Formation 26 June 2000 | Website The City Government | |
The Chief Commissioner of Bergen is the acting mayor and head of the city government in Bergen, the second largest city in Norway. The position was created on 26 June 2000 when Bergen adopted the parliamentary system. All members of the City Government is elected by Bergen City Council.
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Formation
Prior to adopting the parliamentary system, Bergen was governed by the principle of an executive committee, elected from members of the City Council, and a permanent appointed chief officer. According to Norwegian law the matter of adopting a parliamentary system has to be voted over twice, in two subsequent terms. The first vote was held 26 October 1998, and 44 of the 67 city council members supported the proposition. The second vote was held on 25 October 1999, and with the support from 42 members of the city council, the decision was made to introduce the parliamentary system on 26 June the following year. Bergen was the second municipality in Norway, after Oslo, to adopt a parliamentary system.
One of the main arguments for introducing the parliamentary system was to increase the local politicians control of the governing of the city, on the expense of the permanent appointed chief officer and the bureaucracy. The parliamentary system in Bergen has been criticized for polarizing the political debate and, especially when the city government holds the majority of the City Council, reducing the authority of the City Council.
The City Council limits the number of cabinet members to 7, including the Chief Commissioner.
Chief Commissioners
Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen from the Labour Party became the first Chief Commissioner when the position was created in 2000. For the first year her cabinet consisted of the Labour Party, the Liberal Party, the Christian People's Party and the Centre Party. On 25 June 2001 the Liberal Party left the council. Strøm-Erichsen held office until her party's defeat in the 2003 local election.
Monica Mæland is the Chief Commissioner since 2003, representing the Conservative Party. Her first cabinet was elected by the City Council on 27 October 2003, consisting of the Conservative Party, Christians People's Party and Liberal Party. After the local election in 2007 the Liberal Party left this council as well, and was replaced by the Progress Party. The Progress Party left the cabinet 28 April 2009, due to a disagreement about continuing the lifespan of the toll ring financing the Bergen Program for Transport, Urban Development and the Environment. However the party reentered the cabinet a year later. The same three parties make up the third council of Monica Mæland, which was elected after the 2011 local election. Mæland was replaced by Ragnhild Stolt-Nielsen after she was appointed to the new government cabinet in 2013. Stolt-Nielsen was succeeded by Harald Schjelderup from the Labour Party after being defeated in the 2015 election.