Troms og Finnmark (; ; ; ) was a county in northern Norway that existed from 2020 to 2023. The county was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. It was the largest county by area in Norway, encompassing about , and was formed by the merger of the former Finnmark and Troms counties in addition to Tjeldsund Municipality from Nordland county.

The administrative centre of the county was split between two towns. The political and administrative offices were based in the city of Tromsø (the seat of the old Troms county). The county governor was based in the town of Vadsø (the seat of the old Finnmark county). The two towns are about apart, approximately a 10-hour drive by car.

On 15 June 2022, the parliament decided to split the county back into Finnmark and Troms beginning on 1 January 2024, with Tjeldsund Municipality assigned to Troms county (Tjeldsund had been part of Nordland county before 2020).

Geography

Troms og Finnmark was the northernmost and easternmost county in Norway (Svalbard, an unincorporated area, is not considered a county). By area, it was Norway's largest county, and also one of the least populated of all Norwegian counties.

History

The merger of Troms County and Finnmark County was not popular, especially in the old Finnmark county. A county-wide non-binding referendum was held in which it was opposed by about 87% of Finnmark residents who voted, but the Storting did not reverse its decision to merge the county. Some political parties campaigned to reverse the merger in the parliamentary term that starts in September 2021. On 28 October 2021, Minister of Local Government Bjørn Arild Gram sent a letter to the county confirming that it will be demerged.

On 17 March 2021, organisations reported that the county council sent an application to Norway's government to have the county split back up.

On 28 October 2021, the Norwegian government confirmed that Troms and Finnmark would become two separate counties again.

Government

A county (fylke) is the chief local administrative area in Norway. The whole country is divided into 11 counties. A county is also an election area, with popular votes taking place every 4 years.

In Troms og Finnmark, the government of the county was the Troms og Finnmark County Municipality. It included 57 members who were elected to form a county council (Fylkesting). Heading the Fylkesting was the county mayor (fylkesordførar), Ivar B. Prestbakmo (as of 2021).

The county also had a fylkesrådsleder, the top executive of the county's administration, Bjørn Inge Mo.

The county also had a County Governor (statsforvalter) who was the representative of the King and Government of Norway. Elisabeth Aspaker was the County Governor of Troms og Finnmark.

On 1 January 2019, Elisabeth Aspaker was appointed as the County Governor of Troms og Finnmark.

The municipalities in Troms og Finnmark were divided among several district courts (tingrett): Alta District Court, Hammerfest District Court, Indre Finnmark District Court, Nord-Troms District Court, Senja District Court, Trondenes District Court, and Øst-Finnmark District Court. All of these courts were subordinate to the Hålogaland Court of Appeal district based in Tromsø.

Municipalities

Troms og Finnmark County had a total of 39 municipalities:List of Norwegian municipality numbers

MunicipalNumber Name Adm. Centre Location inthe county Established Old Municipal No.(before 2020) Former County(before 2020)5401 Tromsø Tromsø 1 Jan 1838 1902 Tromsø Troms5402 Harstad Harstad 1 Jan 1904 1903 Harstad Bjarkøy 5403 Alta Alta 1 Jan 1863 2012 Alta Finnmark5404 Vardø Vardø 1 Jan 1838 2002 Vardø5405 Vadsø Vadsø 1 Jan 1838 2003 Vadsø5406 Hammerfest Hammerfest 1 Jan 1838 2004 Hammerfest2017 Kvalsund5411 Kvæfjord Borkenes 1 Jan 1838 1911 Kvæfjord Troms 5412 Tjeldsund Evenskjer 1 Jan 1909 1852 Tjeldsund Nordland1913 Skånland Troms5413 Ibestad Hamnvik 1 Jan 1838 1917 Ibestad5414 Gratangen Årstein 1 July 1926 1919 Gratangen5415 Lavangen Tennevoll 1 Jan 1907 1920 Lavangen5416 Bardu Setermoen 1 Jan 1854 1922 Bardu5417 Salangen Sjøvegan 1 Jan 1871 1923 Salangen5418 Målselv Moen 1 Jan 1848 1924 Målselv5419 Sørreisa Sørreisa 1 Sep 1886 1925 Sørreisa5420 Dyrøy Brøstadbotn 1 Sep 1886 1926 Dyrøy5421 Senja Finnsnes 1 Jan 2020 1927 Tranøy1928 Torsken1929 Berg1931 Lenvik5422 Balsfjord Storsteinnes 1 Jan 1860 1933 Balsfjord5423 Karlsøy Hansnes 1 Jan 1838 1936 Karlsøy5424 Lyngen Lyngseidet 1 Jan 1838 1938 Lyngen5425 Storfjord Hatteng 1 Jan 1929 1939 Storfjord5426 Kåfjord Olderdalen 1 Jan 1929 1940 Kåfjord5427 Skjervøy Skjervøy 1 Jan 1838 1941 Skjervøy5428 Nordreisa Storslett 1 Jan 1886 1942 Nordreisa5429 Kvænangen Burfjord 1 Jan 1863 1943 Kvænangen5430 Kautokeino Kautokeino 1 Jan 1851 2011 Kautokeino Finnmark5432 Loppa Øksfjord 1 Jan 1838 2014 Loppa5433 Hasvik Breivikbotn 1 Jan 1858 2015 Hasvik5434 Måsøy Havøysund 1 Jan 1838 2018 Måsøy5435 Nordkapp Honningsvåg 1 July 1861 2019 Nordkapp5436 Porsanger Lakselv 1 Jan 1838 2020 Porsanger5437 Karasjok Karasjok 1 Jan 1866 2021 Karasjok5438 Lebesby Kjøllefjord 1 Jan 1838 2022 Lebesby5439 Gamvik Mehamn 1 Jan 1914 2023 Gamvik5440 Berlevåg Berlevåg 1 Jan 1914 2024 Berlevåg5441 Tana Tana bru 1 Jan 1864 2025 Tana5442 Nesseby Varangerbotn 1 Jan 1839 2027 Nesseby5443 Båtsfjord Båtsfjord 1 Jan 1839 2028 Båtsfjord5444 Sør-Varanger Kirkenes 1 Jul 1858 2030 Sør-Varanger

References