The Schei Committee was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-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...

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It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municipal Division). Its more commonly used name derives from the committee leader, Nikolai Schei

Nikolai Schei

Nikolai Andreas Schei was a Norwegian jurist and civil servant.He was born in Førde as the son of Per Schei and Johanne Schei . He was a brother of Andreas Schei, and through him an uncle of Chief Justice Tore Schei.He took his examen artium in 1925, and took the cand.jur. degree in 1928...

, who was County Governor of Sogn og Fjordane at the time.

The committee concluded its work in 1962. By that time, it had published an eighteen-volume work called Kommuneinndelingskomitéens endelige tilråding om kommunedelingen.

The findings of the committee were highly influential; it spurred a series of mergers of municipalities, especially during the 1960s, reducing the number of municipalities in Norway from 747 to 454. The number has since been reduced further, but not as rapidly as before.