Council of State (Norway) in the context of "Politics of Norway"

The Minister of Foreign Affairs (Bokmål: Utenriksministeren, Nynorsk: Utanriksministeren) is a councilor of state and chief of the Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 16 October 2023, the position has been held by Espen Barth Eide of the Labour Party.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, based at Victoria Terrasse, Oslo, is responsible for Norway's relation with foreign countries, including diplomacy and diplomatic missions, trade, foreign aid and cooperation with international organisations. Except during the four in which a Deputy of the Prime Minister of Norway was appointed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs ranks second in the cabinet after the Prime Minister and is his deputy.

Norwegian Prosecuting Authority (Norwegian: Påtalemyndigheten) is a body subordinate to the Norwegian Council of State.

This body is responsible for legal prosecutions in Norway. It is divided into three levels. The third level of the Prosecuting Authority is the Police. The first two, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Public Prosecutors, are called "the Higher Prosecuting Authority" (Norwegian: Den høyere påtalemyndighet). Public Prosecutors work on a regional basis, whereas the Director of Public Prosecutions (Norwegian: Riksadvokat) has the coordinative leadership. When Tor-Aksel Busch resigned on 31 October 2019 he was the longest serving Riksadvokat in Norway's history.

The Minister of Local Government and Modernisation (Norwegian: Kommunal- og moderniseringsministeren) is a Councillor of State and Chief of the Norwegian Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. Currently, Bjørnar Skjæran of the Labour Party has held the post since September 2025. The ministry is responsible for local administration, including municipalities and county municipalities, rural and regional policy, information technology, elections and government administration, including management of state real estate and government employment. Major subordinate agencies include the Government Administration Services, Statsbygg, the Competition Authority, the National Office of Building Technology and Administration, the State Housing Bank and the Data Protection Authority.

The position was created in 1948 as a successor of the Minister of Labour, originally named the Minister of Local Government and Labour. The title changed to the Minister of Local Government. Labour issues were moved to the Minister of Government Administration and Labour in 1998 and the title was changed to the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development until 2013. During the government of Erna Solberg, the post was renamed into Minister of Local Government and Modernisation when the position took over part of the portfolio of the Minister of Public Administration from 2014 until 2021. In January 2022, the current name was reverted into the 1998 one.