Vidkun Quisling, Fører of the Nasjonal Samling party, first tried to carry out a coup against the Norwegian government on 9 April 1940, the day of the German invasion of Norway.

Quisling claimed that the Nygaardsvold Cabinet had given up power, even though that it had only moved to Elverum, some 140 kilometers (85 miles) from Oslo, and was carrying out negotiations with the Germans.

[6] The next day, German ambassador Curt Bräuer traveled to Elverum and demanded King Haakon VII return to Oslo and formally appoint Quisling as prime minister.

At a Cabinet meeting later that night, Haakon said that he could not in good conscience appoint Quisling as prime minister because he knew neither the people nor the Storting had confidence in him.

[5] The Administrative Council was formed on 15 April by members of the Supreme Court and supported by Norwegian business leaders as well as Bräuer as an alternative to Quisling's Nasjonal Samling in the occupied areas.

[8] On 25 September 1940, German Reichskommissar Josef Terboven, who on 24 April 1940 had replaced Curt Bräuer as the top civilian commander in Norway,[9] proclaimed the deposition of King Haakon VII and the Nygaardsvold Cabinet, banning all political parties other than Nasjonal Samling.

[10] Terboven then appointed a group of 11 kommissariske statsråder (English: provisional councillors of state) from Nasjonal Samling to help him in governing Norway.

Vidkun Quisling was made the political head of the councillors and all members of Nasjonal Samling had to swear a personal oath of allegiance to him.

The provisional councillors of state were intended as a temporary system while Nasjonal Samling built up its organization in preparation for assuming full governmental powers.

[5] In 1942, after two years of direct civilian administration by the Germans (which continued de facto until 1945), he was finally put in charge of a collaborationist government, which was officially proclaimed on 1 February 1942.

[2] The original intention of the Germans had been to hand over the sovereignty of Norway to the new government, but by mid-January 1942 Hitler decided to retain the civilian Reichskommissariat Norwegen under Terboven.

[4] Two of the early laws of the Quisling regime, Lov om nasjonal ungdomstjeneste (English: 'Law on national youth service') and Lov om Norges Lærersamband (English: 'The Norwegian Teacher Liaison'), both signed 5 February 1942, led to massive protests from parents, serious clashes with the teachers, and an escalating conflict with the Church of Norway.

[17][18][19] Even after the official creation of the Quisling government, Josef Terboven still ruled Norway as a dictator,[9][20] taking orders from no-one but Hitler.

[31] In the person of propaganda minister Gulbrand Lunde the Norwegian puppet government further lay claim to the North and South Poles.

[33] Quisling designated the area reserved for Norwegian colonization as Bjarmeland, a reference to the name featured in the Norse sagas for Northern Russia.