The tasks of the Polar Affairs Department are the matters dealt with by the Ministry of Justice concerning the Norwegian Arctic and Antarctic polar regions including the administration carried out by the Governor of Svalbard, preparation of the annual Svalbard budget and coordination of the Polar affairs of the central government administration.
The Polar Affairs Department is the secretariat for the Interministerial Committee on the Polar Regions, which is an important forum for coordination of ministerial affairs concerning the Arctic and the Antarctic.
Tasks involve:
- active coordination of the work of the central government administration on meeting the Government’s main objectives
- maintenance of an efficient administrative machinery
