Norway

Abstract

Norway was under Danish domination from the 14th century. By a Treaty of 14 Jan. 1814, the King of Denmark ceded Norway to the King of Sweden and on 14 Aug. a convention proclaimed the independence of Norway in a personal union with Sweden. This was followed on 4 Nov. by the election of Karl XIII (II) as King of Norway. Norway declared this union dissolved on 7 June 1905 and Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union on 26 Oct. 1905. After a plebiscite, Prince Carl of Denmark was formally elected King on 18 Nov. 1905, taking the name of Haakon VII. He reigned for 52 years, after which he was succeeded bv his son. From 1940 to 1944, during the Second World War, Norway was occupied by the Germans who set up a widely resented pro-German government under Vidkun Quisling. Apart from this wartime episode, the Labour Party held office, and the majority in the Storting (parliament), from 1935 to 1965. From 1965 coalitions or minority governments have held power with Labour remaining the largest single party. The discovery of extensive offshore oil reserves in the 1960s transformed the Norwegian economy, making it one of the world’s richest.