History of the Ministry of Culture and
Church Affairs
The
Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs was established in 1982, at which time
it was called the Ministry of Cultural and Scientific Affairs. Until then, the
Ministry of Church and Education had had the overriding responsibility for
cultural affairs in Norway.
The Ministry changed its name to the Ministry of Church and Cultural Affairs in
1990. From 1991 until 2001, Norway
had a Ministry of Cultural Affairs that was responsible solely for culture.
From 1 January 2002,
church affairs were once again amalgamated with cultural affairs and the
current Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs was established on the same
date. In January 2005, the Minister of Culture and Church Affairs was assigned
responsibility for the voluntary sector. This was the first time the sector had
been given its own minister.
The
Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs is responsible for culture, church
affairs, the media (films, broadcasting, press and copyright) and sport, and
for gaming and lotteries. Several other ministries also deal with cultural
matters.
Cultural policy
In the
1970s, “decentralisation” was a key concept. Cultural affairs committees were
established in most municipalities, and the municipal authorities gradually
appointed directors or secretaries of cultural affairs. A similar system was
developed at county level and new grant schemes were introduced.
The
more traditional elements of Norwegian cultural life also received more
financial support from the public authorities. A new Libraries Act was adopted
(1971), a new grant scheme for institutional theatres was established (1972)
and a new, decentralised grant scheme for museums was introduced (1975). As the
result of Report to the Storting on the situation of artists, artists were
granted the right to negotiate with the central government (1978) and improved
schemes were developed to support artists. The most important element of this
arrangement was the guaranteed minimum income that is today provided for more
than 500 artists, the majority of whom are pictorial and applied artists.
The
foundations that were laid for an official cultural policy in the 1970s were
further developed in the 1980s and 1990s and the Ministry’s area of
responsibility was expanded. The regional cultural institutions, which include
the regional theatres, artists’ centres and regional musicians, have
experienced strong growth.
Some
of the central administrative tasks have been delegated to bodies subordinate
to the Ministry’s Department of Cultural Affairs. The most important of these
are the Norwegian Council for Cultural Affairs, the National Library, the
National Archives, the Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority (ABMU),
the Mass Media Authority and the Norwegian Film Fund.
Church affairs
In recent
years, the activities of the Ministry’s Department of Church Affairs have been
related to the follow-up of church reforms. These reforms are based on the
debate in the Storting on a report submitted in the early 1980s relating to the
relationship between church and state. The purpose of the reforms has been,
among other things, to give the Church
of Norway a greater
degree of self-governance with respect to budgets, the organisation of church
bodies, appointments, the liturgy, etc.
The media
There have
been revolutionary developments in the media sector since the Ministry was
first established in 1982. Until then, media affairs had largely concerned the
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. The liberalisation of media policy in the
1980s, which paved the way for private broadcasting financed by advertising and
the broadcasting of satellite television through the cable network led to a
greater need for regulation and administration. The Ministry’s Department of
Media Policy and Copyright was established in 1991 to be responsible for
broadcasting legislation, copyright issues, press subsidies and film policy. In
the 1990s, several administrative responsibilities in the media sector were
delegated to the Mass Media Authority, while the Norwegian Media Ownership
Authority was established pursuant to a special Act. In 2005 the Mass Media
Authority merged with the Media Ownership Authority and the Norwegian Board of
Film Classification and the new authority was named the Norwegian Media
Authority (Medietilsynet).
Sport
The State
Office for Sport was established in 1946 to provide a link between the central
government and the sports movement. With the establishment of a national gaming
organisation, Norsk Tipping AS, in 1947, the foundations were laid for a sharp
increase in government funding for sport. The State Office for Sport was
renamed the State Office for Youth and Sport (STUI) in 1950 and was placed
under the Ministry of Church and Education. In 1991, youth affairs were
transferred to the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs and a new Department
of Sport Policy was established at the Department of Cultural Affairs.
