Aker ASA is a Norwegian industrial investment company with ownership interests concentrated in oil and gas, renewable energy and green technologies, industrial software, seafood and marine biotechnology sectors. The company is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange . Aker's main shareholder is Kjell Inge Røkke , who owns 68.2% per cent of Aker through his company TRG Holding AS. The corporate headquarters are located in Fornebu , Norway. Aker was established in 1841 when Akers Mekaniske Verksted was founded in Oslo.
73-496: Aker Solutions ASA is a Norwegian engineering firm headquartered in Oslo . The firm's production is focused on energy infrastructure , including systems and services required to de-carbonize oil and gas production, build wind-to-grid infrastructure and engineer CO 2 capture and sequestration. Founded in 1841 as Akers Mekaniske Verksted, the company has been known as Aker , Aker Kvaerner and Aker Solutions (2008). Aker Kværner
146-678: A per-capita basis, Norway is the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas outside of the Middle East. The country has the fourth- and eighth-highest per-capita income in the world on the World Bank 's and IMF 's list, respectively. It has the world's largest sovereign wealth fund , with a value of US$ 1.3 trillion. Norway has two official names: Norge in Bokmål and Noreg in Nynorsk . The English name Norway comes from
219-590: A resistance movement which incorporated civil disobedience and armed resistance including the destruction of Norsk Hydro 's heavy water plant and stockpile of heavy water at Vemork , which crippled the German nuclear programme . More important to the Allied war effort, however, was the role of the Norwegian Merchant Marine , the fourth-largest merchant marine fleet in the world. It was led by
292-407: A unitary state with a constitutional monarchy , Norway divides state power between the parliament , the cabinet , and the supreme court , as determined by the 1814 constitution . Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels: counties and municipalities . The Sámi people have a certain amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through
365-521: A central role in the peaceful separation of Norway from Sweden on 7 June 1905. A national referendum confirmed the people's preference for a monarchy over a republic. However, no Norwegian could legitimately claim the throne, since none of Norway's noble families could claim royal descent . The government then offered the throne of Norway to Prince Carl of Denmark, a prince of the Dano-German royal house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and
438-458: A conservative society. Life in Norway (especially economic life) was "dominated by the aristocracy of professional men who filled most of the important posts in the central government". There was no strong bourgeois class to demand a breakdown of this aristocratic control. Thus, even while revolution swept over most of the countries of Europe in 1848, Norway was largely unaffected. Marcus Thrane
511-665: A distant relative of Norway's medieval kings. Following the plebiscite, he was unanimously elected king by the Norwegian Parliament ; he took the name Haakon VII . Throughout the First World War , Norway remained neutral; however, diplomatic pressure from the British government meant that it heavily favoured the Allies . During the war, Norway exported fish to both Germany and Britain, until an ultimatum from
584-457: A distinct national character. The movement covered all branches of culture, including literature ( Henrik Wergeland , Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson , Peter Christen Asbjørnsen , Jørgen Moe ), painting ( Hans Gude , Adolph Tidemand ), music ( Edvard Grieg ), and even language policy, where attempts to define a native written language for Norway led to today's two official written forms for Norwegian: Bokmål and Nynorsk . King Charles III John came to
657-422: A global offshore aquaculture company. During 2021, the firm launched a new consultancy business; three years later, by which point it had 300 employees worldwide, the consultancy business was rebranded as Entr . In early 2022, both Aker Clean Hydrogen and Aker Offshore Wind were merged into Aker Horizon. That same year, Aker BP and Lundin ’s oil and gas activities merged. During 2023, the firm agreed terms for
730-438: A large cement group in Norway with focus on the offshore industry. The cement business was sold in 1999. Kjell Inge Røkke used his investment company Resource Group International to purchase large amounts of Aker shares, and merged the two companies in 1996 to form Aker RGI . In 1999, after clearing European anti- monopoly concerns, Aker and Apax Partners merged their warehouse technologies and material handling units to form
803-689: A new company, Kværner ASA, listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in the third-quarter of 2011. Aker Solutions' holding company — Aker Holdings AS — was renamed Aker Kværner Holding AS, and held around 40% of Kværner ASA. Aker ASA took over the 10% stake owned by Saab and Investor AB, raising its stake in Aker Kværner Holdings AS to 70%. In 2014, Aker Solutions was further divided into two companies, Aker Solutions and Akastor, and in August Aker Solutions leased
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#1732793743928876-634: A small group had left Norway following their king to Britain. This group included 13 ships, five aircraft, and 500 men from the Royal Norwegian Navy. By the end of the war, the force had grown to 58 ships and 7,500 men in service in the Royal Norwegian Navy, 5 squadrons of aircraft in the newly formed Norwegian Air Force, and land forces including the Norwegian Independent Company 1 and 5 Troop as well as No. 10 Commandos . During German occupation , Norwegians built
949-686: A union between the two countries. In 1397, under Margaret I , the Kalmar Union was created between the three Scandinavian countries. She waged war against the Germans, resulting in a trade blockade and higher taxation on Norwegian goods, which led to a rebellion . However, the Norwegian Council of State was too weak to pull out of the union. Margaret pursued a centralising policy which inevitably favoured Denmark because of its greater population. Margaret also granted trade privileges to
1022-634: A united Norway. Harald's realm was mainly a South Norwegian coastal state. Fairhair ruled with a strong hand and according to the sagas, many Norwegians left the country to live in Iceland, the Faroe Islands , Greenland , and parts of Britain and Ireland. Haakon I the Good was Norway's first Christian king, in the mid-10th century, though his attempt to introduce the religion was rejected. Norse traditions were replaced slowly by Christian ones in
1095-677: Is Oslo . Norway has a total area of 385,207 square kilometres (148,729 sq mi). The country shares a long eastern border with Sweden , and is bordered by Finland and Russia to the northeast. Norway has an extensive coastline facing the Skagerrak strait, the North Atlantic Ocean, and the Barents Sea . The unified kingdom of Norway was established in 872 as a merger of petty kingdoms and has existed continuously for 1,151–1,152 years. From 1537 to 1814, Norway
1168-454: Is little archaeological evidence dating to the early Iron Age (the last 500 years BC). The dead were cremated, and their graves contained few goods. During the first four centuries AD, the people of Norway were in contact with Roman-occupied Gaul ; about 70 Roman bronze cauldrons, often used as burial urns, have been found. Contact with countries farther south brought a knowledge of runes ; the oldest known Norwegian runic inscription dates from
1241-584: The German invasion of France . King Haakon and the Norwegian government escaped to Rotherhithe in London. Throughout the war they sent radio speeches and supported clandestine military actions against the Germans. On the day of the invasion, the leader of the small National-Socialist party Nasjonal Samling , Vidkun Quisling , tried to seize power, but was forced by the German occupiers to step aside. Real power
1314-867: The Kingdom of Norway , is a Nordic country in Northern Europe , situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula with a population of 5.5 million as of 2024. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of Norway. Bouvet Island , located in the Subantarctic , is a dependency , and not a part of the Kingdom; Norway also claims the Antarctic territories of Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land . The capital and largest city in Norway
1387-485: The Labour Party held an absolute majority in the parliament. The government, led by prime minister Einar Gerhardsen , embarked on a programme inspired by Keynesian economics , emphasising state financed industrialisation and co-operation between trade unions and employers' organisations . Many measures of state control of the economy imposed during the war were continued, although the rationing of dairy products
1460-483: The Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system, and its values are rooted in egalitarian ideals. The Norwegian state has large ownership positions in key industrial sectors, having extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, and fresh water. The petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). On
1533-586: The Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry (30%), SAAB (7.5%) and Investor AB (2.5%). On 3 April 2008, Aker Kværner was renamed Aker Solutions. In 2020, the company merged with Kværner ASA . As of 2023, the company trades on the Oslo stock exchange under the symbol 'AKSO'. Aker Solutions derives from a series of start-ups and mergers of Norwegian companies across the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. In 1841, Aker established its first workshop along
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#17327937439281606-593: The Old English word Norþweg mentioned in 880, meaning "northern way" or "way leading to the north", which is how the Anglo-Saxons referred to the coastline of Atlantic Norway. The Anglo-Saxons of Britain also referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land . There is some disagreement about whether the native name of Norway originally had the same etymology as the English form. According to
1679-532: The Syttende mai (Seventeenth of May) holiday. Norwegian opposition to the decision to link Norway with Sweden caused the Norwegian–Swedish War to break out as Sweden tried to subdue Norway by military means. As Sweden's military was not strong enough to defeat the Norwegian forces outright, and Norway's treasury was not large enough to support a protracted war, and as British and Russian navies blockaded
1752-1322: The Sámi Parliament and the Finnmark Act . Norway maintains close ties with the European Union and the United States . Norway is a founding member of the United Nations , NATO , the European Free Trade Association , the Council of Europe , the Antarctic Treaty , and the Nordic Council ; a member of the European Economic Area , the WTO , and the OECD ; and a part of the Schengen Area . The Norwegian dialects share mutual intelligibility with Danish and Swedish . Norway maintains
1825-587: The introduction of Protestantism in 1536, the archbishopric in Trondheim was dissolved; Norway lost its independence and effectually became a colony of Denmark. The Church's incomes and possessions were instead redirected to the court in Copenhagen. Norway lost the steady stream of pilgrims to the relics of St. Olav at the Nidaros shrine, and with them, much of the contact with cultural and economic life in
1898-474: The union with Sweden . Under this arrangement, Norway kept its liberal constitution and its own independent institutions, though it shared a monarch and foreign policy with Sweden. Following the recession caused by the Napoleonic Wars , economic development of Norway remained slow until 1830. This period also saw the rise of Norwegian romantic nationalism , as Norwegians sought to define and express
1971-538: The 2020s was centered around increasing the value of its IT and low carbon energy businesses and a deemphasis of its traditional oil and gas operations. The company has continued to play an active role in the oil and gas sector, not only in existing schemes but also in exploration and other activities. In early 2021, Aker ASA announced that it would establish a investment unit that would be orientated towards businesses and assets related to Bitcoin . That same year, Aker and Salmar jointly established SalMar Aker Ocean ,
2044-530: The Aker Material Handling group of companies, Constructor/Dexion was sold to the Swedish finance investor Altor Equity Partners . In December 2010, Aker Solutions announced a decision to cultivate its core businesses; consequently, Kvaerner was established, through a demerger , as a specialised EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) company addressing the global market. On 6 May 2011,
2117-587: The Aker river in Oslo, called Aker Mechanical Workshop ( Aker Mekaniske Verksted ). Kværner Brug was founded in Oslo in 1853. In 1943, Kværner Brug and partner Myrens Verksted jointly acquired a majority shareholding in Thunes Mekaniske Verksted . Joint holding company Kværner Industries AS was established in December 1967, listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange . The Kværner Group entered
2190-602: The British government and anti-German sentiments as a result of German submarines targeting Norwegian merchantmen led to a termination of trade with Germany. 436 Norwegian merchantmen were sunk by the Kaiserliche Marine , with 1,150 Norwegian sailors killed. Norway once more proclaimed its neutrality during the Second World War , but was invaded by German forces on 9 April 1940. Although Norway
2263-693: The Danish kingdom was on the losing side in 1814, it was forced by the Treaty of Kiel to cede Norway to Sweden, while the old Norwegian provinces of Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands remained with the Danish crown. Norway took this opportunity to declare independence, adopted a constitution based on American and French models, and elected the Crown Prince of Denmark and Norway, Christian Frederick , as king on 17 May 1814 – celebrated as
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2336-667: The Dexion Group Ltd (Apax) and Constructor AS (Aker); in 2000, the Dexion Group was acquired by Aker and merged with Constructor, while the Australia/Asia Pacific operations were sold. During the early 2000s, Kværner was approached multiple times by its long time rival Kværner , which had entered a period of considerable hardship following an ambitious programme of international expansion. During November 2001, in order to avoid bankruptcy , Kværner
2409-459: The Finnish engineering company Aker Arctic in 2004. Aker Kvaerner started trading on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol 'AKVER' on 2 April 2004. In 2006, the company's pulp-and-paper and power businesses were sold to Finnish-based Metso for €335 million. On 7 June 2007, a deal was announced to sell a 40.1 percent stake of the company from Aker ASA to Aker Holding. The new company
2482-569: The Hanseatic merchants of Lübeck in Bergen in return for recognition of her rule, and these hurt the Norwegian economy. The Hanseatic merchants formed a state within a state in Bergen for generations. The " Victual Brothers " launched three devastating pirate raids on the port (the last in 1427). Norway slipped ever more to the background under the Oldenburg dynasty (established 1448). There
2555-591: The Norwegian coast, the belligerents were forced to negotiate the Convention of Moss . Christian Frederik abdicated the Norwegian throne and authorised the Parliament of Norway to make the necessary constitutional amendments to allow for the personal union that Norway was forced to accept. On 4 November 1814, the Parliament (Storting) elected Charles XIII of Sweden as king of Norway, thereby establishing
2628-617: The Norwegian shipping company Nortraship under the Allies throughout the war and took part in every war operation from the evacuation of Dunkirk to the Normandy landings . Every December Norway gives a Christmas tree to the United Kingdom as thanks for the British assistance during the war. Svalbard was not occupied by German troops, but Germany secretly established a meteorological station there in 1944. From 1945 to 1962,
2701-651: The Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco purchase a 7.4 per cent stake in Cognite from Aker in exchange for roughly one billion Norwegian crowns. Throughout the early 2020s, Aker was considered an initial public offering of Cognite. During July 2020, Aker Solutions announced major restructuring plans, centering on its merger with Kvaerner and the spinning off of its wind development and carbon capture and storage businesses into two separate Oslo-listed entities. That same year, Røkke announced that Aker's strategy for
2774-591: The coast, where the huge ice shelf of the last ice age first melted between 11,000 and 8000 BC. The oldest finds are stone tools dating from 9500 to 6000 BC, discovered in Finnmark ( Komsa culture ) in the north and Rogaland ( Fosna culture ) in the southwest. Theories about the two cultures being separate were deemed obsolete in the 1970s. Between 3000 and 2500 BC, new settlers ( Corded Ware culture ) arrived in eastern Norway . They were Indo-European farmers who grew grain and kept livestock, and gradually replaced
2847-529: The company won three contracts from Noble Energy to supply steel tube umbilicals, a complete mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) reclamation unit, and subsea control equipment for the construction of offshore oil platforms in the Tamar gas field in Israel. Together, the contracts were worth NOK 1.1 billion. On 6 May 2011, Aker Solutions' EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) division was re-branded and spun off as
2920-486: The control of Queen Margaret when the country entered into the Kalmar Union . After Sweden broke out of the Kalmar Union in 1521, Norway tried to follow suit, but the subsequent rebellion was defeated, and Norway remained in a union with Denmark until 1814. This period was by some referred to as the "400-Year Night", since all of the kingdom's intellectual and administrative power was centred in Copenhagen . With
2993-476: The death of Haakon in 1379, his 10-year-old son Olaf IV acceded to the throne. As Olaf had already been elected to the throne of Denmark in 1376, Denmark and Norway entered a personal union . Olaf's mother and Haakon's widow, Queen Margaret, managed the foreign affairs of Denmark and Norway during Olaf's minority. Margaret was on the verge of achieving a union of Sweden with Denmark and Norway when Olaf IV suddenly died. Denmark made Margaret temporary ruler on
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3066-434: The death of Olaf. On 2 February 1388, Norway followed suit and crowned Margaret. Queen Margaret knew that her power would be more secure if she were able to find a king to rule in her place. She settled on Eric of Pomerania , grandson of her sister. Thus at an all-Scandinavian meeting held at Kalmar, Erik of Pomerania was crowned king of all three Scandinavian countries, bringing the thrones of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden under
3139-490: The economy, because of the loans the Hansa had made to the royals and the large debt the kings were carrying. The League's monopolistic control over the economy of Norway put pressure on all classes, especially the peasantry, to the degree that no real burgher class existed in Norway. From the 1040s to 1130, the country was at peace. In 1130, the civil war era broke out on the basis of unclear succession laws , which allowed
3212-625: The end of the century. Throughout the High Middle Ages , the king established Norway as a sovereign state with a central administration and local representatives. In 1349, the Black Death spread to Norway and within a year killed a third of the population. Later plagues reduced the population to half the starting point by 1400. Many communities were entirely wiped out, resulting in an abundance of land, allowing farmers to switch to more animal husbandry . The reduction in taxes weakened
3285-605: The entire first phase of the new Aberdeen International Business Park . On 18 February 2015, the company announced the loss of around 300 jobs in Norway as a response to falling oil prices and the decline in demand for drilling services. In November 2020, Aker Solutions merged with Kværner ASA. 59°53′50.46″N 10°37′39.98″E / 59.8973500°N 10.6277722°E / 59.8973500; 10.6277722 Norway in Europe (green and dark grey) Norway ( Bokmål : Norge , Nynorsk : Noreg ), officially
3358-546: The expense of Sweden and Russia. The famine of 1695–1696 killed roughly 10% of Norway's population. The harvest failed in Scandinavia at least nine times between 1740 and 1800, with great loss of life. After Denmark–Norway was attacked by the United Kingdom at the 1807 Battle of Copenhagen , it entered into an alliance with Napoleon , with the war leading to dire conditions and mass starvation in 1812. As
3431-420: The group adopt the Aker Kvaerner brand for the entire group. Having resulted from a merger of Aker Maritime and Kværner Oil & Gas in 2002, a major business restructuring of Aker Kværner was launched in 2004. This led to the formation of two industrial groups: Aker Kværner , working with oil, gas, energy and process engineering, and shipbuilding Aker Yards . Aker Kværner also became a minor shareholder in
3504-438: The hunting-fishing population of the west coast. From about 1500 BC, bronze was gradually introduced. Burial cairns built close to the sea as far north as Harstad and also inland in the south are characteristic of this period, with rock carving motifs that differ from those of the Stone Age , depicting ships resembling the Hjortspring boat , while large stone burial monuments known as stone ships were also erected. There
3577-433: The king's position, and many aristocrats lost the basis for their surplus. High tithes to church made it increasingly powerful and the archbishop became a member of the Council of State . The Hanseatic League took control over Norwegian trade during the 14th century and established a trading centre in Bergen . In 1380, Olaf Haakonsson inherited both the Norwegian (as Olaf IV) and Danish thrones (as Olaf II), creating
3650-419: The king's sons to rule jointly. The Archdiocese of Nidaros was created in 1152 and attempted to control the appointment of kings. The church inevitably had to take sides in the conflicts. The wars ended in 1217 with the appointment of Håkon IV Håkonsson , who introduced clear laws of succession. From 1000 to 1300, the population increased from 150,000 to 400,000, resulting both in more land being cleared and
3723-437: The kings of Sweden and of Denmark were elected to the throne by their respective nobles. Thus Sweden and Norway were united under King Magnus VII. In 1349, the Black Death killed between 50% and 60% of Norway's population and led to a period of social and economic decline. Although the death rate was comparable with the rest of Europe, economic recovery took much longer because of the small, scattered population. Even before
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#17327937439283796-409: The late 10th and early 11th centuries. This is largely attributed to the missionary kings Olaf I Tryggvasson and Olaf II Haraldsson (St. Olaf). Olaf Tryggvasson conducted raids in England, including attacking London. Arriving back in Norway in 995, Olaf landed in Moster where he built a church which became the first Christian church in Norway. From Moster, Olaf sailed north to Trondheim where he
3869-410: The ninth century when heading for the Faroe Islands , and eventually came across Vinland , known today as Newfoundland , in Canada. The Vikings from Norway were most active in the northern and western British Isles and eastern North America isles . According to tradition, Harald Fairhair unified them into one in 872 after the Battle of Hafrsfjord in Stavanger , thus becoming the first king of
3942-602: The offshore oil and gas market from its base in Oslo, and Kværner Engineering , an engineering and contracting company, was set-up in the late 1960s. In 1993, construction work began at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp through jointly owned subsidiary, Kværner Process Services Inc. (KPSI), initiating a business partnership with the US Department of Defense that lasted until 2006. In 1996, Kværner acquired UK-based conglomerate Trafalgar House , increasing its interests in shipbuilding, oil and gas, pulp and paper, engineering and construction. The company's international headquarters
4015-440: The plague, the population was only about 500,000. After the plague, many farms lay idle while the population slowly increased. However, the few surviving farms' tenants found their bargaining positions with their landlords greatly strengthened. King Magnus VII ruled Norway until 1350, when his son, Haakon, was placed on the throne as Haakon VI . In 1363, Haakon married Margaret , daughter of King Valdemar IV of Denmark . Upon
4088-489: The reign of Charles III John brought some significant social and political reforms. In 1854, women won the right to inherit property. In 1863, the last trace of keeping unmarried women in the status of minors was removed. Furthermore, women were eligible for different occupations, particularly the common school teacher. By mid-century, Norway's democracy was limited; voting was limited to officials, property owners, leaseholders and burghers of incorporated towns. Norway remained
4161-418: The rest of Europe. Eventually restored as a kingdom (albeit in legislative union with Denmark) in 1661, Norway saw its land area decrease in the 17th century with the loss of the provinces Båhuslen , Jemtland , and Herjedalen to Sweden, as the result of a number of disastrous wars with Sweden. In the north, its territory was increased by the acquisition of the northern provinces of Troms and Finnmark , at
4234-542: The shareholders' annual general meeting approved the establishment of Kvaerner as a separate company. During 2016, Aker founded the industrial software company Cognite, which targeted the digitalisation of processes across the oil industry as well as other sectors, as part of ambitions to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Three years later, it was announced that Cognite had doubled its revenue to 340 million Norwegian crowns; it had also opened new offices in Tokyo and Texas to better serve these markets. In February 2022,
4307-419: The subdivision of farms. While in the Viking Age farmers owned their own land, by 1300, seventy per cent of the land was owned by the king, the church, or the aristocracy, and about twenty per cent of yields went to these landowners. The 14th century is described as Norway's golden age , with peace and increase in trade, especially with the British Islands, although Germany became increasingly important towards
4380-465: The third century. By the time of the first historical records of Scandinavia, about the 8th century, several small political entities existed in Norway. It has been estimated that there were nine petty realms in Western Norway during the early Viking Age . Archaeologist Bergljot Solberg on this basis estimates that there would have been at least 20 in the whole country. In the Viking period, Norwegian Viking explorers discovered Iceland by accident in
4453-452: The throne of Norway and Sweden in 1818 and reigned to 1844. He protected the constitution and liberties of Norway and Sweden during the age of Metternich . As such, he was regarded as a liberal monarch. However, he was ruthless in his use of paid informers, secret police and restrictions on the freedom of the press to put down public movements for reform—especially the Norwegian national independence movement. The Romantic Era that followed
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#17327937439284526-446: The traditional dominant view, the first component was originally norðr , a cognate of English north , so the full name was Norðr vegr , "the way northwards", referring to the sailing route along the Norwegian coast, and contrasting with suðrvegar "southern way" (from Old Norse suðr ) for (Germany), and austrvegr "eastern way" (from austr ) for the Baltic . The earliest traces of human occupation in Norway are found along
4599-577: Was a Utopian socialist who in 1848 organised a labour society in Drammen . In just a few months, this society had a membership of 500 and was publishing its own newspaper. Within two years, 300 societies had been organised all over Norway, with a total membership of 20,000 drawn from the lower classes of both urban and rural areas. In the end, the revolt was easily crushed; Thrane was captured and jailed. In 1898, all men were granted universal suffrage , followed by all women in 1913. Christian Michelsen , Prime Minister of Norway from 1905 to 1907, played
4672-423: Was compelled to merge with Aker. Thereafter, Kværner's international headquarters returned to Oslo and Kværner was restructured to become a holding company, with operating activities concentrated in Aker Kværner and Aker Yards . During 2005, Kværner ASA was merged with Aker Maritime Finance AS, a wholly owned company of Aker ASA, as a result of which the Kværner corporation ceased to exist. In 2007, as part of
4745-425: Was founded in 2004 from the major restructuring of a complex "Aker Kværner" business unit formed in 2002 by the merger of Aker Maritime and Kværner Oil & Gas . The company was majority controlled by Aker ASA until 2007. Then, via major ownership restructuring on 22 June 2007, Aker ASA gave up its holding in Aker Solutions and transferred a 40% stake to Aker Holding , which in turn was owned by Aker ASA (60%),
4818-411: Was lifted in 1949, while price controls and rationing of housing and cars continued until 1960. Aker ASA As of 31 December 2022, Aker's industrial holdings include: The company takes its name from the former Akers mekaniske Verksted , which was Norway's largest shipyard and which closed in 1982. In 1987 one of the surviving companies split off from the shipyard merged with Norcem , creating
4891-611: Was moved to London. In 1999, the company initiated a major sell-off to raise money via divestment, but financial and operational problems persisted, and the company entered an acute liquidity crisis in August 2001. In July 2000, Aker Maritime ASA, a Norway-based offshore products, technology and services provider, bought 26% of the shares in Kværner ASA. In November 2001, Aker Maritime ASA and Kværner ASA reached an agreement, whereby Aker Maritime injected NOK 2.8 bn in net assets, raised another NOK 3.5 bn through two direct issues, and renegotiated NOK 8.6 bn of Kværner's debt. The following year
4964-408: Was one revolt under Knut Alvsson in 1502. Norway took no part in the events which led to Swedish independence from Denmark in the 1520s. Upon the death of King Haakon V in 1319, Magnus Eriksson , at just three years old, inherited the throne as King Magnus VII. A simultaneous movement to make Magnus King of Sweden proved successful (he was a grandson of King Magnus Ladulås of Sweden), and both
5037-481: Was owned by Aker ASA (60%), the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry (30%), SAAB (7.5%) and Investor (2.5%). In 2007, the company was identified by Amnesty International as an accessory to torture and other human rights abuses for its collaboration in constructing and maintaining the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. During the AGM held on 3 April 2008, Aker Kværner announced that it would rebrand as Aker Solutions . Between April 2010 and June 2010,
5110-417: Was part of Denmark–Norway , and, from 1814 to 1905, it was in a personal union with Sweden. Norway was neutral during the First World War , and in the Second World War until April 1940 when it was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany until the end of the war. Harald V of the House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway . Jonas Gahr Støre has been Prime Minister of Norway since 2021. As
5183-518: Was proclaimed King of Norway by the Eyrathing in 995. One of the most important sources for the history of the 11th century Vikings is the treaty between the Icelanders and Olaf II Haraldsson, king of Norway circa 1015 to 1028. Feudalism never really developed in Norway or Sweden, as it did in the rest of Europe. However, the administration of government took on a very conservative feudal character. The Hanseatic League forced royalty to cede to them greater and greater concessions over foreign trade and
5256-455: Was unprepared for the German surprise attack (see: Battle of Drøbak Sound , Norwegian Campaign , and Invasion of Norway ), military and naval resistance lasted for two months. Norwegian armed forces in the north launched an offensive against the German forces in the Battles of Narvik , but were forced to surrender on 10 June after losing British support which had been diverted to France during
5329-582: Was wielded by the leader of the German occupation authority, Josef Terboven . Quisling, as minister president , later formed a collaborationist government under German control . Up to 15,000 Norwegians volunteered to fight in German units, including the Waffen-SS . Many Norwegians and persons of Norwegian descent joined the Allied forces as well as the Free Norwegian Forces . In June 1940,
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