Kings Bay Affair
Encyclopedia
The Kings Bay Affair was a political issue in Norway
that reached its apex in 1963 and brought down the government of Einar Gerhardsen
and formed the basis for non-socialist coalition politics in Norway that persisted to the end of the 20th century.
The Kings Bay Coal Mining Company
was a coal mining operation based in Ny Ålesund on the Norwegian territory of Spitsbergen
in the Arctic Sea. Since 1933 it had been a wholly owned crown company, held by the Norwegian government.
Between 1945 and 1963, 71 lives were lost in three major accidents in the mines, and in the summer of 1963 a commission established by the Storting delivered its report finding several deficiencies in the management of the mine. Among other things, the commission found culpability on the part of the minister of industry at the time, Kjell Holler.
The non-socialist opposition to the Labour Party
government demanded that Holler be dismissed, but the prime minister Einar Gerhardsen
claimed that Kings Bay operations were not accountable to the parliament, since the company was run under a corporate charter rather than a government agency.
This was the pretext, but the underlying issue was constitutional: the non-socialist coalition was protesting against what they perceived as a shift of power away from the legislative in favour of the executive branch in Norway. Having previously enjoyed the confidence of a Labour-dominated parliament since World War II
, Gerhardsen was, for the first time in his entire tenure as prime minister, forced to appear before the parliament and answer for his cabinet's actions.
The opposition, previously fragmented, found unity in proposing a vote of no-confidence to the parliament on the rationale that if shareholders can unseat a board for a corporation, then a government that owns a corporation that is mismanaged must be similarly held accountable. For understandable reasons, the Labour party representatives were not inclined to support the vote. Since the non-socialist coalition and the Labour Party each had 74 representatives, the deciding vote fell to the two representatives of the leftist socialist party Sosialistisk Folkeparti.
In an interesting parliamentary twist, Sosialistisk Folkeparti (SF) proposed its own vote of no-confidence, which led to the Gerhardsen cabinet's resignation. Technically, the SF representatives were trying to make the point that they had lost confidence in the current cabinet but not in the party that led it. The photograph, published by Aftenposten
, of Gerhardsen leaving the lectern at the Storting as John Lyng approaches it, the two crossing paths, has become an icon in Norwegian political history.
The non-socialist cabinet formed by John Lyng
of the Conservative Party of Norway
was the first non-Labour government in Norway since World War II, but lasted for only a few weeks, its initial declaration not surviving a vote of no-confidence from the Labour Party and Sosialistisk Folkeparti.
The affair was a dramatic episode in Norwegian history that portended the end of the Gerhardsen dynasty and the emergence of a more articulate and coherent political alternative in the non-socialist camp. It is also credited with galvanizing the radical socialist wing of Norwegian politics in time for the EU debate
nine years later.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
that reached its apex in 1963 and brought down the government of Einar Gerhardsen
Einar Gerhardsen
was a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party of Norway. He was Prime Minister for three periods, 1945–1951, 1955–1963 and 1963–1965. With 17 years in office, he is the longest serving Prime Minister in Norway since the introduction of parliamentarism...
and formed the basis for non-socialist coalition politics in Norway that persisted to the end of the 20th century.
The Kings Bay Coal Mining Company
Kings Bay AS
Kings Bay AS is a government enterprise owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry that operates the entire settlement of Ny-Ålesund on Svalbard. The settlement, the most northerly in the world serves research staff...
was a coal mining operation based in Ny Ålesund on the Norwegian territory of Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
in the Arctic Sea. Since 1933 it had been a wholly owned crown company, held by the Norwegian government.
Between 1945 and 1963, 71 lives were lost in three major accidents in the mines, and in the summer of 1963 a commission established by the Storting delivered its report finding several deficiencies in the management of the mine. Among other things, the commission found culpability on the part of the minister of industry at the time, Kjell Holler.
The non-socialist opposition to the Labour Party
Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
government demanded that Holler be dismissed, but the prime minister Einar Gerhardsen
Einar Gerhardsen
was a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party of Norway. He was Prime Minister for three periods, 1945–1951, 1955–1963 and 1963–1965. With 17 years in office, he is the longest serving Prime Minister in Norway since the introduction of parliamentarism...
claimed that Kings Bay operations were not accountable to the parliament, since the company was run under a corporate charter rather than a government agency.
This was the pretext, but the underlying issue was constitutional: the non-socialist coalition was protesting against what they perceived as a shift of power away from the legislative in favour of the executive branch in Norway. Having previously enjoyed the confidence of a Labour-dominated parliament since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Gerhardsen was, for the first time in his entire tenure as prime minister, forced to appear before the parliament and answer for his cabinet's actions.
The opposition, previously fragmented, found unity in proposing a vote of no-confidence to the parliament on the rationale that if shareholders can unseat a board for a corporation, then a government that owns a corporation that is mismanaged must be similarly held accountable. For understandable reasons, the Labour party representatives were not inclined to support the vote. Since the non-socialist coalition and the Labour Party each had 74 representatives, the deciding vote fell to the two representatives of the leftist socialist party Sosialistisk Folkeparti.
In an interesting parliamentary twist, Sosialistisk Folkeparti (SF) proposed its own vote of no-confidence, which led to the Gerhardsen cabinet's resignation. Technically, the SF representatives were trying to make the point that they had lost confidence in the current cabinet but not in the party that led it. The photograph, published by Aftenposten
Aftenposten
Aftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...
, of Gerhardsen leaving the lectern at the Storting as John Lyng approaches it, the two crossing paths, has become an icon in Norwegian political history.
The non-socialist cabinet formed by John Lyng
John Lyng
was a Norwegian politician from the Conservative Party. He was Prime Minister of Norway from 28 August to 25 September 1963 in a coalition government consisting of the Conservative, Centre, Christian Democratic, and Liberal parties.He was originally a member of the Liberal Left Party, heading the...
of the Conservative Party of Norway
Conservative Party of Norway
The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...
was the first non-Labour government in Norway since World War II, but lasted for only a few weeks, its initial declaration not surviving a vote of no-confidence from the Labour Party and Sosialistisk Folkeparti.
The affair was a dramatic episode in Norwegian history that portended the end of the Gerhardsen dynasty and the emergence of a more articulate and coherent political alternative in the non-socialist camp. It is also credited with galvanizing the radical socialist wing of Norwegian politics in time for the EU debate
Norway and the European Union
Norway is not a member state of the European Union , but is closely associated with the Union through its membership in the European Economic Area , in the context of being a European Free Trade Association member.-Trade:...
nine years later.
External links
- Article on Kings Bay History (Norwegian)
- Ny-Ålesund History