Longyearbyen Community Council (Norwegian: Longyearbyen lokalstyre) is the local government for Longyearbyen in Svalbard, Norway. It has many of the same responsibilities of a municipality. It is organized with a 15-member council which since 2011 has been led by Mayor Christin Kristoffersen of the Labour Party. The council's main responsibilities are infrastructure and utilities, including power, land-use and community planning, education from kindergarten to upper secondary level and child welfare. It operates three kindergartens in addition to the 13-grade Longyearbyen School.
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👉 Longyearbyen Community Council in the context of Svalbard Act
The Svalbard Act of 17 July 1925 no. 11, normally referred to as the Svalbard Act (Norwegian: lov om Svalbard or colloquially Svalbardloven), is a law of Norway which governs the major aspects of the Svalbard archipelago. The law was passed by the Parliament of Norway on 17 July 1925, establishes Norwegian sovereignty of the island, and states that Norwegian criminal law, civil law and procedure law are enforced on the island. Otherwise, other provisions and laws only apply when specified. The act further established the policy for administration, including creating the Governor of Svalbard, and since 2002, Longyearbyen Community Council. The act also establishes rules for real estate and environmental protection.
The act was passed as a response to the Spitsbergen Treaty of 9 February 1920, which established Norwegian sovereignty of Svalbard, but limited the archipelago to a free economic zone and demilitarized zone. The act established the basis for an orderly civil society on the islands, which had until that point been prone to lawlessness among miners, fishermen and hunters.
In this Dossier
Longyearbyen Community Council in the context of Longyearbyen
Longyearbyen (Urban East Norwegian: [ˈlɔ̀ŋjɛrˌbyːən], locally [ˈlɔ̀ŋjɑrˌbyːən], "Longyear Town") is the world's northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000, and the capital and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard. It stretches along the foot of the left bank of the Longyear Valley and on the shore of Adventfjorden, the short estuary leading into Isfjorden on the west coast of Spitsbergen, the island's broadest inlet. As of 2002, Longyearbyen Community Council is an official Norwegian municipality. It is the seat of the Governor of Svalbard. As of 2024, the town's mayor is Leif Terje Aunevik.
Known as Longyear City until 1926, the town was established by and named after American John Munro Longyear, whose Arctic Coal Company started coal-mining there in 1906. Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK) took over the mining operations in 1916, and still conducts mining. The German Kriegsmarine almost completely destroyed the town on 8 September 1943, but rebuilding took place after the Second World War. Historically, Longyearbyen was a company town, but most mining operations moved to Sveagruva during the 1990s, and production ceased in 2017 due to immense financial losses suffered by SNSK since 2014 due to market conditions. Meanwhile, the town has seen a large increase in tourism and research. This includes the arrival of institutions such as the University Centre in Svalbard, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and Svalbard Satellite Station. Svalbard Airport, Svalbard Church and the Svalbardbutikken department store serve the community.