The county governor of Finnmark county in Norway represented the central government administration in the county. The office of county governor is a government agency of the Kingdom of Norway; the title was Norwegian: Amtmann (before 1919) and then Norwegian: Fylkesmann (after 1919).
In 1576, the king of Norway established Vardøhus len as a new administrative unit for the northern part of the kingdom. In 1661, it became Vardøhus amt that was subordinate to the Trondhjem stiftamt and the king began appointing a county governor. In 1787, the island of Senja and the Troms area were transferred from Nordlandenes amt to Vardøhus amt and the new, larger county was renamed Finmarkens amt. In 1866, the island of Senja and the Troms area were separated from Vardøhus to form the new Tromsø amt. In 1919, the name was again changed to Finnmark fylke. In 2002, the Sami language name, Northern Sami: Finnmárku, was added as a co-official name for the county. From 1 January 2019 the county governor offices of Troms and Finnmark were merged in anticipation of the merger of the two counties.
From 1844 until 1918, the county was subordinate to the Diocesan Governor of Tromsø who was the civil governor of the Diocese of Tromsø.
The county governor is the government's representative in the county. The governor carries out the resolutions and guidelines of the Storting and government. This is done first by the county governor performing administrative tasks on behalf of the ministries. Secondly, the county governor also monitors the activities of the municipalities and is the appeal body for many types of municipal decisions.
The name of the county (Vardøhus, Finmarken, Finnmark) and the word for county (amt, fylke) have changed over the centuries. From 1661 until 1787 the title was Amtmann i Vardøhus amt. From 1787 until 1918, it was Amtmann i Finmarkens amt. Since 1918, the title was Fylkesmann i Finnmark fylke.
Finnmark county has had the following governors:[1] [2] [3]
| County governors of Finnmark | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Name | ||
| 1661 | 1666 | Christoffer Orning (1617 - 1676) | ||
| 1666 | 1667 | Frederik Schort (1614 - 1674) | ||
| 1668 | 1680 | Otte Hansen Bjelke | ||
| 1680 | 1682 | Knud Gjedde (c. 1635-1707) Served concurrently as the Amtmann for Nordlandenes amt. | ||
| 1682 | 1684 | The magistrates (city council) of Bergen supervised this county. | ||
| 1684 | 1701 | Hans Hansen Lilienskiold (c. 1650 - 1703) | ||
| 1701 | 1717 | Erik Matssøn Lorch (1647 - 1717) | ||
| 1717 | 1718 | Jacob Møinichen (1680 - 1718) | ||
| 1718 | 1720 | Nikolai Friese (16?? - 1721) | ||
| 1720 | 1729 | Peter Siedelmann (16?? - 1729) | ||
| 1730 | 1738 | Henrik Friman (1678 - 1738) | ||
| 1739 | 1750 | Rasmus Kjeldsøn (1701 - 1753) | ||
| 1750 | 1750 | Peter Schnitler[4] (1690 - 1751) (Appointed, but never took office.) | ||
| 1750 | 1757 | Mathias Collett (1708 - 1759) | ||
| 1757 | 1768 | Gunder Gundersen Hammer (1725 - 1772) | ||
| 1768 | 1771 | Eiler Hagerup (1736 - 1795) | ||
| 1771 | 1778 | Thorkild Fjeldsted (1740 - 1796) | ||
| 1778 | 1787 | Christen Heiberg (1737 - 1801) | ||
| 1787 | 1800 | Ole Hannibal Sommerfeldt (1753 - 1821) | ||
| 1800 | 1806 | Martin Andreas Unmack (1754 - 1806) | ||
| 1806 | 1811 | Hilmar Meincke Krohg (1776 - 1851) | ||
| 1811 | 1814 | Fredrik Wilhelm Wedel-Jarlsberg (1787 - 1863) | ||
| 1814 | 1828 | Johan Caspar Krogh (1776 - 1831) | ||
| 1828 | 1829 | Christian Ulrik Kastrup (1784 - 1850) | ||
| 1829 | 1833 | Ulrik Frederik Cappelen (1797 - 1864) | ||
| 1833 | 1843 | Ole Edvard Buck (1799 - 1843) | ||
| Aug 1839 | Mar 1845 | Mons Lie (1803 - 1881) (Acting governor for Buck, then Harris.) | ||
| 1844 | 1853 | Anton Theodor Harris (1804 - 1866) Served concurrently as Stiftamtmann for Tromsø stiftamt. Served concurrently as Amtmann for Tromsø amt. | ||
| 1854 | 1857 | Carl Frederik Motzfeldt (1808 - 1902) Served concurrently as Stiftamtmann for Tromsø stiftamt. Served concurrently as Amtmann for Tromsø amt. | ||
| 1858 | 1866 | Mathias Bonsach Krogh Nannestad (1815 - 1878) Served concurrently as Stiftamtmann for Tromsø stiftamt. Served concurrently as Amtmann for Tromsø amt. | ||
| 1866 | 1874 | Jens Holmboe (1821 - 1891) | ||
| 1874 | 1882 | Johan Blackstad (1832 - 1904) | ||
| 1882 | 1885 | Carl Ingwart Theodor Rynning (1837 - 1892) | ||
| 1886 | 1889 | Karl Adolf Langberg (1850 - 1889) | ||
| 1889 | 1894 | Nikolai Christian Grove Prebensen (1850 - 1938) | ||
| 1896 | 1906 | Truls Johannessen Wiel Graff (1851 - 1918) | ||
| 1906 | 1912 | Andreas Tostrup Urbye (1869 - 1955) | ||
| 1912 | 1921 | Johan Albrigt Rivertz (1874 - 1942) | ||
| 1922 | 1928 | Hagbarth Lund (1877 - 1963) | ||
| 1928 | 1948 | Hans Gabrielsen (1891 - 1965) (Imprisoned by WWII Occupied government from 1941 - 1945.) | ||
| 1941 | 1944 | Thor Bekeng (1905 - 19??) (WWII Occupied government) | ||
| Nov 1944 | Sep 1945 | Peder Holt (1899 - 1963) (Acting governor for Gabrielsen.) | ||
| Sep 1945 | Nov 1945 | Erling Johannes Norvik[5] [6] (1899 - 1964) (Acting governor for Gabrielsen.) | ||
| 1948 | 1963 | Peder Holt (1899 - 1963) | ||
| 1951 | 1955 | Dag Tønder (1907 - 1989) (Acting governor for Holt.) | ||
| 1963 | 1974 | Kolbjørn Varmann (1904 - 1980) | ||
| Mar 1963 | July 1965 | Anders John Aune (1923 - 2011) (Acting governor for Varmann.) | ||
| 1974 | 1989 | Anders John Aune (1923 - 2011) | ||
| Jan 1990 | May 1990 | Kurt Mosbakk (born 1934) (Acting governor) | ||
| Mar 1990 | Mar 1998 | Svein Alsaker (born 1940) | ||
| Aug 1990 | July 1993 | Ingrid Røstad Fløtten (born 1954) (Acting governor for Alsaker.) | ||
| 1998 | 2016 | Gunnar Kjønnøy (born 1947) | ||
| 2016 | Oct 2018 | Ingvild Aleksandersen (born 1968) | ||
| Oct 2018 | Dec 2018 | Stian Lindgård (born 1968) (Acting governor) | ||
| Office abolished on 1 January 2019, see List of county governors of Troms and Finnmark | ||||