| Jens Stoltenberg | |
| |
| Prime Minister of Norway | |
| Assumed office: October 17, 2005 | |
| Monarch: | Harald V |
| Cabinet: | Stoltenberg II |
| Preceded by: | Kjell Magne Bondevik |
| In office: March 3, 2000 – October 19, 2001 | |
| Monarch: | Harald V |
| Cabinet: | Stoltenberg I |
| Preceded by: | Kjell Magne Bondevik |
| Succeeded by: | Kjell Magne Bondevik |
| Biography | |
| Born: | March 16, 1959 (age 49) Oslo, Norway |
| Nationality: | Norwegian |
| Political party: | Det norske arbeiderparti (DNA) |
| Spouse: | Ingrid Schulerud |
| Children: | Two |
| Alma mater: | University of Oslo |
| Profession: | Economist, politician |
| Signature: | 
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Jens Stoltenberg (born March 16, 1959) is the Prime Minister of Norway. He took office in October of 2005; he was previously Prime Minister from 2000 to 2001. He has also been the leader of the Norwegian Labour Party since 2002. He has been a Member of Parliament from Oslo since 1993.
Early life and education
Jens Stoltenberg was born on March 16, 1959 in Oslo, Norway. Stoltenberg grew up in a political family. His father, Thorvald Stoltenberg, is one of the most prominent politicians in Norway and a former Foreign Minister; his mother Karin Stoltenberg was a junior minister. The late Marianne Heiberg, married to former Foreign Minister Johan Jørgen Holst, was his aunt on his mother's side.
He belongs to the Stoltenberg family which emigrated to Norway in the 17th century, from the North German village of Stoltenberg in Schleswig-Holstein (the Duchies were then in a personal union with the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway).
He was raised in the Waldorf Education system as formulated by Rudolf Steiner, and educated at the Oslo katedralskole and the University of Oslo.
Early political career
Stoltenberg was the leader of the Workers' Youth League (Arbeidernes Ungdomsfylking, AUF) between 1985 and 1989 and the Oslo chapter of the Labour Party between 1990 and 1992. In 1985 he was elected into the central board of the Labour Party, and was appointed the deputy party chairman in 1992. He was the vice president of the Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) between 1985 and 1989.
Jens Stoltenberg was part-time journalist on the national daily Arbeiderbladet 1979-1981, information secretary at Oslo Labour Party 1981, executive officer at Statistics Norway 1989-1990 and lectured in economics at the University of Oslo 1989-1990.
Member of the Storting
Stoltenberg was elected into the Norwegian parliament (Stortinget) for the first time in 1993, after being a deputy member of the Storting 1989-1993 and a regular attendee from 1991. He was Labour’s parliamentary leader at the change of government (February and March 2000 and between 2001 and 2005), member of the Storting’s standing committee on social affairs 1991-1993, leader of the standing committee on oil and energy affairs 1997-2000 and member of the standing committee on foreign affairs 2001-2005.
He was deputy minister (statssekretær) in the Department of the Environment from 1990 to 1991 and Minister of Industry from 1993 to 1996 under Gro Harlem Brundtland’s third government, and Minister of Finance from 1996 to 1997 in Thorbjørn Jagland’s government.
Stoltenberg is also the leader of the Labor Party, an office he took over after Thorbjørn Jagland in November 2002 after having been first deputy since 1992.
First term as Prime Minister (2000–2001)
In 2000 the first cabinet of Bondevik resignated following a motion of confidence. Stoltenberg's first cabinet governed Norway from 17 March 2000 to 19 October 2001. Stoltenberg was the deputy leader of the labor party while Jagland was the party leader. Instead Jagland was given the post as Foreign Minister. Again, Jagland made national headlines similar to the publicity about "The Norwegian House" and "36.9%", this time for the phrase "Bongo from Congo", originally coined as an internal joke in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the expense of the President of Gabon, Omar Bongo. Stoltenberg's first tenure as Prime Minister (2000–2001) was controversial within his own party, being responsible for reforms and modernisation of the welfare state that included part-privatising several key state-owned services and corporations. In the parliamentary election of 10 September 2001, the party suffered one of its worst results ever, winning only 24% of the vote.
The 2001 election meet with instability for the labour party, because of the voters unhappiness with lack of nursery schools, retirement homes and a declining standard of public education in Norway. The Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet stated: "we are heading for a political earthquake when the votes are counted tonight, if we believe opinion polls." In an interview with The Associated Press Jagland stated "It is unstable and unpredictable." After the election in 2001, Stoltenberg and his cabinet was forced to resign, with the labor party suffering from its worst election campaign results since 1924. With the 98% votes taken, the Labor Party only garned 24%, falling from 35% percentage. Jagland the party leader of the labor party commented the results stating "We will have to make a decision about whether to continue in government after we know the full results". After the election Stoltenberg stated "What is clear is that this was a very bad election."
Power Struggle
The disastrous results of 2001 were quickly followed by a bitter leadership battle between Jagland and Stoltenberg. In 2002 Jagland was replaced as party leader by Stoltenberg. This didn't come as a suprise for many in the labor party. However, before any voting took place Jagland relinquished the post and gave it Stoltenberg. Because Jagland had recently been hospitalized due to general health problems, and had moreover felt "responsibility to end this destructive personal strife". The power struggle ended up with Stoltenberg becoming the new labor party leader in Norway.
Second term as Prime Minister (2005 – )
Stoltenberg's second cabinet has governed Norway since 17 October 2005. The 2005 parliamentary election saw a vast improvement for Labour, and the party gained a majority in parliament together with the other "Red-Green" parties, the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party. This paved the way for a historic first in Norway, with Labour joining in a coalition government, the Red-Green Coalition. Stoltenberg became Prime Minister for the second time on 17 October 2005. Since the election Stoltenberg’s cabinet has been hit by some scandals, and the Government has been far behind the opposition in most opinion polls. However, Mr. Stoltenberg's personal approval ratings have remained high throughout the term. The next General Election is due in September 2009.
War on Terrorism
Blasphemy paragraph controversy
On February 4, 2009 the chairwoman of the Centre Party, Liv Signe Navarsete, announced that they would withdraw the suggestion of the new addition to the Racism paragraph in the new penalty law due to be introduced in 2011. Despite the withdrawal, the "Red-Green coalition parties dropped sharply in the opinion polls, and is now heading for a defeat in the next General Election due in September 2009.
Personal life
Stoltenberg is married to the diplomat Ingrid Schulerud and has two children.
He likes to spend his summer vacations on the Hvaler Islands in the Oslo fjord. He has two sisters, Camilla who is one year older than him, she is a medical reseacher and administrator, and Nini who is four years younger. She is a recovering heroin addict and the family has been portrayed in Norwegian mass media on their struggles to cope with this problem.
See also
| Political offices | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| File:Coat of Arms of Norway.png | Preceded by: Kjell Magne Bondevik (KrF) |
Prime Minister of Norway 2005 – present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by: Kjell Magne Bondevik (KrF) |
Prime Minister of Norway 2000 – 2001 |
Succeeded by: Kjell Magne Bondevik (KrF) | |
| Preceded by: Sigbjørn Johnsen (Ap) |
Minister of Finance and Customs of Norway 1996 – 1997 |
Succeeded by: Gudmund Restad (Sp) | |
| Preceded by: Finn Kristensen (Ap) |
Minister of Trade and Energy of Norway 1993 – 1996 |
Succeeded by: Grete Knudsen (Ap) | |
| Party political offices | |||
| File:Arbeiderpartiet (Ap) Logo.png | Preceded by: Torbjørn Jagland |
Leader of the Norwegian Labour Party 2002 – present |
Incumbent |
|
Preceded by: Egil Knudsen |
Leader of the Workers' Youth League 1985 – 1989 |
Succeeded by: Turid Birkeland |
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