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Governor of Svalbard
Sysselmesteren på Svalbard
Logo of the Governor of Svalbard
Incumbent Lars Fause since 24 June 2021 (2021-06-24)
Appointer	Ministry of Justice
Term length	Three years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Johannes Gerckens Bassøe
Formation	17 July 1925; 99 years ago (1925-07-17)
Website	www.sysselmesteren.no

Politics of Svalbard
Svalbard Treaty Svalbard Act Governor Lars Fause Longyearbyen Community Council Visa policy
See also
Politics of Norway
Other countries
v t e

The governor of Svalbard (Norwegian: Sysselmesteren på Svalbard) represents the Norwegian government in exercising its sovereignty over the Svalbard archipelago (Spitsbergen).

The position reports to the Norwegian Ministry of Justice, but it maintains all Norwegian interests in the area, including environmental protection, law enforcement, representation, mediation, and civil matters, such as marriage and divorce. An important part of the position is maintaining good working relations with the Russian community in Barentsburg.

To this end, the governor's organization consists of:

• a staff section with Russian interpreters and advisors on legal matters, tourism, etc.
• a section for law enforcement
• a section for environmental protection
• an administrative section, including archiving, financial management and IT support

The governor's office also has at its disposition several helicopters, snowmobiles, speedboats, and other equipment needed to meet its responsibilities. The office's annual budget is determined by the Storting and runs at about NOK 60 million, of which the largest part is used for transportation.

The position was previously called Sysselmann in Norwegian until 1 July 2021, when it was changed to Sysselmester. This was part of a wider decision by the Solberg government to replace gender-specific governmental titles in Norway with gender-neutral terms.

List of governors of Svalbard

References

1. "New Governor Appointed for Svalbard". polarjournal.com. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
2. "About Governor the Svalbard". sysselmesteren.no. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
3. "The Governor's Tasks". sysselmesteren.no. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
4. "The Governor of Svalbard Informational Booklet" (PDF). sysselmesteren.no. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
5. "Innstilling fra utenriks- og forsvarskomiteen om Endringer i Svalbardloven m.m. (endret navn på Sysselmannen)". Stortinget (in Norwegian). 2021-05-06. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
6. "Sexless 'State' Government: Language Council recommends Sysselmannen ('governor') be renamed Svalbard Syssel ('country subdivision') to meet gender-neutral requirement". Ice People. 2020-11-13. Archived from the original on 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
7. "The Current Governor". sysselmesteren.no. Retrieved 17 March 2022.

External links

• Official website

v t e Norwegian Police Service
Ministry of Justice and Public Security
National agencies	Norwegian Bureau for the Investigation of Police Affairs (Spesialenheten) National Police Directorate (POD) Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) Norwegian Prosecuting Authority Sysselmesteren (Governor of Svalbard)
Police districts	Agder East Finnmark Innlandet Møre og Romsdal Nordland Oslo Southwest Southeast Troms Trøndelag West
National units (særorgan)	National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime in Norway (Økokrim) National Criminal Investigation Service (Kripos) National Mobile Police Service (UP) National Police Immigration Service (PU) Norwegian Police University College (PHS)
Other national units	Norwegian Border Commissioner (Grensekommissariatet) Norwegian ID Centre (Nasjonalt ID-senter) Norwegian Police Shared Services (Politiets fellestjenester) Police ICT Services (Politiets IKT-tjenester (PIT))
Other	Bombegruppen Beredskapstroppen (Delta) History Joint Rescue Coordination Centre of Northern Norway Joint Rescue Coordination Centre of Southern Norway Namsfogden Norwegian Bureau for the Investigation of Police Affairs (Spesialenheten) Norwegian Police Cross of Honour Norwegian Public Safety Radio (nødnettet) Vandelskontroll og politiattester Politiets helikoptertjeneste (HT) Politireserven Ranks Royal Police Escort SRGP Utrykningsenhetene

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