orn 20 July 1973);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Gro Harlem BRUNDTLAND
(since 3 November 1990)

_#_Political parties and leaders:
Labor, Gro Harlem BRUNDTLAND;
Conservative, Kaci Kullmann FIVE;
Center Party, Anne Enger LAHNSTEIN;
Christian People's, Kjell Magne BONDEVIK;
Socialist Left, Eric SOLHEIM;
Norwegian Communist, Kare Andre NILSEN;
Progress, Carl I. HAGEN; Liberal, Arne FJORTOFT;
Finnmark List, leader NA

_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18

_#_Elections:

Storting--last held on 11 September 1989 (next to be held
6 September 1993);
results--Labor 34.3%, Conservative 22.2%, Progress 13.0%, Socialist Left
10.1%, Christian People's 8.5%, Center Party 6.6%, Finnmark List 0.3%,
other 5%;
seats--(165 total) Labor 63, Conservative 37, Progress 22, Socialist
Left 17, Christian People's 14, Center Party 11, Finnmark List 1

_#_Communists: 15,500 est.; 5,500 Norwegian Communist Party (NKP);
10,000 Workers Communist Party Marxist-Leninist (AKP-ML, pro-Chinese)

_#_Member of: AfDB, AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD,
ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA,
IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, PCA, UN, UNAVEM,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Kjeld VIBE; Chancery at
2720 34th Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 333-6000;
there are Norwegian Consulates General in Houston, Los Angeles,
Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco, and Consulates in Miami and New
Orleans;

US--Ambassador Loret Miller RUPPE; Embassy at Drammensveien 18,
0244 Oslo 2 (mailing address is APO New York 09085); telephone [47]
(2) 44-85-50

_#_Flag: red with a blue cross outlined in white that extends to the
edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist
side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)

_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Norway is a prosperous capitalist nation with the
resources to finance extensive welfare measures. Since 1975 exploitation
of large crude oil and natural gas reserves has helped maintain high
growth; for the past five years growth has averaged 4.1%, the
fourth-highest among OECD countries. Growth slackened in 1987-88
partially because of the sharp drop in world oil prices, but picked
up again in 1989. The Brundtland government plans to push hard on
envi