Norwegian Government Agencies

Norwegian Government Agencies

The Government agencies of Norway are state controlled organizations that act independently to carry out the policies of the Government of Norway. The Government Ministries are relatively small and merely policy-making organizations, allowed to control agencies by policy decisions but not by direct orders. A Minister is explicitly prohibited from interfering with the day-to-day operation in an agency or the outcome in individual cases. While no minister is allowed to give orders to agencies personally, they are subject to decisions made by the Government. Also, the Minister is normally the instance of appeals of agencies decisions.

Agencies are organised as Etat. Still, some of the work of the government is carried out through state enterprises or limited companies. For a full list of enterprises and companies, see List of Norwegian government enterprises.