Sittende

Sittende is a Norwegian adjective and present participle derived from the verb sitte. In Bokmål, sittende describes something or someone that is currently in the act of sitting or, more commonly, that presently holds a position or office. The term is widely used in political and public discourse to distinguish current officeholders from former ones. Common phrases include sittende regjering (the sitting government), sittende statsminister (the sitting prime minister), and sittende styremedlemmer (incumbent board members).

The word can be used attributively, as in den sittende presidenten, or predicatively, as in regjeringen er sittende. It agrees with the noun in gender and number. Etymologically, sittende is formed from the verb sitte with the present participle suffix -ende, which yields an adjective indicating an ongoing state.

In Norwegian nynorsk, the corresponding form is sittande. The concept is not unique to politics and can also apply to any situation where someone or something is currently occupying a position or seat, though in everyday language it is most common in formal or media contexts to refer to elected or appointed officeholders. When contrasting with former holders, verbs or adjectives such as tidlegare (earlier) or avgangande (outgoing) are typically used.