Troms og Finnmark

Troms og Finnmark County
Troms og Finnmark fylke
Romssa ja Finnmárkku fylka (Northern Sami)
Tromssan ja Finmarkun fylkki (Kven)
Troms og Finnmark within Norway
Troms og Finnmark County
Troms og Finnmark County
Coordinates: 69°49′04″N 18°46′55″E / 69.8178°N 18.7819°E / 69.8178; 18.7819
CountryNorway
CountyTroms og Finnmark
DistrictNorthern Norway
Established1 January 2020
 • Preceded byFinnmark and Troms counties
Disestablished1 January 2024[1]
 • Succeeded byFinnmark and Troms counties
Administrative centreTromsø
Government
 • BodyTroms og Finnmark County Municipality
 • Governor (2019)Elisabeth Aspaker (H)
 • County mayor
   (2019)
Ivar B. Prestbakmo (Sp)
Area
 (upon dissolution)
 • Total
74,831 km2 (28,892 sq mi)
 • Land70,925 km2 (27,384 sq mi)
 • Water3,908 km2 (1,509 sq mi)  5.2%
 • Rank#1 in Norway
Population
 (2021)
 • Total
242,168
 • Rank#10 in Norway
 • Density3.4/km2 (8.8/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
 +4.2%
DemonymTromsing or Finnmarking[2]
Official language
 • Norwegian formNeutral
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-54[4]
WebsiteOfficial website

Troms og Finnmark (Norwegian: [trʊms ɔ ˈfɪ̀nːmɑrk]; Northern Sami: Romsa ja Finnmárku [ˈromːsa ja ˈfinːmaːrku]; Kven: Tromssa ja Finmarkku; Finnish: Tromssa ja Finnmark) was a county in northern Norway that existed from 2020 to 2023. The county was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. It was the largest county by area in Norway, encompassing about 75,000 square kilometres (29,000 mi2), and was formed by the merger of the former Finnmark and Troms counties in addition to Tjeldsund Municipality from Nordland county.[5]

The administrative centre of the county was split between two towns. The political and administrative offices were based in the city of Tromsø (the seat of the old Troms county). The county governor was based in the town of Vadsø (the seat of the old Finnmark county). The two towns are about 800 kilometres (500 mi) apart, approximately a 10-hour drive by car.

On 15 June 2022, the parliament decided to split the county back into Finnmark and Troms beginning on 1 January 2024,[6] with Tjeldsund Municipality assigned to Troms county (Tjeldsund had been part of Nordland county before 2020).[7][1][8][9]

Geography

Troms og Finnmark was the northernmost and easternmost county in Norway (Svalbard, an unincorporated area, is not considered a county). By area, it was Norway's largest county, and also one of the least populated of all Norwegian counties.

History

The merger of Troms County and Finnmark County was not popular, especially in the old Finnmark county. A county-wide non-binding referendum was held in which it was opposed by about 87% of Finnmark residents who voted,[10] but the Storting did not reverse its decision to merge the county. Some political parties campaigned to reverse the merger in the parliamentary term that starts in September 2021.[11] On 28 October 2021, Minister of Local Government Bjørn Arild Gram sent a letter to the county confirming that it will be demerged.[1]

On 17 March 2021, organisations reported that the county council sent an application to Norway's government to have the county split back up.[12]

On 28 October 2021, the Norwegian government confirmed that Troms and Finnmark would become two separate counties again.[1]

Government

A county (fylke) is the chief local administrative area in Norway. The whole country is divided into 11 counties. A county is also an election area, with popular votes taking place every 4 years.

In Troms og Finnmark, the government of the county was the Troms og Finnmark County Municipality. It included 57 members who were elected to form a county council (Fylkesting). Heading the Fylkesting was the county mayor (fylkesordførar), Ivar B. Prestbakmo (as of 2021).

The county also had a fylkesrådsleder, the top executive of the county's administration, Bjørn Inge Mo.

The county also had a County Governor (statsforvalter) who was the representative of the King and Government of Norway. Elisabeth Aspaker was the County Governor of Troms og Finnmark.

On 1 January 2019, Elisabeth Aspaker was appointed as the County Governor of Troms og Finnmark.

The municipalities in Troms og Finnmark were divided among several district courts (tingrett): Alta District Court, Hammerfest District Court, Indre Finnmark District Court, Nord-Troms District Court, Senja District Court, Trondenes District Court, and Øst-Finnmark District Court. All of these courts were subordinate to the Hålogaland Court of Appeal district based in Tromsø.

Municipalities

Troms og Finnmark County had a total of 39 municipalities:[13]

Municipal
Number
Name Adm. Centre Location in
the county
Established Old Municipal No.
(before 2020)
Former County
(before 2020)
5401 Tromsø Tromsø 1 Jan 1838 1902 Tromsø Troms
5402 Harstad Harstad 1 Jan 1904 1903 Harstad
Bjarkøy
5403 Alta Alta 1 Jan 1863 2012 Alta Finnmark
5404 Vardø Vardø 1 Jan 1838 2002 Vardø
5405 Vadsø Vadsø 1 Jan 1838 2003 Vadsø
5406 Hammerfest Hammerfest 1 Jan 1838 2004 Hammerfest
2017 Kvalsund
5411 Kvæfjord Borkenes 1 Jan 1838 1911 Kvæfjord Troms
5412 Tjeldsund Evenskjer 1 Jan 1909 1852 Tjeldsund Nordland
1913 Skånland Troms
5413 Ibestad Hamnvik 1 Jan 1838 1917 Ibestad
5414 Gratangen Årstein 1 July 1926 1919 Gratangen
5415 Lavangen Tennevoll 1 Jan 1907 1920 Lavangen
5416 Bardu Setermoen 1 Jan 1854 1922 Bardu
5417 Salangen Sjøvegan 1 Jan 1871 1923 Salangen
5418 Målselv Moen 1 Jan 1848 1924 Målselv
5419 Sørreisa Sørreisa 1 Sep 1886 1925 Sørreisa
5420 Dyrøy Brøstadbotn 1 Sep 1886 1926 Dyrøy
5421 Senja Finnsnes 1 Jan 2020 1927 Tranøy
1928 Torsken
1929 Berg
1931 Lenvik
5422 Balsfjord Storsteinnes 1 Jan 1860 1933 Balsfjord
5423 Karlsøy Hansnes 1 Jan 1838 1936 Karlsøy
5424 Lyngen Lyngseidet 1 Jan 1838 1938 Lyngen
5425 Storfjord Hatteng 1 Jan 1929 1939 Storfjord
5426 Kåfjord Olderdalen 1 Jan 1929 1940 Kåfjord
5427 Skjervøy Skjervøy 1 Jan 1838 1941 Skjervøy
5428 Nordreisa Storslett 1 Jan 1886 1942 Nordreisa
5429 Kvænangen Burfjord 1 Jan 1863 1943 Kvænangen
5430 Kautokeino Kautokeino 1 Jan 1851 2011 Kautokeino Finnmark
5432 Loppa Øksfjord 1 Jan 1838 2014 Loppa
5433 Hasvik Breivikbotn 1 Jan 1858 2015 Hasvik
5434 Måsøy Havøysund 1 Jan 1838 2018 Måsøy
5435 Nordkapp Honningsvåg 1 July 1861 2019 Nordkapp
5436 Porsanger Lakselv 1 Jan 1838 2020 Porsanger
5437 Karasjok Karasjok 1 Jan 1866 2021 Karasjok
5438 Lebesby Kjøllefjord 1 Jan 1838 2022 Lebesby
5439 Gamvik Mehamn 1 Jan 1914 2023 Gamvik
5440 Berlevåg Berlevåg 1 Jan 1914 2024 Berlevåg
5441 Tana Tana bru 1 Jan 1864 2025 Tana
5442 Nesseby Varangerbotn 1 Jan 1839 2027 Nesseby
5443 Båtsfjord Båtsfjord 1 Jan 1839 2028 Båtsfjord
5444 Sør-Varanger Kirkenes 1 Jul 1858 2030 Sør-Varanger

References

  1. ^ a b c d Lægland, Martin (29 October 2021). "Vedum: Startet prosessen med oppløsning av Troms og Finnmark". Verdens Gang. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  3. ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  4. ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (9 January 2024). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon.
  5. ^ Tjernshaugen, Andreas, ed. (14 September 2019). "Troms og Finnmark". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Fylkesinndelingen fra 2024". regjeringen.no. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  7. ^ Føleide, Anita (14 June 2022). "Vedtatt i Stortinget: Storfylkene skal splittes igjen, nå ønsker de ansatte ro og forutsigbarhet". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Troms og Finnmark splittes: Slik svarer Vedum om Alta". 29 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Bestemt i fylkestinget: Troms og Finnmark skilles". vg.no. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Folkeavstemningen i Finnmark: 87 prosent stemte nei". NRK (in Norwegian). 16 May 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  11. ^ Vernes, Thomas (6 September 2019). "Det nye storfylket Troms og Finnmark kan bli sprengt i to i 2021". ABC nyheter (in Norwegian). Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  12. ^ Grønning, Trygve (17 March 2021). "Fylkesrådslederen om sammenslåingen: – Staten har påført oss dype sår". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  13. ^ List of Norwegian municipality numbers