to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 12 September 2005 (next to be held September
2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - Labor Party 32.7%,
Progress Party 22.1%, Conservative Party 14.1%, Socialist Left Party
8.8%, Christian People's Party 6.8%, Center Party 6.5%, Liberal
Party 5.9%, Red Electoral Alliance 1.2%, other 1.9%; seats by party
- Labor Party 61, Progress Party 38, Conservative Party 23,
Socialist Left Party 15, Christian People's Party 11, Center Party
11, Liberal Party 10
note: for certain purposes, the parliament divides itself into two
chambers and elects one-fourth of its membership in the Lagting and
three-forths of its membership in the Odelsting

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Hoyesterett (justices appointed by the monarch)

Political parties and leaders:
Center Party [Aslaug Marie HAGA]; Christian People's Party [Dagfinn
HOYBRATEN]; Coastal Party [Roy WAAGE]; Conservative Party [Erna
SOLBERG]; Labor Party [Jens STOLTENBERG]; Liberal Party [Lars
SPONHEIM]; Progress Party [Siv JENSEN]; Red Electoral Alliance
[Torstein DAHLE]; Socialist Left Party [Kristin HALVORSEN]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
AfDB, Arctic Council, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN,
EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, ESA, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM,
IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS
(observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU
(associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Knut VOLLEBAEK
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, San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Benson K. WHITNEY
embassy: Henrik Ibsens gate 48, 0244 Oslo; note - the embassy will
move to Huseby in the near future
mailing address: PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 09707
telephone: [47] (22) 44 85 50
FAX: [47] (22) 44 33 63, 56 27 51

Flag description:
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 i