Longyearbyen Community Council (Norwegian: Longyearbyen lokalstyre) is the local government for LongyearbyeninSvalbard, Norway. It has many of the same responsibilities of a municipality.[1] It is organized with a 15-member council which since 2011 has been led by Mayor Christin Kristoffersen of the Labour Party.[2] 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.[3]
The Svalbard Council was established on 1 November 1971. It consisted of 17 non-partisan members which were elected or appointed in three different groups—Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK) employees, government employees and others, although the ratio changed several times.[4] Svalbard Samfunnsdrift (SSD), a limited company which was responsible for public infrastructure and services, was established by SNSK on 1 January 1989.[5] Responsibilities included healthcare, the fire department, the kindergarten, roads, garbage disposal, power production, the water and sewer system, the cinema, cultural activities and the library.[6] Ownership was taken over by the Ministry of Trade and Industry on 1 January 1993.[5] During the 1990s, the authorities started a process to "normalize" Longyearbyen by abolishing the company town scheme and introducing a full range of services, a varied economy and local democracy.[7] The Svalbard Council changed its regulations from 1993 and allowed parties to run for election.[6] Longyearbyen Community Council was established in 2002, replacing the Svalbard Council and assimilating SSD.[1]
Elections are typically held in early October, some weeks after Norwegian local elections.[8] The 2023 election was won by the Liberal Party, who was counted to have 49.5% of the votes on the election night,[8] but the election was marred by the disenfranchisement of almost all residents without Norwegian citizenship, estimated to affect one-third of the town's population.[9]
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