In May 1944, after other funeral events imposed by the Nazis, there were serious riots in Oslo when the service of labor was compulsorily imposed on the classes 1921, 1922 and 1923. But that was also the year in which the fate of the war changed. At the end of October the Russians arrived who occupied Kirkenes and gradually advanced until the German troops surrendered on 7 May 1945. Terboven committed suicide and with him the general of the SS Rediess.
According to Abbreviationfinder, an acronym site which also features history of Norway, Crown Prince Olav returned to Norway on 13 May with some ministers. A few weeks later the king also returned with Prime Minister Nygaardsvold, who immediately submitted the resignation of the cabinet to the king.
Elections were held on October 8, 1945. Labor had a majority and formed the government, chaired by Gerhardsen. Lie was foreign minister. And when he was appointed Secretary General of the United Nations, the Foreign Ministry was entrusted to Lange.
In January 1947 the Soviet Union asked Norway to review the pacts concluded in 1920 for the Spitsbergen islands. They, according to those agreements, were not to be interested in any military activity. But Norway refused. Then in July he joined the Marshall Plan. In February 1948 Gerhardsen met with the heads of the Nordic countries in Stockholm to strengthen economic relations and to develop a customs unit between Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. But this was not the only topic of discussion. Topics for greater security and neutrality of countries were proposed, especially after the communist coup in Prague. And on October 15, 1948, a Scandinavian Security Committee started. And for this purpose, already in March of that year, the Norwegian government had prepared a vast program of rearmament.
On April 4, 1949, Norway entered the Atlantic Pact and this renewed the discussions with Moscow always on the pacts for the Spitsbergen islands. With Norway’s entry into the Atlantic Pact, Moscow worried that the pact would not be respected. But to reassure the Soviet Union in November 1955 Gerhardsen made a trip to Moscow where he officially declared that Norway would never fail in the pact or authorize the creation of foreign bases on its territory.
And also on the occasion of some disagreements with Spain, the Foreign Minister Lange on April 25, 1957 reiterated, on behalf of his government, that he considered the Atlantic Pact not only as a military alliance but as a means for wider political collaboration between adhering states. Meanwhile, for internal politics, the Social Democratic governments continued to be chaired alternately by Gerhardsen and Torp, to whom the merit of having applied an important electoral reform had already been recognized in 1952.
With the accession of Norway to the European Economic Community the party crisis began. The 1961 elections started the decline of the Social Democrats who lost the majority. Above all, the Popular Socialist Party benefited. The first consequence was a period of stalemate in the country’s internal politics until in 1965 a coalition government between conservatives, popular-Christians, center-agrarian and liberals was reached, which remained in charge until 1971 and the premier was Per Borten. And precisely at that time, following the conflicts that erupted in the government after joining the European Community, on 2 March 1971 Borten was forced to resign. After that, a minority Social Democratic government was formed whose leader Brattelli called for a referendum to approve or not join the European Community. The result of the referendum, held on 25-26 September 1972, decreed non-adhesion with a majority of 53.5% of the votes. The reasons for this dissent were undoubtedly the agricultural and fishing interests of the country, and in fact the people who organized the peasants’ movement were the promoters of the dialogue. But many had been the motivations of the other opponents. Traditionalists especially feared a sure influence that other stronger foreign companies would have on Norway, including industrial pollution and a danger to their Lutheranism. It was above all the peripheral province that voted against, while in the two main cities, Oslo and Bergen, the vote was in favor. The anti-capitalist radicals operated, especially on the youth masses. There was a split between the liberals and the Social Democrats whose working class base voted against. Brattelli could only resign and the tripartite minority government that followed was made up of Korvald, leader of the Christian people, who concluded a free trade pact with the European Community on 14 May 1973.
But this chapter could not be considered closed because all the parties were modified. While the liberals almost disappeared from the political scene, those who took advantage of the situation were the leftists. The parties in Parliament became 8, but none of them ever had a majority.
Only with the elections of 11-12 September 1977 did the political disintegration process stop. The Social Democrats and Conservatives regained a fair number of consents, to the detriment of the leftists. So it was possible to maintain the Social Democratic minority government, chaired by Odvor Nordli, already in office since 1976. And this government immediately faced serious problems related to the presence of Norway in the Atlantic Pact. In fact, while not denying its membership, the government never allowed any installation of military bases or nuclear weapon depots on its territory. Indeed, the creation of a “Nordic nuclear-free zone” was requested from many quarters.
In January 1981, for health reasons, Odvor Nordli left the government which was entrusted to Gro Harlem Brundtland, belonging to the left wing of the Labor Party.
In September 1981 the new elections marked a good affirmation by the conservatives and the Progress Party. A minority government was formed, presided over by K. Willoch, in which the Center Party and the Christian Party also entered in 1983.
An austerity plan was developed to reduce inflation. Then support was declared for NATO for the installation of “Pershing” and “Cruise” missiles in Europe. Willoch remained in government even after the 1985 elections that had given the government coalition its narrow victory.
A vast wave of strikes broke out in all industrial sectors in April 1986. The unions demanded wage increases and shorter working hours. Strong protests also raised about the increase in taxes on oil products and in fact the law was rejected in Parliament on April 30, 1986. In May the government resigned. And since the Norwegian Constitution did not allow the dissolution of Parliament before the natural term, the task of forming the new government was assumed by GH Brundtland: it was a Labor minority and immediately committed itself to remedying the country’s economic and financial difficulties.
Internationally there was a long diatribe with the Soviet Union for Chernobyl; the accident had caused the contamination of a large area in the north-east of Norway. Other disagreements, again for the protection of the environment, occurred with Great Britain, accused of not carrying out accurate checks on sulfur dioxide emissions from its thermal power plants.
With the elections of September 1989 there was a strong advance of the leftists, but it was equally possible to form a center-right government, chaired by JP Syse. But within this government there were serious problems that led to his resignation just a year later. And these problems were always inherent in Norway’s relationship with the European Economic Community and the entry into the country of foreign companies.
In May 1990 the Parliament decreed an amendment to the Constitution, by means of which the succession to the throne was also established for women, provided they were born after 1990.
On November 3, 1990, a minority cabinet was again chaired by Brudtland. Main issues for the government were falling unemployment and environmental defenses.
On January 23, 1991 Harald V had ascended the throne succeeding his father who died six days earlier. In September 1993 the elections again brought a defeat to the conservatives.
The minority Labor government that followed, chaired by Mrs. Brundtland, in March 1994 decreed accession to the European Union. But this decision was rejected by the majority of the voters in a referendum held in November 1994.
The two main reasons for this refusal came from the farmers who feared competition from agricultural products from other countries and the second from the fish category that was frowned upon a possible occupation of the Norwegian territorial waters.
In October 1996, Prime Minister Brundtland resigned for strictly personal reasons and was named T. Jagland, a leader of the progressive party for some years.
In addition to pursuing a high-level economic policy, he also wanted to extend substantial investments also for education, education and scientific research.
Only in the field of European integration did he not gather many sympathies and adhesions and in fact, in the political elections of 1997 the Labor party was heavily penalized even if the weakness and division reigning between the center-right forces were highlighted.