This is a list of

heads of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. In the modern era, the head of government has the title prime minister ( no, Statsminister). At various times in the past, the highest governmental title has included steward ( no, Rigsstatholder), viceroy ( no, Vicekonge) and first minister ( no, Førstestatsraad) Until 1873, the King of the personal union between Sweden and Norway governed Norway through two cabinets: one in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and another in Christiania (now Oslo). The newly created Stockholm cabinet consisted of a prime minister and two ministers, whose role was to convey the attitudes of the Christiania cabinet to the Swedish King. The cabinet in Christiania was led by a steward ( no, Rigsstatholder). For brief periods, the incumbent crown prince was appointed

Viceroy of Norway The Viceroy of Norway ( Constitutional Danish: Vice-Konge) was the appointed head of the Norwegian Government in the absence of the King, during the era of the Union between Sweden and Norway. The role was essentially the same as that of the Gover ...

by the King, in which case the viceroy became the highest authority in Christiania. Whenever the King was present in Christiania, however, he assumed the highest authority, thus putting the governor or viceroy temporarily out of charge. Likewise, when there was no governor, viceroy, or king present in Christiania (which was not unusual), the cabinet was led by the first minister, who was the most prominent member of the cabinet. In July 1873, the position of governor was abolished after being vacant since 1856. Simultaneously, the post of First Minister in Christiania was upgraded to

Prime Minister of Norway The prime minister of Norway ( no, statsminister, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government department ...

. Although the office of Norwegian Prime Minister in Stockholm still existed, the real power and influence over state affairs was moved to the prime minister in Christiania, while prime minister in Stockholm became the second highest cabinet position, responsible for conveying the government's views to the King. When the union was dissolved in 1905, the position of prime minister in Stockholm was abolished.

Stewards of Norway

The Steward of Norway, styled ''Rigsstatholder'' in Danish (''riksstattholder'' in modern Norwegian spelling), meaning ''Royal steward of the realm'' (see Steward), was the appointed head of the Norwegian Government in the absence of the Monarch during the Dano-Norwegian union. As Norway was a separate kingdom, with its own laws and institutions, the position of steward of Norway was arguably the most influential position for a Danish-Norwegian nobleman or royal to hold, second to the King.

Stewards of Norway (1536/1537 – 1814)

* Peder Hansen Litle (1536/1537 – 1551) * Jesper Friis (1551 – 1556) *

Christen Munk Christen Munk (1520 – July 5, 1579) was a Danish born, Governor-general of Norway and county governor. Biography He came from Danish nobility and was the son of Hans Munk (died 1535) and Maren Christensdatter Spend (died 1543). He started h ...

(1556 – 1572) * Povel Ottesen Huitfeldt (1572 – 1577) * Ludvig Ludvigsen Munk til Norlund (9 July 1577 – 1583) * Ove Juul (acting) (1583 – 1588) *

Axel Gyldenstierne Axel Gyldenstierne (born c. 1542, died 13 July 1603 at Sandviken, Gotland) was a Danish-Norwegian official and Governor-general of Norway from 1588 until 1601. Northern Seven Years' War He is first mentioned in the records during the Northern Se ...

(1588 – 1601) * Jørgen Friis til Krastrup (1601 – 1608) * Enevold Kruse til Hjermislov (1608 – 1618) * Jens Hermansson Juul (1618 – 1629) * Christoffer Knudsson Urne til Asmark (1629 – 1642) * Hannibal Sehested (1642 – 24 June 1651) * Gregers Krabbe (1651 – 20 December 1655) * Niels Trolle til Trollesholm og Gavnø (1656 – 28 March 1661) * Iver Tageson Krabbe (8 Oct 1661 – 1664) * Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, Greve til Laurvig og Tønsberg (Jan 1664 – 1699) ** '' Ove Juul (Vice-Governor-General of Norway under Gyldenløve) (1669 – 5 June 1675)'' ** '' Jens Juul (Vice-Governor-General of Norway under Gyldenløve) (5 June 1675 – 9 May 1682)'' ** ''Just Högh til Fultofte (Vice-Governor-General of Norway under Gyldenløve) (9 May 1682 – 26 September 1694)'' * Frederik Gabel (30 September 1699 – 1708) *

Johan Vibe Johan Vibe (also Wibe) (16 April 1637 – 20 February 1710) was a Danish military officer and engineer, who was appointed Governor-General of Norway from 10 April 1708 until his death. Biography Johan Vibe was born on as one of two illegitim ...

(10 April 1708 – 22 Feb 1710) * Ulrik Frederik Valdemar, Baron Løvendal (1 Aug 1710 – 30 April 1712) * Claus Henrik Vieregg (4 August 1712 – 14 July 1713) * Frederik Krag (19 September 1713 – 1722) * Ditlev Vibe (17 April 1722 – 5 October 1731) * Patroclus Rømeling (acting) 1731–1733 * Christian, Greve Rantzau (1733–1739) * Hans Jakob Arnold (acting) (1739 – 11 Sep 1750) * Jacob von Benzon (11 September 1750 – 8 February 1771) * Carl, Landgraf zu Hessen (4 July 1766 – January 1768) (acting for von Benzon) ** ''

Vacant Within the context of building construction and building codes, "occupancy" refers to the use, or intended use, of a building, or portion of a building, for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property. A closely related meaning is th ...

(8 Feb 1771 – 25 July 1809)'' * Christian August, Prins von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (25 July 1809 – 11 Jan 1810) * Frederik, Landgraf zu Hessen-Kassel (11 Jan 1810 – 11 May 1813) * Christian Frederik, Prins af Danmark (11 May 1813 – 16 Feb 1814)

Split premiership (1814–1905)

First Minister (1814–1873)

:''Prior to 1884, there were no organised political parties in Norway; the prime ministers were considered senior civil servants (''Embedsmenn''). They were appointed by the King and were not subject to legislative confirmation. All Prime Ministers before 1884 opposed the constitutional reforms proposed by the parliamentary opposition, and were in their time viewed as conservatives. The Prime Minister was subordinate to the Steward and Viceroy, and the First Minister was subordinate to the Prime Minister. The de facto head of government was the First Minister.''

Prime Minister in Christiania (1873–1905)

:''In 1873 the office of the First Minister of Norway was upgraded to Prime Minister, based in Christiania. The office of Prime Minister based in

continued, with responsibility for communicating the policies of the Prime Minister in Christiania to the King, making it subordinate to the office in Christiania. In addition, a separate

Prime Minister of Sweden The prime minister ( sv, statsminister ; literally translating to "Minister of State") is the head of government of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subj ...

was appointed from 1876 onwards.''

Prime Ministers of Norway (1905–present)

In 1905, the

union between Sweden and Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Swede ...

was dissolved. Since then the office of the Prime Minister of Norway has been in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, except for the years of Nazi-German occupation during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when the Norwegian government was in exile in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Prime Ministers of Norway (1905–1940)

Heads of Government (1940–1945)

Government sanction by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

during the occupation of Norway. The Nygaardsvold exile government (1935–1945) is recognised as the elected government during the occupation.

Prime Ministers of Norway (1945–present)

Timeline

{{Timeline Norwegian PM Horizontal

External links

Norway's Prime Ministers
— A pictorial with portraits of Norway's Prime Ministers (''Aftenposten'') Prime Ministers of Norway Norway, List of Prime Ministers of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Prime ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...