| Country name | conventional long form: none conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitsbergen, the largest island in the archipelago) etymology: 12th century Norse accounts speak of the discovery of a "Svalbard" - literally "cold shores" - but they may have referred to Jan Mayen Island or eastern Greenland; the archipelago was traditionally known as Spitsbergen, but Norway renamed it Svalbard in the 1920s when it assumed sovereignty of the islands |
| Dependency status | territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920), sovereignty was awarded to Norway |
| Government type | non-self-governing territory of Norway |
| Capital | name: Longyearbyen geographic coordinates: 78 13 N, 15 38 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October etymology: the name in Norwegian means Longyear Town; the site was established by and named after John LONGYEAR, whose Arctic Coal Company began mining operations there in 1906 |
| Independence | none (territory of Norway) |
| Legal system | the laws of Norway where applicable apply; only the laws of Norway made explicitly applicable to Svalbard have effect there; the Svalbard Act and the Svalbard Environmental Protection Act, and certain regulations, apply only to Svalbard; the Spitsbergen Treaty and the Svalbard Treaty grant certain rights to citizens and corporations of signatory nations; as of June 2017, 45 nations had ratified the Svalbard Treaty |
| Citizenship | see Norway |
| Executive branch | chief of state: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991); Heir Apparent Crown Prince Haakon MAGNUS (son of the king, born 20 July 1973) head of government: Governor Kjerstin ASKHOLT (since 1 October 2015); Assistant Governor Berit SAGFOSSEN (since 1 April 2016) elections/appointments: none; the monarchy is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral Longyearbyen Community Council (15 seats; members directly elected by majority vote to serve 4-year-terms); note - the Council acts very much like a Norwegian municipality, responsible for infrastructure and utilities, including power, land-use and community planning, education, and child welfare; however, healthcare services are provided by the state elections: last held on 7 October 2019 (next to be held in October 2023) election results: seats by party - Conservatives 5, Labor Party 5, Liberals 3, Green Party 2 |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: none; note - Svalbard is subordinate to Norway's Nord-Troms District Court and Halogaland Court of Appeal, both located in Tromso |
| Political parties and leaders | Svalbard Conservative Party [Kjetil FIGENSCHOU] Svalbard Green Party [Helga Bardsdatter KRISTIANSEN, Espen Klungseth ROTEVATN] Svalbard Labor Party [Elise STROMSENG] Svalbard Liberal Party [Erik BERGER] |
| International organization participation | none |
| Flag description | the flag of Norway is used |
| National anthem | note: as a territory of Norway, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet" is official (see Norway) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
