(; plural: ; non, sýslumaðr , no, sysselmann, da, sysselmænd) is a governmental office or title used in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, and

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 the ...

. The position originated in Norway in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, where it was used as a noble title, and the was granted a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

called a '' sýsla'' (plural: ) in which he was responsible for collecting tolls, taxes and fines, upholding the law and military defences. He was also to hold courts of justice and name men to sit on juries. He sometimes also assigned fiefs to a ''

lensmann in modern Norwegian or in Danish and older Norwegian spelling (; ) is a term with several distinct meanings in Nordic history. The Icelandic equivalent was a . Fief-holder The term traditionally referred to a holder of a royal fief in Denmark ...

''. The system was established in the 12th century by

Sverre of Norway Sverre Sigurdsson ( non, Sverrir Sigurðarson) (c. 1145/1151 – 9 March 1202) was the king of Norway from 1184 to 1202. Many consider him one of the most important rulers in Norwegian history. He assumed power as the leader of the rebel party ...

to help consolidate his power following the

Battle of Fimreite The Battle of Fimreite (Norwegian: ''Slaget ved Fimreite'') was a naval battle fought on June 15, 1184, between King Magnus Erlingsson and the Birkebeiner supported Sverre Sigurdsson. At this time in Norwegian history it was extremely common for th ...

. As Norse influence spread, so did the system, reaching into Iceland and the Faroe Islands, as well as Orkney and Shetland. Today, a or (often translated into English as 'district commissioner', ' sheriff', '

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

', or '

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

') handles a variety of governmental responsibilities in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the Svalbard archipelago in Norway.

Iceland

The office of was established in Iceland when the country submitted to the

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...

in 1262–1264 and royal authority was invested in to oversee the island's 12 . Appointed by the King of Norway, it was possible for a single to oversee up to a quarter of the island through representatives stations through his assigned . In 1375 a group of prominent Icelanders declared they would no longer accept non-native , nor royal amendments not sanctioned by the Alþingi. Currently there are nine district commissioners that manage several types of public services in their districts, including collecting taxes outside of the capital area, handling civil marriages, inheritance, child custody and issuing various permits.

Faroe Islands

As in Iceland, the system was brought to the Faroe Islands in the 13th century as the Norwegian king exerted greater influence over the islands. Traditionally, there were six , one for each . Today, are the modern district sheriffs appointed to three-year terms. In line with Danish police reform efforts, as of 1 January 2009, the number of was reduced to four, overseeing three police districts. Initially, the Danish National Police wanted to stop using the term , but it was deemed not possible as the are more than police, performing a range of tasks for the Faroese government, the courts, and the Danish High Commissioner. One of the tasks of the is to decide whether or not a pod of pilot whales that has been spotted should be slaughtered and, if so, into which bay the boats should drive the pod. This is decided together with the , who leads the pilot whale hunt.

Svalbard

In Norway, the term is used for the

Governor of Svalbard The governor of Svalbard ( no, Sysselmesteren på Svalbard) represents the Norwegian government in exercising its sovereignty over the Svalbard archipelago (Spitsbergen). The position reports to the Norwegian Ministry of Justice, but it mai ...

; however, after 1 July 2021, it was replaced by the gender-neutral term as part of Norwegian effort to ensure that governmental terms are not distinctly masculine or feminine. In English, both and are translated as 'governor'. From 1931 to 1933, the term was also used for the governor of

Erik the Red's Land Erik the Red's Land ( no, Eirik Raudes Land) was the name given by Norwegians to an area on the coast of eastern Greenland occupied by Norway in the early 1930s. It was named after Erik the Red, the founder of the first Norse or Viking settlement ...

, Norway's claim on eastern

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syslumadur Government agencies of Iceland Law enforcement in Iceland Law enforcement in the Faroe Islands Society of Norway Norwegian nobility