der 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

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador Thomas A. LOFTUS
embassy: Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo
mailing address: PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 09707
telephone: [47] 22 44 85 50
FAX : [47] 22 44 33 63

Flag description: red with a blue cross outlined