Who was the first supreme ruler of Norway?

The first supreme ruler of Norway was Harald Fairhair. He is traditionally regarded as the first king to unite much of Norway under a single crown during the late 9th century.

Before Harald’s rise, the region consisted of numerous petty kingdoms ruled by local chieftains and kings. Medieval tradition says Harald began his campaign after vowing not to cut his hair until he had brought Norway under his control. His victory at the Battle of Hafrsfjord, traditionally dated to 872, became the symbolic milestone of Norwegian unification, although consolidating power likely took many years.

Harald’s nickname, Fairhair, comes from the Old Norse epithet hárfagri. He was also known as Harald I of Norway. After his death, power was divided among his sons and later rulers, so Norway was not continuously governed as a tightly unified state in the modern sense.

A common mix-up is Harald Bluetooth, the Danish king who also claimed authority in Norway much later. Historians also debate how literally the later sagas should be read, but Harald Fairhair remains the standard answer for Norway’s first unifying monarch.