National holiday: Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)
Constitution: 17 May 1814, modified in 1884
Legal system: mixture of customary law, civil law system, and common law traditions; Supreme Court renders advisory opinions to legislature when asked; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state : King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991); Heir Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS (born 20 July 1973) head of government: Prime Minister Thorbjoern JAGLAND (since 25 October 1996) cabinet: State Council appointed by the king with the approval of the Parliament elections: none; the king is a hereditary monarch; following parliamentary elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the king with the approval of the Parliament
Legislative branch: modified unicameral Parliament or Storting which, for certain purposes, divides itself into two chambers (165 seats; members are elected by popular vote by proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 13 September 1993 (next to be held NA September 1997) election results : percent of vote by party - Labor 37.1%, Center Party 18.5%, Conservatives 15.6%, Christian People's 8.4%, Socialist Left 7.9%, Progress 6%, Left Party 3.6%, Red Electoral Alliance 1.2%; seats by party - Labor 67, Center Party 32, Conservatives 18, Christian People's 13, Socialist Left 13, Progress 10, Left Party 1, Red Electoral Alliance 1, unawarded 10 note : for certain purposes, the Parliament divides itself into two chambers and elects one-fourth of its membership to an upper house or Lagting
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Hoyesterett, justices appointed by the king
Political parties and leaders: Labor Party [Thorbjorn JAGLAND];
Conservative Party [Jan PETERSEN]; Center Party [Anne ENGER
LAHNSTEIN]; Christian People's Party [Valgerd HAUGLAND]; Socialist
Left [Erik SOLHEIM]; Norwegian Communist [Kare Andre NILSEN]; Progress
Party [Carl I. HAGEN]; Liberal [Odd Einar DORUM]; Left Party; Red
Electoral Alliance [Erling FOLKVORD]
International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group,
BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR,
NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN,
UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMOP, UNPREDEP,
UNTAES, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Tom-Erik VRAALSON chancery : 2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-6000 FAX: [1] (202) 337-0870 consulate(s) general: Houston, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Miami