In another attempt to promote gender neutrality, the government is abolishing the longstanding titles of the state’s representatives in regions known as fylker, or counties. From January 1, the title of fylkesmann will go out of date.
It will be replaced with statsforvalter, which literally translates to “state manager.” Those holding the positions officially represent the monarch and state government in Norwegian counties, and most are former high-ranking politicians who either stepped down voluntarily or whose parties lost power.
“We’re carrying on the tradition of the institution and the person having the same name,” Nikolai Astrup, the government minister in charge of local governments, told newspaper Dagbladet. “At the same time, the division between the state’s regional representative and the region itself is made clearer.”
The goal, however, is to get rid of the word mann in Norwegian titles, since so many are held by women.
newsinenglish.no staff
