half the Storthing and they demanded strict economy and stripped the remaining nobles (mostly Danes) of their aristocratic titles and pretensions.

As nationalism emerged across Europe it appeared as well in Norway; the "Young Norway" movement romanticized the peasants and ridiculed the king. An upper class party of merchants also emerged--both parties were led by poets who celebrated the Norwegian language. The new king Oscar I (reigned 1844-57) allowed a separate Norwegian flag for merchant ships, which increasingly became important on the Atlantic. [[Whaling]] became a major industry, as the economy began to improve in the 1840s. The first railway opened, and steamships provided easy travel along the long coastline.

The threat of socialism emerged when The Thranittforeningene (Workers' Associations), started by socialist Marcus Thrane, formed Norway's first modern mass political movement. At its peak in 1849-50 the Thranites included both propertied and unpropertied and urban and rural Norwegians brought together by anxieties over maintaining their economic position in a period marked by international economic depression and the beginnings of Norway's transition to a modern society.

By the 1880s the peasants could sell their holdings and buy passages to America. About a fourth of the families, specially the younger ones, did so, and headed to Minnesota and neighboring states. About one in four returned to Norway, but their tales of life in the New World only stimulated more emigration.

The viceroy system was dropped and Norway had its own prime minister from 1873--albeit one chosen by the king. Norway celebrated its 1000th anniversary as a nation as serious political tensions with the king continued throughout the latter part of the 19th century. By the 1890s the Norwegians demanded a role in diplomacy, which the Swedes refused to allow. The union with Sweden persisted until 1905, when Norway demanded and received complete independence, and could now have its own king and diplomats.

All men were given the vote in 1898, and most women in 1907.

===20th century===
The Norwegian Government offered the throne of Norway to Danish Prince Carl in 1905. After a plebiscite approving the establishment of a monarchy, the Parliament unanimously elected him king. He took the name of Haakon VII, after the kings of independent Norway.

Before 1900 Norway was one of the poorest countires in Europe, with an economy focused on farming, forestry, and fishing. Norway's harsh environment--the high latitudes and short growing seasons, the poor soils, the excessive precipitation, and the cool summers--have made farming difficult. Today only 3% of the land is used for farming; the main products are forage grains and dairy products. About one of every four Norwegian families cultivates its own garden plot.

In the 20th century new industries based on cheap waterpower and raw materials harvested from Norway's farms, forests, seas, and mines replaced agriculture as the prime employer. The very large merchant fleet became a major contributor to the nation's wealth. After 1970 vast offshore oil resources made the country rich.

===World War II===
Norway tried and failed to be neutral during [[World War I]], but was invaded by the Germans in 1940<ref> François Kersaudy, ''Norway 1940'' (1991). 272 pp.</ref> and ruled by traitors, led by Quisling. The king and the government escaped to Britain in 1940, serving as symbolic leader of a nation under occupation by the Nazis. In 1940-45, sharp jokes about the occupiers circulated widely among Norwegians. The jokes contained contempt for the oppressors, ridicule of Nazi ideology, depictions of the cruelty of Nazi methods, and mockery of the inflated self-image of the Germans. All of the jokes served to boost morale, educate Norwegians about the occupation, and encourage a sense of solidarity.<ref> Kathleen Stokker, "Heil Hitler - God Save the King: Jokes and the Norwegian Resistance 1940-1945." ''Western Folklore'' 1991 50(2): 171-190. </ref>

===Postwar===
King Haakon returned in triumph in 1945. He died in 1957 and was succeeded by his son, Olav V, who died in January 1991. Upon Olav's death, his son Harald was crowned as King Harald V.
====Welfare state====
The Scandinavian countries first established strong welfare states in the 1920s and 1930s. Benefits for the middle as well as lower classes became lavish, and Social Democrats raised income taxes until they became the world's highest. Despite this, Norway (and the rest of Scandinavia) retained private enterprise. Unlike France, England, and Germany, Scandinavian states owned and ran very few companies other than public utilities and railroads. Across Scandinavia the major sompanies like Saab, Ericsson, Nokia, and Volvo have always belonged to stockholders.

The Norwegian Labor Party won a majority in 1945, a time that required cooperation among Norwegian political parties for national reconstruction after the German occupation. Labor Party leaders were willing to recognize a role for privately owned business and for market forces in economic planning both on pragmatic grounds and because party leaders in exile in London during the war had seen successful cooperation between British industry and government. The Labor Party acknowledged that private ownership was more effective than state management in improving efficiency. The state's role expanded in the direction of redistributing, rather than producing, national wealth. Although the Labor Party moved toward democratic socialism, the tension between broader participation, particularly by workers in management, and effective planning persisted into the 1970s.<ref> Trond Bergh, "Pragmatic and Democratic Socialism: Ideological and Political Trends in the Norwegian Labour Party during the 1940s and 1950s." ''Scandinavian Journal of History'' 1991 16 (3): 205-213. </Ref>

In 1945, all Norwegian political parties right and left agreed that extensive government economic controls would be needed for a period of postwar reconstruction. The Labor government's objectives were economic growth through expansion of the manufacturing sector and modernization. When government controls potentially interfered with the effort to increase industrial exports, the latter got priority. Similarly, although the private sector resisted attempts to institutionalize state corporatism, the government's flexibility led to increased cooperation between the government and manufacturing industries. The Labor Party and its opponents disagreed not on the need for modernization in postwar Norway but on the direction to take to the common goal.<ref> Even Lange, and Helge Pharo, "Planning and Economic Policy in Norway, 1945-1960" ''Scandinavian Journal af History'' 1991 16 (3): 215-228</ref>

In Norway (and the rest of Scandinavia) marginal tax rates on wages, and the value added taxes (which are assessed like sales taxes) remain the highest in the world. But capital gains taxes and real estate assessments are low or non-existent. The region is ahead of the United States in a few areas of market reforms: All four countries have school vouchers and allow individual control over some social security taxes.<ref> Eli Lehrer, "Scandinavia's Surprising Turn from Socialism." ''The American Enterprise'' v. 13 #8 Dec. 2002. pp 42+ online at [[Questia]]</ref>

====Cold War====
The wartime horrors led Norwegians to reject neutrality in the [[Cold War]], and they turned instead to collective security in alliance with the United States. Norway was one of the signers of the NATO Treaty in 1949 and was a founding member of the [[United Nations]] in 1945. Indeed, the first UN General Secretary, Trygve Lie, was a Norwegian. Under the terms of the will of Alfred Nobel, the Storting (Parliament) elects the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee who award the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] to champions of peace.

==Internet==
According to Alexa traffic statistics, Conservapedia enjoys its second highest national traffic rank in Norway.[http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservapedia.com%2F]

==Further reading==
===Guides===
* ''Norway'' (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by Snorre Evensberget (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Norway-Eyewitness-Travel-Guides-Evensberget/dp/078949339X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960453&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* ''Norway'' (Country Guide) by Anthony Ham (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Norway-Country-Guide-Anthony-Ham/dp/1741045797/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960453&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]
* ''Insight Guide Norway'' by Simon Ryder and Cameron Duffy (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Insight-Guide-Norway-Guides/dp/9812587128/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960453&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* ''Frommer's Norway'' by Darwin Porter (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/Frommers-Norway-Complete-Darwin-Porter/dp/0470432136/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960453&sr=1-8 excerpt and text search]
* ''Norway - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture'' by Linda March (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Norway-Culture-essential-customs-culture/dp/1857333314/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960453&sr=1-11 excerpt and text search]

===History===
====Surveys====
* Bain, Robert Nisbet. ''Scandinavia; a Political History of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1513 to 1900'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Scandinavia-Political-History-Denmark-Norway/dp/0543939006/ref=sr_1_44?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252960971&sr=1-44 excerpt and text search]
* Derry, Thomas Kingston. ''A History of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.'' (1979). 447 pp.; standard scholarly history
* Dreyer, Grøndahl , et al. ''A History of Norway: From the Ice Age to the Age of Petroleum'' (1999) standard scholarly history
* Nordstrom, Byron J. ''Scandinavia since 1500'' (2000), standard scholarly history [http://www.questia.com/read/111772948?title=Scandinavia%20since%201500 online edition]
* Sjovik, Jan. ''Historical Dictionary of Norway'' (2008), standard reference book

====Specialized====
* Archer, Clive. '' Norway outside the European Union: Norway and European Integration from 1994 to 2004'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Norway-outside-European-Union-Integration/dp/0415282799/ref=sr_1_58?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252961077&sr=1-58 excerpt and text search]
* Berdal, Mats R. ''The United States, Norway and the Cold War, 1954-60.'' (1997). 268pp
* Beyer, Harald. ''A History of Norwegian Literature'' (1956) [http://www.questia.com/read/23498525?title=A%20History%20of%20Norwegian%20Literature online edition]
* Cole, Wayne S. ''Norway and the United States, 1905-1955: Two Democracies in Peace and War.'' (1989). 221 pp.
* Derry, Thomas Kingston. ''Haakon VII of Norway: The Man and the Monarch'' (1983) [http://www.questia.com/read/77549523?title=Haakon%20VII%20of%20Norway%3a%20The%20Man%20and%20the%20Monarch online edition]
* Einhorn. Eric S., and John Logue. ''Modern Welfare States: Scandinavian Politics and Policy in the Global Age'' (2003) [http://www.questia.com/read/113176873?title=Modern%20Welfare%20States%3a%20%20Scandinavian%20Politics%20and%20Policy%20in%20the%20Global%20Age online edition]
* Gjelsvik, Tore. ''Norwegian Resistance, 1940-1945.'' (1979). 224 pp.
* Gran, Thorvald. ''The State in the Modernization Process: The Case of Norway, 1850-1970.'' Oslo: Ad Notam Gyldendal, 1994. 415 pp.
* Greve, Tim. ''Haakon VII of Norway: The Man and the Monarch.'' (1983). 212 pp.; he reigned 1905-57.
* Haywood, John. ''The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings'' (1995) [http://www.amazon.com/Penguin-Historical-Atlas-Vikings-Hist/dp/0140513280/ref=pd_sim_dbs_b_2 excerpt and text search]
* Hovde, B. J. ''The Scandinavian Countries, 1720-1865: The Rise of the Middle Classes'' (1948) [http://www.questia.com/read/23307473?title=The%20Scandinavian%20Countries%2c%201720-1865%3a%20The%20Rise%20of%20the%20Middle%20Classes%20-%20Vol.%201 online edition]
* Lowell, Briant Lindsay. ''Scandinavian Exodus: Demography and Social Development of 19th-Century Rural Communities.'' (1987). 262 pp.
* Naess, Harald S., ed. ''A History of Norwegian Literature.'' (1993). 435 pp. [http://www.questia.com/read/9898528?title=A%20History%20of%20Norwegian%20Literature online edition]
* Petrow, Richard. ''The Bitter Years: The Invasion and Occupation of Denmark and Norway, April 1940-May 1945'' (1974)
* Rommetvedt, Hilmar. ''The Rise of the Norwegian Parliament'' (2003), recent history [http://www.questia.com/read/108508058?title=The%20Rise%20of%20the%20Norwegian%20Parliament online edition]
* Royal Institute of International Affairs. ''The Scandinavian States and Finland: A Political and Economic Survey'' (1951) [http://www.questia.com/read/57951997?title=The%20Scandinavian%20States%20and%20Finland%3a%20%20A%20Political%20and%20Economic%20Survey%20%281951%29 online edition]
* Rust, Val D. ''The Democratic Tradition and the Evolution of Schooling in Norway.'' (1989). 333 pp.

==External links==
* [http://www.howto.co.uk/abroad/living-in-norway/ "Living and Working in Norway"], useful coverage of many topics
* [http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2741143.ece search Oslo newspaper stories]

== References ==
<references/>

{{Copyright Details (US Government)}}
Source = [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3421.htm]

[[Category:Norway]]
[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:Scandinavian Countries]]
[[Category:Political Parties in Norway]]

Jens Stoltenberg

2009-12-20T15:39:20Z

Efloean:

{{Infobox person
|image=
|office=Prime Minister
|country=Norway
|term_start=17 October 2005
|term_end=
|party=[[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]]
|previous=Kjell Magne Bondevik
|next=
|term_start2=17 March 2000
|term_end2=19 October 2001
|previous2=Kjell Magne Bondevik
|next2=Kjell Magne Bondevik
|birth_date=16 March 1959
|birth_place=[[Oslo]], [[Norway]]
|spouse=Ingrid Schulerud
}}
'''Jens Stolenberg''' (born 16 March 1959 in [[Oslo]]) is the Norwegian [[Labour Party (Norway)|Labor Party leader]], and the Prime Minister of [[Norway]] since 17 October 2005. He was previously Prime Minister 2000–2001. A clever, affable outdoorsy type given to scuba diving, hunting and hiking, he ranks high in popularity polls.

== Career ==
Stoltenberg was in [[Gro Harlem Brundtland]]'s third cabinet (1993–1996), where he was Minister of Commerce and Energy. He was Minister of Finance in [[Thorbjørn Jagland]]'s cabinet (1996–1997), and became Leader of the [[Norwegian Labour Party]] in 2002, after being Vice Leader since 1992.

== Prime Minister ==
Stoltenberg's left-leaning government narrowly defeated a splintered center-right opposition in the September 2009 elections. The Labor government came under challenge by Siv Jensen and her right-wing populist Progress Party, which has gained support by calling for lowering Norway's famously high taxes and tightening immigration rules. Debate centered on how to manage the Nordic welfare state's oil wealth.<ref>Karl Ritter, "[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090914/ap_on_re_eu/eu_norway_election Norway election focused on oil wealth]", ''AP'' Sept. 14, 2009</ref>

Stolenberg's current cabinet consists of Labor, [[Center Party (Norway)|Center]] and [[Socialist Left Party (Norway)|Socialist Left]] Parties, and holds the majority in the Norwegian parliament, the [[Stortinget|Storting]].

Reelected in September 2009, Stoltenberg’s next task is to draw up a new coalition pact and a budget for 2010. He favors oil exploration around the pristine Lofoten archipelago in the Arctic, but this is opposed by the Socialist Left. He wants Norway to join the [[European Union]]—particularly if Iceland succeeds in its quest for membership, but Norwegians have turned down membership before.

== References ==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoltenberg, Jens}}
[[Category:Prime Ministers of Norway]]

Islam

2009-12-20T15:30:45Z

Efloean: quote, more stuff

'''Islam''' is a [[monotheism|monotheistic]] [[Abrahamic religion]] based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]] Ibn Abdallah, a seventh century [[Arab]] religious and [[politics|political]] figure. The word "Islam" means "submission" (to Allah) in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Because the triconsonantal root of Islam, slm, carries the connotations of surrender, some academics and polemicists argue that slm implies the surrender of a defeated enemy, implying forceful conversion.

A follower of Islam is called a Muslim or Moslem, a term which means "one who submits (to God)". The older term [[Mohammedan]] means "follower of Muhammad", and has been used for centuries. Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", and "Saracen". Saracen as a term for muslims was limited to the crusade era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the biblical connection of Hagar the mother of Ishmael who is reported as the patriarch of Islam.<ref>For example see the account of Jeremias Cacavelas: The Siege of Vienna,1683</ref>Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from mispelling's of the above.

Muslims follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be [[God]]'s ("Allah", '''الله''' in [[Arabic]]) last and greatest [[prophet]]. The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the Quran, the Hadith, and the Sunnah.The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the prophet", which all muslims are called on to replicate.The faith teaches that the [[Archangel]] [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Poclaim",which is found in the 96th Sura of the Quran.

Muslims believe that God revealed the [[Qur'an]] (or Koran) to Muhammad who was illiterate and uneducated. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Quran is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref>. The Quran was not written down in a systemised fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recenscion.The Qur'an is considered to be the pure and holy word of God, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic theology the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Quran, only the delivering ot the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.

Like [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]], Islam originated in the [[Middle East]]. Islam claims to trace its roots back to [[Abraham]]. Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.

Based upon this belief, the Bible, Old and New Testament, is believed to have become corrupted through the translations and misinterpretations accumulated over the millenia. The criticism of the Torah centers around the reconstruction of the existing Biblical text required after the "Babylonian captivity". The criticism of the New Testament centers in the many disputed gnostic texts which contradict the orthodox biblical canon. Interestingly, Islamic jurisprudence accepts that the Injil was complete and whole up until the revelation of Muhammad. Therefore there is some inconsistency in the claims made against the New Testament. For more information, see [[The Bible versus the Qur'an]]
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]

Islam is the second largest religion in the world, with over 1.5 billion followers, the number of Muslims is rapidly growing, mainly due to high birth rates, in both Muslim-majority and other countries . Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but cannot keep up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref>
<ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref>

Many believe that Islam is, with [[Atheism]], currently the greatest threat to [[Christianity]] and [[Christian values]], <ref>[http://christianblogs.christianet.com/1134840164.htm Is Islam a Threat to Christianity?]</ref><ref>[http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/5/8/183305.shtml Islam's Threat to the West]</ref><ref>[http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/stock/050413 Why Islam Hates Christianity]</ref> and the overwhelming majority of modern international [[terrorist|terrorists]] who make headlines are Muslims. It should be noted that only a small extremist sect of Muslims participate in this activity, using the concept of "[[Jihad]]" (Holy War), to justify their actions. It should also be noted that contrary to popular conception the department of homeland security considers right wing white supremacist terrorist groups to be the most important domestic terror threat<ref>citation needed</ref>.

==Historical Background==

See [[History of the Muslim World]] or [[History of Islam]]

According to Islamic belief, in approximately 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], located in the Hijaz (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] (or Jibreel) to "recite" the message of [[Allah]] (Arabic for God). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgment day.

The message to Muhammad was to be God's last and fullest revelation, a direct copy of the Umm Al Khitab, the mother of all books located in heaven next to God; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or the city - as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Muhammad's forces, composed of the sahaba (companions) from Mecca ,and the Ansar (allied tribes from Yathrib) started attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632.
[[File:Islam750.jpg|thumb|590px]]

Tribal elders in a traditional council called the "Shura" elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten year reign, Islam invaded and spread through conquest and negotiation into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of [[Iran]]. Umar was assassinated by a Persian (modern day Iran) in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Iran, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].

The Muslim armies conquered and superseded the ancient Sassanid and Byzantine empires which had ruled before. Within a generation of Muhammad's death Muslim armies occupied an empire stretching from the Nile river to the far off Iranian province of khorasan. Reasons for the rapid conquest are varied and obscure. The Arab armies were more akin to tribal war bands raiding and settling where and when they could. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires had been at war for centuries. The constant simmering conflict between Constantinople and Persia reached a climax in the early 7th century. The Sassanids conquered briefly Egypt and the Levant threatening the central Byzantine heartland of Anatolia. Under the military reforms of the emperor Heraclius, the Byzantine army consolidated and counter attacked, recapturing all that they had lost and capturing the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 628.

This brief end of the Roman-Persian wars disrupted the frontier areas which had predicated their economies on raiding and mercenary activities. Two major areas in Arabia were directly affected. The Lackmid tribe and the Gassanid tribe both acted as mercenaries for the Persians and Romans. The official religion of both tribes analogically mirrored that of their overseers. Monophysite Christianity was common, particularly of the Jacobite sect. The death of Muhammad and the subsequent Ridda wars occupied these warrior tribes until the reign of Caliph Umar. Additionally, there was great religious unrest in the levant and Egypt. These areas resented the ruinous taxes and the harsh orthodoxy imposed by the emperor in Constantinople.

The same climate was present in the Sassanid realm with the rise of the dualism of the Manicheans. Under the Caliph Umar ,the Arab tribes which had concluded the infighting following the death of Muhammad were allowed to raid into the Byzantine and Sassanid fronteirs. The weakened state of both regimes from both military and economic exhaustion and religious unrest made them fertile picking grounds for the tribal warbands. The Arabs were chiefly successful in holding these areas in that they upheld a lightweight regime of low taxes based in the Islamic laws and distant government. Rather than employing an army of bureaucrats and nobility, the early Arab empire was more favorable towards maintaining the existing government structures under the leadership of Arab tribes. In this atmosphere it is hardly surprising to note the reports from both Muslim and Christian sources of peaceful capitulation and invitation of the invading forces.

==Divisions Within Islam==
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, religious dissidents who broke away from the main body of Muslims because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D.

The Shia Muslim community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgement day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni.

There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name possibly derived from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen.

==Religious Guidance==
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Qur'an as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from God. Some utterances that Mohammed was unsure about, dubbed the Satanic verses, would later be incorporated in a novel in modern times by [[Salman Rushdie]] who would then be subject to a death degree from the leader of Iran for his writing.

The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Qur'an that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Qur'an is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Qur'an as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.

Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Muslim countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.

====Clergy====
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulama, who often are educated men familiar with the Qur'an and able to offer commentaries on Qur'anic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims.

Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Qur'an or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of God, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Qur'an, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior.

===Five Pillars of Islam===
*'''Shahadah (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except God, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of God''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam.

*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to Pray to God five times each day while facing [[Mecca]].

*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of the value of most valuables and savings held for a full [[lunar year]].

*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must fast during daylight hours during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Some Muslim sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.

*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives.

==Other Aspects of Islam==
[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pages from the Qur'an, the holy book of the Islamic religion.]]
====Jihad====
Jihad is the "effort" or "struggle" each Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. Jihad also can be applied to warfare; participating in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad often was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims.

====Osama bin Laden and Fundamentalists====
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of a particular brand of Islam popular in Saudi Arabia, has stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers maintain that the number of Muslims who believe as bin Laden does is growing, and others go further to suggest that all "fundamentalist" Muslims are enemies of the West. But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow bin Laden or other terrorists. These observers suggest that the fundamentalists disagree with bin Laden as much as do Westerners. It is hard to know the truth. Many westerners are still haunted by the images of cheering crowds dancing in the streets when the 9/11 attacks were announced and were disappointed at the lack of prominent condemnation of the attack from Islamic circles worldwide.

====People of the Book====
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Qur'an and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, tracing its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of God's promise. Islam believes that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Qur'an, but there is still an earlier link between the three religions. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Qur'an and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.

====Women in Islam====
For the most part, the Qur'an treats men and [[woman|women]] equally, applies the same injunctions and prohibitions to men and women, and grants many of the same privileges and benefits. But women are treated separately in certain instances. For example, women are required to "... draw their outer garments around them ... that they may be known (to be Muslims) and not annoyed (by men)." (Qur'an 33:59) Covering the head and body in public (hijab) is viewed by many Muslim women as a protection of their modesty, a way to discourage men's covetous eyes. The principle of hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and regular "street clothes" may be voluntary and acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[Burqa]] was enforced in Taliban Afghanistan. The treatment of women may depend upon rural or urban settings, educational level, society norms, tradition, or other factors. As of 2008, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are the only two Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of modest garb.

Islamic dress is a regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education.

Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit - should a man die, his brothers, sons and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of the criminal law of the country, and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions, but to a lesser extent. In contrast, Turkey has a majority Muslim population yet still grants women rights near-equal to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level.

Muslim apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, and point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and womens' rights are compatible, and point to past Christian-dominated cultures such as medieval Europe as examples that other religions can be distorted to justify oppression.

Muslim women's status is controversial. Some critics claim that Muslim men oppress Muslim women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities. Defenders of some practices suggest that many of them, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect, not constrict, women, or that many Muslim women adopt the life style of the veil voluntarily. There are Muslim women who agree and disagree with the critics.

====Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem====
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions.

At first, Jerusalem was Islam's holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the Dome of the Rock mosque. According to the Qur'an (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.

====Restrictions====
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims are proscribed from drinking alcoholic beverages. Observant Muslims do not collect interest.

====Non-Muslim Practices====
Some practices have been associated with Islam because they occur in Islamic countries, but actually are not a part of Islam. For example, female circumcision is not mentioned in the Qur'an, but is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" but not obligatory condition. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, notably in Eritrea, Yemen, and Egypt. Another example of a practice that has been associated incorrectly with Islam is honor killing, in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that dishonored the family through unmarried pregnancy or promiscuous behavior. The "honor killing" is more ancient and possibly tribalistic pagan in origin.

==Islam and Christianity==
While Muslims do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the resurrection, they consider him and his mother to be of God's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Qur'an warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref>

The Qur'an states that non-believers will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified (same as similar statements in the Bible and the Torah):

{{cquote|Surely, disbelievers are those who said:
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah.
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.

Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The Messiah , son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ).
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat).
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."
}}
::(Qur'an 5:73-75)

However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in [[Arabic]]) as a founding prophet.

==Islam and Paganism==

Although Muslims profess belief in a single [[God]], some believe Islam has its roots in an earlier polytheistic system.<ref>[http://www.chick.com/information/religions/islam/]</ref> By this thinking God is linked to an earlier moon deity, although it should be brought up that there is no mention of this in the Qur'an, where Allah is cited as the God of [[Abraham]].<ref>The Qur'an, Sura 37 [http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Quran-Allamah-Nooruddin/dp/0963206702]</ref><ref>Abramahov, "Islamic Theology". Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, 1988. [http://www.amazon.com/Islamic-Theology-Binyamin-Abrahamov/dp/0748611029/sr=8-4/qid=1172042917/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/105-1837174-2630046?ie=UTF8&s=books]</ref>

==Sharia==
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]].]]
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Qur'an; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of God by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.

Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Some Islamic scholars accept Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established before the 19th century, while other scholars view Sharia as a changing body, and include Islamic legal theory from the contemporary period.{{fact}}

Sharia law is used in many modern Islamic theocracies and prescribes very harsh treatments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, converting from Islam is punishable by death.<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref>
==Terminology==
Additional archaic terms for Muslims include , but are not limited to, "Hagarene" and "Saracen". The term Hagarene was more common in post-crusade Europe as it made specific reference to the biblical mother of Ishmael. Ishmael in the Muslim faith plays an analogous theological role to Isaac.<ref>citation needed</ref> Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]]<ref>Schimmel, (1992)</ref>

==Ex-Muslims==
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of Ex-Muslims hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations." <ref> [http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref>

<ref>''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back] </ref>

==Prominent Muslims==
*[[Muhammad]]
*[[Muhammad Ali]]
*[[Ahmed Deedat]]
*[[Yusef Islam]]
*[[Prince Naseem Hamed]]
*[[Rezazadeh Hossein]]
*[[Ayatollah Khomeini]]
*[[Ayatollah Khamenei]]
*[[Mohammad Khatami]]
*[[Osama Bin Laden]]
*[[Muhammad Yunus]]

== See also ==
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]
*[[Arab American]]
*[[Islamic republic]]
*[[Qur'an]]
*[[Ramadan]]
==Further reading==
* Armour, Rollin. ''Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-Christianity-West-Troubled-History/dp/1570754071/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]
* Armstrong, Karen. ''Islam: A Short History'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Berkey, Jonathan P. ''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Formation-Islam-Religion-Society-600-1800/dp/0521588138/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]
* Esposito, John J. ''The Oxford History of Islam'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]
* Lewis, Bernard. ''Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East'' (2001), by leading conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-People-Events-Middle/dp/0812695186/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]
* Newby, Gordon. ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Concise-Encyclopedia-Islam-Gordon-Newby/dp/1851682953/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342942&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Robinson, Chase F. ed. ''The New Cambridge History of Islam'' (Volume 1) (2009), summarizes advanced scholarship
* Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. ''Historical Atlas of Islam'' (2004)
* Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. (1992)
* Sonn, Tamara and Mary Williamsburg. ''A Brief History of Islam'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Blackwell-Histories-Religion/dp/1405109009/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]
* Wheatcroft, Andrew. ''Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Infidels-History-Conflict-Between-Christendom/dp/0812972392/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]

==External links==
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]
* Congressional Research Service, "Islam: A Primer", Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain and the source of part of this article [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Worldviews]]

User:Efloean

2009-12-20T15:18:45Z

Efloean: tweak

{{Userboxtop|Different fancy boxes}}
{{User Worldconservative}}
{{User free speech}}
{{User noforcedreligion}}
{{User Wikipedian}}
{{User Life begins|age}}
{{User no}}
{{userboxbottom}}

My name is Erik. I am 15 years old, and live in [[Norway]]. I define myself as a [[liberal conservatism|liberal conservative]], which tends to be unknown for most Americans, but very much alive in Europe.

If I should fit into one of the American political parties, I would fit best into [[Libertarian Party]], though I disagree with that party at certain points as war on drugs and gun control. I'm member of Norwegian Young Conservatives (''Unge Høyre''). I share most of the ideals of the other editors here, but I may disagree with you in cases like [[gun control]] and [[gay rights]] – I am heterosexual, but as I am [[atheist]]ic, my opinions are not coloured by religion. Therefore, I think it is wrong to connect [[socialism]], gay rights and atheism to eachother, as they don't have anything to do with eachother in primary.

=== Languages ===
I speak Norwegian as native language, and also these languages: English (intermediate), Faroese (intermediate) and Spanish (a little). Danish and Swedish are mutually intelligible with Norwegian, so I understand they also, though the Danish language is known for its special pronunciation.

[[Category:Wikipedians on Conservapedia]]
[[Category:European conservapedians]]
[[Category:Agnostic conservapedians]]

User:Efloean

2009-12-20T15:18:21Z

Efloean: linkfix

{{Userboxtop|Different fancy boxes}}
{{User Worldconservative}}
{{User free speech}}
{{User noforcedreligion}}
{{User Wikipedian}}
{{User Life begins|age}}
{{User no}}
{{userboxbottom}}

My name is Erik. I am 15 years old, and live in [[Norway]]. I define myself as a [[liberal conservatism|liberal conservative]], which tends to be unknown for most Americans, but very much alive in Europe.

If I should fit into one of the American political parties, I would fit best into [[Libertarian Party]], though I disagree with that party at certain points as war on drugs and gun control. I'm member of Norwegian Young Conservatives (''Unge Høyre''). I share most of the ideals of the other editors here, but I may disagree with you in cases like [[gun control]] and [[gay rights]] – I am heterosexual, but as I am [[atheist]]ic, my opinions are not coloured by religion. Therefore, I think it is wrong to connect [[socialism]], gay rights and atheism to eachother, as they don't have anything to do with eachother in primary.

My own reasoning for being an agnostic follows this term, quoted from Conservopedia's article about [[agnostic]]:
:''Those who declare no rational decision is possible, on the grounds that the existence of God is not knowable.''

=== Languages ===
I speak Norwegian as native language, and also these languages: English (intermediate), Faroese (intermediate) and Spanish (a little). Danish and Swedish are mutually intelligible with Norwegian, so I understand they also, though the Danish language is known for its special pronunciation.

[[Category:Wikipedians on Conservapedia]]
[[Category:European conservapedians]]
[[Category:Agnostic conservapedians]]

Haakon VII of Norway

2009-12-19T16:15:19Z

Efloean: /* Reign */

{{Infobox person
|image=Haakon.jpg
|birth_date=3 August 1872
|birth_place=Charlottenlund, [[Denmark]]
|death_date=21 September 1957
|death_place=[[Oslo]], [[Norway]]
|spouse=[[Maud of Wales]]
|religion=
}}
'''King Haakaon VII of Norway''' (1872 – 1957) was the first Norwegian king after the separation of [[Norway]] from [[Sweden]] in 1905. He was born as [[Denmark|Danish]] Prince Carl of Denmark and [[Iceland]], his birth Christening name being Christian Frederik Carl Georg Valdemar Axel, in the 3 August 1872 at Charlottenlund outside [[Copenhagen]], Denmark.

== Reign ==
King Haakon was loved much by the Norwegian people and gained much respect as well as playing importantly role in unitising the Norwegian nation in resisting the brutal racist [[Nazi]] occupying of Norway during [[World War II]] for over five years.

Prince Carl was lived in the royal Danish house in Copenhagen and schooled at home before being educated finally at Royal Danish Naval Academy from where he graduated near the bottom of class. Later there was scandal with suicide of Kai Simonsen and he became important witness.

In the [[Buckingham Palace]] of [[England]] Prince Carl made Princess [[Maud of Wales]] his dear wife and first cousin. She was daughter (youngest) of the future [[King]] [[Edward VII]] of the [[United Kingdom]] and his wife, Princess Alexandra of Denmark who became a daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Their son, Prince Alexander, became the future Crown Prince Olav and ultimately King [[Olav V of Norway]], who was born on 2 July 1903.

He (Haakon) is regarded widely as one of if not the greatest living Norwegians of twentieth century and is revered especially for his [[Viking]]-like courageness during the [[Germany]] invasion and the heroic leadership and preservation of Norwegian oneness during the Nazi occupation. In 1957 at age of 85, he died.

== Literature ==
*Shirer, William L. (1956). ''The Challenge of Scandinavia''. (In English.) London: Robert Hale.
*Bomann-Larsen, Tor (2004). ''Haakon og Maud I – Kongstanken''. (In Norwegian.) Oslo: Cappelen. ISBN 82-02-22527-2.
*Bomann-Larsen, Tor (2004). ''Haakon og Maud II – Folket''. (In Norwegian.) Oslo: Cappelen. ISBN 978-82-02-22529-2.
*Bomann-Larsen, Tor (2006). ''Haakon og Maud III – Vintertronen''. (In Norwegian.) Oslo: Cappelen. ISBN 978-82-02-24665-5.

[[Category:Heroes]]
[[Category:Norwegians]]

Haakon VII of Norway

2009-12-19T16:14:08Z

Efloean:

{{Infobox person
|image=Haakon.jpg
|birth_date=3 August 1872
|birth_place=Charlottenlund, [[Denmark]]
|death_date=21 September 1957
|death_place=[[Oslo]], [[Norway]]
|spouse=[[Maud of Wales]]
|religion=
}}
'''King Haakaon VII of Norway''' (1872 – 1957) was the first Norwegian king after the separation of [[Norway]] from [[Sweden]] in 1905. He was born as [[Denmark|Danish]] Prince Carl of Denmark and [[Iceland]], his birth Christening name being Christian Frederik Carl Georg Valdemar Axel, in the 3 August 1872 at Charlottenlund outside [[Copenhagen]], Denmark.

== Reign ==
King Haakon was loved much by the Norwegian people and gained much respect as well as playing importantly role in unitising the Norwegian nation in resisting the brutal racist [[Nazi]] occupying of Norway during [[World War II]] for over five years.

Prince Carl was lived in the royal Danish house in Copenhagen and schooled at home before being educated finally at Royal Danish Naval Academy from where he graduated near the bottom of class. Later there was scandal with suicide of Kai Simonsen and he became important witness.

In the [[Buckingham Palace]] of [[England]] Prince Carl made Princess Maud of [[Wales]] his dear wife and first cousin. She was daughter (youngest) of the future [[King]] [[Edward VII]] of the [[United Kingdom]] and his wife, Princess Alexandra of Denmark who became a daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Their son, Prince Alexander, became the future Crown Prince Olav and ultimately King [[Olav V of Norway]], who was born on 2 July 1903.

He (Haakon) is regarded widely as one of if not the greatest living Norwegians of twentieth century and is revered especially for his [[Viking]]-like courageness during the [[Germany]] invasion and the heroic leadership and preservation of Norwegian oneness during the Nazi occupation. In 1957 at age of 85, he died.

== Literature ==
*Shirer, William L. (1956). ''The Challenge of Scandinavia''. (In English.) London: Robert Hale.
*Bomann-Larsen, Tor (2004). ''Haakon og Maud I – Kongstanken''. (In Norwegian.) Oslo: Cappelen. ISBN 82-02-22527-2.
*Bomann-Larsen, Tor (2004). ''Haakon og Maud II – Folket''. (In Norwegian.) Oslo: Cappelen. ISBN 978-82-02-22529-2.
*Bomann-Larsen, Tor (2006). ''Haakon og Maud III – Vintertronen''. (In Norwegian.) Oslo: Cappelen. ISBN 978-82-02-24665-5.

[[Category:Heroes]]
[[Category:Norwegians]]

Haakon VII of Norway

2009-12-19T16:05:42Z

Efloean:

[[Image:Haakon.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
'''King Haakaon VII of Norway''' was the first Norge king after the separation of [[Norway]] from [[Sweden]] in 1905. He was born as [[Denmark|Danish]] Prince Carl of Denmark and [[Iceland]], his birth Christening name being Christian Frederik Carl Georg Valdemar Axel, in the 3 August 1872 at Charlottenlund in Denmark.

King Haakon was loved much by the Norwegian folk and gained much respect as well as playing importantly role in unitising the Norwegian nation in resisting the brutal racist [[Nazi]] occupying of Norway during [[World War II]] for over five years.

Prince Carl was lived in the royal Danish house in Copenhagen and schooled at home before being educated finally at Royal Danish Naval Academy from where he graduated near the bottom of class. Later there was scandal with suicide of Kai Simonsen and he became important witness.

In the [[Buckingham Palace]] of [[England]] Prince Carl made Princess Maud of [[Wales]] his dear wife and first cousin. She was daughter (youngest) of the future [[King]] [[Edward VII]] of the [[United Kingdom]] and his wife, Princess Alexandra of Denmark who became a daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Their son, Prince Alexander, became the future Crown Prince Olav and ultimately King [[Olav V of Norway]], who was born on 2 July 1903.

He (Haakon) is regarded widely as one of if not the greatest living Norwegians of twentieth century and is revered especially for his [[Viking]]-like courageness during the [[Germany]] invasion and the heroic leadership and preservation of Norwegian oneness during the Nazi occupation. In 1957 at age of 85, he died.

[[Category:Heroes]]
[[Category:Norwegians]]

Christian Democratic Party (Norway)

2009-12-19T16:05:08Z

Efloean:

The [[Norway|Norwegian]] '''Christian Democratic Party''' ([[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]: ''Kristelig Folkeparti'', KrF) was founded in 1933 in response to growing secularism in Norway. They claim to be a society that:
#protects life and human dignity, equality and diversity
#respects man's material and spiritual needs
#promotes sustainable development, and includes everyone in a more just distribution of earthly resources, characterized by love for our fellow neighbours, and solidarity with the poor and persecuted in other countries.

==History==
The Christian Democratic Party aimed to be an alternative to existing political parties in [[Norway]], which were largely [[secular]]. A few months after the party's founding, its first candidate, Nils Lavik, was elected to [[parliament]]. During the years of [[Nazi]] occupation in the early 1940s, interest in a [[Christian]] party spiked amongst members of the Norwegian public who had seen the atrocities of the Nazis. In the first [[election]] after [[World War II]], the Party won 8 seats in the [[parliament]].

The Party became a member of a short-lived non-socialistic [[government]] along with 3 other parties (two [[conservative]] and one [[liberal]]). These parties held a majority of seats in the [[parliament]] from 1965-1971. In the years between 1970-1990, the Party maintained a small percentage of seats in the parliament, receiving roughly 10% of the popular vote in most [[election|elections]].

==Political Issues==
The Christian Democratic Party is notably [[environmentalist]]. Its docrtine states "Stewardship implies that the resources of the Earth should be taken care of for the best of present and future generations."<ref name="official">[http://www.stem-krf.no/the-norwegian-christian-democratic-party.aspx#Our_values_and_ideology The Norwegian Christian Democratic Party Official Website]</ref> The doctrine also takes aspects of liberalism and [[socialism]], stating that "Christian Democracy sees man as both an individual human being, and as part of a community."<ref name="official"></ref>

The Party also respects separation of [[church]] and state. Their webpage states, "The Christian Democrats are inspired by the Bible and by Christian tradition, yet it is important to maintain that religion and politics exist on two different levels. Salvation is the goal of Christianity, whereas the goal of politics is to create a good society for all, regardless of religious conviction. The aim of the Christian Democratic ideology is democracy in which diversity and the respect for individuals and their different choices are among the most important values."<ref name="official"></ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Political Parties in Norway]]

Labor Party (Norway)

2009-12-19T16:04:09Z

Efloean: /* External links */

'''The Norwegian Labor Party''' (Norwegian: ''Det norske Arbeiderparti'', ''DnA''/''Ap'') is a political party in [[Norway]], representing [[social democracy]]. After the parliamentary elections of 2005 and 2009, The Labor Party is Norway's largest political party, currently leading a coalition government with [[The Socialist Left Party]] and [[The Centre Party (Norway)|The Centre Party]]. This is a majority government.

== History ==
=== Early years ===
The party was founded in 1887, as the second political party in Norway. Despite the growing worker class in Norway, the party didn't get any representatives in the [[Stortinget|Storting]] until 1903. The first time the Labor Party was granted governmental power was in 1928, led by [[Christopher Hornsrud]] as Prime Minister. However, this government only lasted some few weeks, so the real start of the Labor Party's golden age as major governing party started in 1935, when the popular [[Johan Nygaardsvold]] became Prime Minister. His leadership during the [[Second World War]] increased the party's power.

=== Golden years, 1935–1965 ===
In the golden years, after the [[Second World War]], the party was led by [[Einar Gerhardsen]], being the Prime Minister of Norway 1945–1951, 1955–1963, and finally 1963–1965. During the break in 1963, the position was held by [[John Lyng]] from [[The Conservative Party (Norway)|The Conservative Party]]. In larger political context, the short break didn't bring much right-wing politics to Norway, but it made the right-wing parties become closer, and in 1965 the Labor Party's golden age ended when a right-wing coalition led by [[Per Borten]] was in power untill 1971.

=== Loosing face, 1970's ===
Then the Labor Party's Trygve Bratteli became Prime Minister for two periods; 1971–1972 and 1973–1976, only interrupted by the [[Christian Democratic Party (Norway)|Christian Democrat]] [[Lars Korvald]] in 1972–1973. [[Odvar Nordli]] from the Labor Party became Prime Minister in 1976, successed by the first female Prime Minister of Norway, [[Gro Harlem Brundtland]], also from the Labor Party.

=== Challenged, 1980–2000 ===
The party was heavily weakened in 1981, when Brundtland lost to the [[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative]] [[Kåre Willoch]], but she became Prime Minister again in 1986, after Willochs government was turned down by [[The Progress Party (Norway)|The Progress Party]] after a dispute about oil prices. Brundtland's government had to give the power back to The Conservative Party, The Centre Party and The Christian Democratic Party, led by [[Jan P. Syse]], in 1989. Syse didn't last long as Prime Minister, and had to give the power back to Brundtland and the Labor Party in 1990, then being in the government untill 1997, the last two years led by [[Thorbjørn Jagland]].

=== Today ===
[[Jens Stoltenberg]] became Prime Minister after a dispute about gas power in 2000, but lost in the parlamentary election of 2001. He came back in power in 2005, and is still Prime Minister of Norway. Though Stoltenberg's current government has the majority of the mandates in the [[Stortinget|Storting]], the government is under heavy critisism of missing results of its promises before the election, and is in large danger of loosing the power to the right-wing parties, especially the [[The Progress Party (Norway)|Progress]] and [[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative Parties]] after the next parliamentary election in 2009.

== Prime Ministers ==
*[[Christopher Hornsrud]], 1928
*[[Johan Nygaardsvold]], 1935–1945
*[[Einar Gerhardsen]], 1945–1951, 1955–1963 and 1963–1965
*[[Oscar Torp]], 1951–1955
*[[Trygve Bratteli]], 1971–1972 and 1973–1976
*[[Odvar Nordli]], 1976–1981
*[[Gro Harlem Brundtland]], 1981, 1986–1989 and 1990–1996
*[[Thorbjørn Jagland]], 1996–1997
*[[Jens Stoltenberg]], 2000–2001 and 2005–

== Criticism ==
*''Arrogance of power.'' As governing party in 16 years after the Second World War, the party was called arrogant by many opposition members. This includes, for instance, that the party often appoints party members for important governmental positions, as chief in the [[Norwegian State Broadcastning]] (NRK): From 1948 to 2001, all the chiefs had been politicians in the Labor Party.
*''Populism.'' The party has been attacked for being [[populism|populistic]] by Trine Skei Grande ([[The Liberal Party (Norway)|Liberal Party]], 2005), [[Torbjørn Røe Isaksen]] ([[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative Party]], 2004) and the newspaper [[Bergens Tidende]] (2003).

== See also ==
*[[Stortinget]]

== External links ==
*[http://www.dna.no/dna.no/Information-in-English About the Labor Party], English

{{Political parties in Norway}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Labor Party}}
[[Category:Political Parties in Norway]]

Jens Stoltenberg

2009-12-19T16:03:22Z

Efloean:

'''Jens Stolenberg''' (born March 16, 1959 in [[Oslo]]) is the Norwegian [[Labour Party (Norway)|Labor Party leader]], and the Prime Minister of [[Norway]] since October 2005. He was previously Prime Minister 2000–2001.

Reelected in September 2009, Stoltenberg’s next task is to draw up a new coalition pact and a budget for 2010. He favors oil exploration around the pristine Lofoten archipelago in the Arctic, but this is opposed by the Socialist Left. He wants Norway to join the [[European Union]]—particularly if Iceland succeeds in its quest for membership, but Norwegians have turned down membership before.

==Career==
Stoltenberg was in [[Gro Harlem Brundtland]]'s third cabinet (1993–1996), where he was Minister of Commerce and Energy. He was Minister of Finance in [[Thorbjørn Jagland]]'s cabinet (1996–1997), and became Leader of the [[Norwegian Labour Party]] in 2002, after being Vice Leader since 1992.

A clever, affable outdoorsy type given to scuba diving, hunting and hiking, he ranks high in popularity polls.

==Prime minister==
Stoltenberg's left-leaning government narrowly defeated a splintered center-right opposition in the September 2009 elections. The Labor government came under challenge by Siv Jensen and her right-wing populist Progress Party, which has gained support by calling for lowering Norway's famously high taxes and tightening immigration rules. Debate centered on how to manage the Nordic welfare state's oil wealth.<ref>See Karl Ritter, [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090914/ap_on_re_eu/eu_norway_election "Norway election focused on oil wealth," ''AP'' Sept. 14, 2009] </ref>

Stolenberg's current cabinet consists of Labour, [[Centre Party (Norway)|Centre]] and [[Socialist Left Party (Norway)|Socialist Left]] Parties, and holds the majority in the Norwegian parliament, the [[Stortinget|Storting]].

====references====
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoltenberg, Jens}}
[[Category:Prime Ministers of Norway]]

Kåre Willoch

2009-12-19T16:02:04Z

Efloean:

{{Infobox person
|image=
|office=Prime Minister
|country=Norway
|term_start=1981
|term_end=1986
|party=[[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative Party]]
|previous=Gro Harlem Brundtland
|next=Gro Harlem Brundtland
|birth_date=October 3, 1928
|birth_place=[[Oslo]], Norway
|death_date=
|death_place=
|spouse=Anne Marie Willoch (b. 1929)
|spouse2=
|religion=
}}
'''Kåre Isaachsen Willoch''' (born October 3, 1928) is a [[Norway|Norwegian]] politician for the [[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative Party]]. His first experience in government was as Minister of Trade in [[John Lyng]]'s cabinet in 1963, and later also in the same position in [[Per Borten]]'s cabinet 1965–1970. He was party leader from 1970 to 1974, and Prime Minister of Norway from 1981 to 1986, both preceded and succeded by [[Gro Harlem Brundtland]] from the [[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]].

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willoch, Kåre Isaachsen}}
[[Category:Prime Ministers of Norway]]

Jan P. Syse

2009-12-19T16:01:55Z

Efloean:

{{Infobox person
|image=
|office=Prime Minister
|country=Norway
|term_start=1989
|term_end=1990
|party=[[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative Party]]
|previous=Gro Harlem Brundtland
|next=Gro Harlem Brundtland
|birth_date=November 30, 1930
|birth_place=Nøtterøy, Norway
|death_date=September 17, 1997
|death_place=[[Oslo]], Norway
|spouse=Else Syse
|spouse2=
|religion=
}}
'''Jan Peder Syse''' (born November 30, 1930, died September 17, 1997) was a [[Norway|Norwegian]] politician for the [[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative Party]]. His first experience as minister was in a short period as Minister of Justice from 1970 to 1971, and later he became Minister of Industry in [[Kåre Willoch]]'s cabinet, 1983–1985. He was party leader from 1989 to 1991, and Prime Minister of Norway from 1989 to 1990, both preceded and succeded by [[Gro Harlem Brundtland]] from the [[Labour Party (Norway)|Labour Party]].

He died of cerebral hemorrhage in 1997, leaving wife and two adult sons.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syse, Jan Peder}}
[[Category:Prime Ministers of Norway]]

Category:Prime Ministers of Norway

2009-12-19T16:01:04Z

Efloean: Created page with 'Category:Norwegians Category:Heads of State'

[[Category:Norwegians]]
[[Category:Heads of State]]

Gro Harlem Brundtland

2009-12-19T15:59:41Z

Efloean:

{{Infobox person
|image=
|office=Prime Minister
|country=Norway
|term_start=3 November 1990
|term_end=25 October 1996
|party=[[Labor Party (Norway)|Labor Party]]
|previous=Jan P. Syse
|next=Thorbjørn Jagland
|term_start2=9 May 1986
|term_end2=16 October 1989
|previous2=Kåre Willoch
|next2=Jan P. Syse
|term_start3=4 February 1981
|term_end3=14 October 1981
|previous3=Odvar Nordli
|next3=Kåre Willoch
|birth_date=20 April 1939
|birth_place=[[Bærum]], [[Norway]]
|death_date=
|death_place=
|spouse=Arne Olav Brundtland
|spouse2=
|religion=
}}
'''Gro Harlem Brundtland''' (b. 20 April 1939) is a [[Norway|Norwegian]] politician, diplomat and physician, and an international leader in sustainable development and public health. She is also a notable [[climate change]] campaigner. She was formerly leader of the [[Labor Party (Norway)|Norwegian Labor Party]] and was Prime Minister of Norway in 1981, 1986–1989 and 1990–1996. She served as Director-General of the World Health Organisation 1998–2003, and is now a Special Envoy on Climate Change for the [[UN]] Secretary-General.

== Prime Minister ==
From 1981 to 1997, governments alternated between Labor minority governments under Brundtland and Conservative-led coalition governments under [[Kåre Willoch]]. The first government coalition led by Christian Democrat [[Kjell Magne Bondevik]] came to power in 1997, but fell in March 2000 over the issue of proposed gas-fired power plants, opposed by Bondevik due to their impact on climate change. The Labor Party's [[Jens Stoltenberg]], a Brundtland protégé, took over in a minority Labor government but lost power in the September 2001 election when Labor posted its worse performance since World War I. Bondevik once again became Prime Minister, this time as head of a minority government with the Conservatives and Liberals in a coalition heavily dependent upon the right-populist [[Progress Party (Norway)|Progress Party]].

Brundtland's maybe most famous quote is from her 1992 New Years Eve Speech:
{{cquote|It's typically Norwegian to be good.}}

== External links ==
*[http://imow.org/wpp/stories/viewStory?storyId=119 Gro Harlem Brundtland] at International Museum of Women

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brundtland, Gro Harlem}}
[[Category:Prime Ministers of Norway]]

Jan P. Syse

2009-12-19T15:47:39Z

Efloean:

Jan P. Syse

2008-10-06T15:06:53Z

Efloean: New page: {{Infobox person |image= |office=Prime Minister |country=Norway |term_start=1989 |term_end=1990 |party=Conservative Party |previous=Gro Harlem Brundtlan...

{{Infobox person
|image=
|office=Prime Minister
|country=Norway
|term_start=1989
|term_end=1990
|party=[[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative Party]]
|previous=Gro Harlem Brundtland
|next=Gro Harlem Brundtland
|birth_date=November 30, 1930
|birth_place=Nøtterøy, Norway
|death_date=September 17, 1997
|death_place=[[Oslo]], Norway
|spouse=Else Syse
|spouse2=
|religion=
}}
'''Jan Peder Syse''' (born November 30, 1930, dead September 17, 1997) was a [[Norway|Norwegian]] politician for the [[The Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative Party]]. His first experience as minister was in a short period as Minister of Justice from 1970 to 1971, and later he became Minister of Industry in [[Kåre Willoch]]'s cabinet, 1983–1985. He was party leader from 1989 to 1991, and Prime Minister of Norway from 1989 to 1990, both preceded and succeded by [[Gro Harlem Brundtland]] from the [[Labour Party (Norway)|Labour Party]].

He died of cerebral hemorrhage in 1997, leaving this world with his wife and two adult sons.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syse, Jan Peder}}
[[Category:Norwegians]][[Category:Heads of State]]