City Governance

The City of Oslo has a parliamentary system of governance. The City Government is responsible to the City Council in the same way that the National Government is responsible to the National Parliament. The City of Oslo holds both municipal and county functions.

The City Council

The highest decision-making body in Oslo is the City Council, which has 59 members. Elections are held every four years.

The City Council:

  • is chaired by the Mayor of Oslo.
  • decides on the City budget and overall policies for the City of Oslo.
  • also supervises the City Government and its administration.

The configuration of the City Council determines the composition of the City Government according to a parliamentary system of government.

The City Council is divided into five Standing Committees:

  • Finance
  • Health and Welfare
  • Urban Development
  • Education and Cultural Affairs
  • Transport and Environmental Affairs

These committees prepare all matters for decision by the City Council.

The Council also has a Procedures Committee which organizes the work of the Council and a Control Committee which supervises the activities of the City Government and its administration.

Party representation in the City Council 2023-27 can be found here.

The City Government

The City Government is the executive body and consists of eight members including the Governing Mayor. The Governing Mayor is the head of the City Government and appoints Vice Mayors to be members of the City Government.

The role of the Governing Mayor can be compared to that of a prime minister while the role of the Vice Mayors may be compared to that of national government ministers.

The City Government heads the City’s administration, makes propositions to the City Council and is responsible for carrying out decisions made by the City Council.

The City Government has substantial decision making powers delegated by the City Council.

Organisational chart

Here can you see the organisational chart of the City of Oslo.

Organisational chart (PDF)

The districts of Oslo

The decentralised public administration in the City of Oslo is organized into 15 districts. These districts are run by locally elected District Councils.

These 15 districts deal with a number of matters, including:

  • care for the elderly
  • day care facilities
  • youth clubs
  • mental health care facilities
  • health centres
  • services for the mentally disabled
  • treatment and care of substance abusers
  • integration of refugees and immigrants

The decision making power of the District Councils is delegated by the City Council. Finances are granted in part by the City Council while the balance comes from the political and administrative systems of the City of Oslo by way of fees on services.

Report corruption, irregularities, or other wrongdoings

We have a whistleblowing system designed to make it easy and safe to report corruption, irregularities and other wrongdoings committed within or against the City of Oslo.

Read more about whistleblowing