| Country: | Norway |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Previous Election: | 1977 Norwegian parliamentary election |
| Previous Year: | 1977 |
| Next Election: | 1985 Norwegian parliamentary election |
| Next Year: | 1985 |
| Seats For Election: | All 155 seats in the Storting |
| Majority Seats: | 78 |
| Election Date: | 13 and 14 September 1981 |
| Image1: | Brundtland.jpg |
| Party1: | Norwegian Labour Party |
| Last Election1: | 42.3%, 76 seats |
| Seats1: | 66 |
| Seat Change1: | 10 |
| Popular Vote1: | 914,749 |
| Percentage1: | 37.2% |
| Leader2: | Jo Benkow |
| Party2: | Conservative Party (Norway) |
| Last Election2: | 24.5%, 41 seats |
| Seats2: | 53 |
| Seat Change2: | 12 |
| Popular Vote2: | 780,372 |
| Percentage2: | 31.7% |
| Image3: | Kaare Kristiansen politiker KrF (cropped).JPG |
| Leader3: | Kåre Kristiansen |
| Party3: | Christian Democratic Party (Norway) |
| Last Election3: | 9.7%, 22 seats |
| Seats3: | 15 |
| Seat Change3: | 7 |
| Popular Vote3: | 219,179 |
| Percentage3: | 8.9% |
| Image4: | Johan J. Jakobsen, fotografert under Sps landsmøte i Haugesund i 2015 (cropped).jpg |
| Leader4: | Johan J. Jakobsen |
| Party4: | Centre Party (Norway) |
| Last Election4: | 8.0%, 12 seats |
| Seats4: | 11 |
| Seat Change4: | 1 |
| Popular Vote4: | 103,753 |
| Percentage4: | 4.2% |
| Image5: | Berge Furre.jpg |
| Leader5: | Berge Furre |
| Party5: | Socialist Left Party (Norway) |
| Last Election5: | 4.2%, 2 seats |
| Seats5: | 4 |
| Seat Change5: | 2 |
| Popular Vote5: | 121,561 |
| Percentage5: | 4.9% |
| Image6: | Carl i Hagen043 2E jpg DF0000062790.jpg |
| Leader6: | Carl I. Hagen |
| Party6: | Progress Party (Norway) |
| Last Election6: | 1.9%, 0 seats |
| Seats6: | 4 |
| Seat Change6: | 4 |
| Popular Vote6: | 109,564 |
| Percentage6: | 4.5% |
| Leader7: | Hans Hammond Rossbach |
| Party7: | Liberal Party of Norway |
| Last Election7: | 2.4%, 2 seats |
| Seats7: | 2 |
| Popular Vote7: | 79,064 |
| Percentage7: | 3.2% |
| Prime Minister | |
| Posttitle: | Prime Minister after election |
| Before Election: | Gro Harlem Brundtland |
| Before Party: | Norwegian Labour Party |
| After Election: | Kåre Willoch |
| After Party: | Conservative Party (Norway) |
| Turnout: | 82% |
Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 13 and 14 September 1981.[1] The Labour Party remained the largest party in the Storting, winning 66 of the 155 seats. The Conservative Party made the strongest gains and formed a government on its own. In 1983 a majority coalition government with the Christian People's Party and the Centre Party was established.
See also: List of political parties in Norway.
| Name | Ideology | Position | Leader | 1977 result | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes (%) | Seats | ||||||||
| align=center | Ap | Labour Party Arbeiderpartiet | Social democracy | Centre-left | Gro Harlem Brundtland | align=center | 42.2% | ||
| align=center | H | Conservative Party Høyre | Conservatism | Centre-right | Jo Benkow | align=center | 24.5% | ||
| KrF | Christian Democratic Party Kristelig Folkeparti | Christian democracy | Centre to centre-right | Kåre Kristiansen | 9.7% | ||||
| Sp | Centre Party Senterpartiet | Agrarianism | Centre | Johan J. Jakobsen | 8.0% | ||||
| SV | Socialist Left Party Sosialistisk Venstreparti | Democratic socialism | Left-wing | Berge Furre | 4.1% | ||||
| V | Liberal Party Venstre | Social liberalism | Centre | Hans Hammond Rossbach | 2.3% | ||||
| FrP | Progress Party Fremskrittspartiet | Classical liberalism | Right-wing | Carl I. Hagen | 1.8% | ||||
Carl I. Hagen was elected chairman on 12 February 1978 after Arve Lønnum declined to seek reelection.
After Lars Korvald declined to seek reelection, Kåre Kristiansen was elected chairman on 21 April 1979. Despite not being a candidate, Kjell Magne Bondevik received 44 votes.
| Party | Original slogan | English translation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | Arbeid for alle | Labour for everyone | ||
| Conservative Party | ||||
| Centre Party | ||||
| Christian Democratic Party | ||||
| Liberal Party | ||||
| Communist Party of Norway | ||||
| Sources: [2] | ||||
| 1981 Norwegian general election debates | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Organiser | Present Invitee Non-invitee | |||||||||||
| Ap | H | KrF | Sp | Sv | V | Frp | Dlp | NKP | R | Refs | |||
| NRK | P Gro Harlem Brundtland | P Kåre Willoch | N Kåre Kristiansen | N Johan J. Jakobsen | N Hanna Kvanmo | N Hans Hammond Rossbach | N Carl I. Hagen | N Gerd Søraa | N Martin Gunnar Knutsen | N Sigurd Allern | [3] | ||
| NRK | P Einar Førde, Gro Harlem Brundtland | P Kåre Willoch | P Kåre Kristiansen | P Johan J. Jakobsen | P Hanna Kvanmo | P Hans Hammond Rossbach | P Carl I. Hagen | P Gerd Søraa | P Martin Gunnar Knutsen | P Sigurd Allern | [4] | ||
| Cohort | Percentage of cohort voting for | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ap | H | KrF | Sv | FrP | Sp | V | Others | |
| Total vote | 37.2% | 31.7% | 8.9% | 4.9% | 4.5% | 4.2% | 3.2% | |
| Gender | ||||||||
| Females | 35.6% | 30.3% | 12.8% | 4.5% | 3.7% | 4.3% | 3.3% | |
| Males | 38.4% | 33.1% | 5.5% | 5.5% | 5.3% | 4.2% | 3.1% | |
| Age | ||||||||
| 18–30 years old | 26.2% | 33.8% | 5.2% | 8.8% | 10.1% | 4.6% | 4.3% | |
| 30-59 years old | 39.2% | 32.3% | 8% | 4.8% | 3.5% | 3.8% | 3.6% | |
| 60 years old and older | 43.5% | 28.9% | 14.9% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 4.9% | 1.2% | |
| Work | ||||||||
| low income | 43.5% | 25.9% | 11.8% | 4.4% | 7.1% | 5.6% | 2.4% | |
| Average income | 43.9% | 27.2% | 8.1% | 5.8% | 3.6% | 4% | 3.6% | |
| High income | 23.3% | 50.3% | 6.5% | 4.5% | 3.8% | 2.4% | 3.4% | |
| Education | ||||||||
| Primary school | 55.2% | 18.7% | 9.6% | 3.1% | 4.4% | 3.6% | 1% | |
| High school | 36% | 33% | 8.9% | 4.7% | 5.1% | 5% | 3% | |
| University/college | 12.9% | 47.7% | 7.9% | 9.1% | 3.3% | 2.9% | 7.5% | |
| align=left colspan="9" | Source: Norwegian Institute for Social Research[5] | |||||||
| Constituency | Total seats | Seats won | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ap | H | KrF | Sp | SV | Frp | V | ||
| Akershus | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | ||||
| Aust-Agder | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Buskerud | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Finnmark | 4 | 3 | 1 | |||||
| Hedmark | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Hordaland | 15 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Møre og Romsdal | 10 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Nord-Trøndelag | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Nordland | 12 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Oppland | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Oslo | 15 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Østfold | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | ||||
| Rogaland | 10 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Sogn og Fjordane | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Sør-Trøndelag | 10 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Telemark | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Troms | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Vest-Agder | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Vestfold | 7 | 3 | 4 | |||||
| Total | 155 | 66 | 53 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| align=left colspan="9" | Source: Norges Offisielle Statistikk | |||||||