Bente Angell-Hansen (born 15 December 1951) is a Norwegian former diplomat who served as President of the
EFTA Surveillance Authority
The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) monitors compliance with the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway; the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) States which are a part of the EEA Agreement, allowin ...
(ESA). She served as Secretary-General of the Norwegian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
from 2011 to 2014. Before going to the EFTA Surveillance Authority, she was Norway's Ambassador to Austria and Head of the Norwegian Mission to the United Nations in Vienna.
Early life and education
Angell-Hansen holds a
cand.polit. Candidate (Latin ''candidatus'' or ''candidata'') is the name of various academic degrees, chiefly in Scandinavia, the Soviet Union, the Netherlands and Belgium. In Scandinavia, it is a higher professional-level degree usually corresponding to 5– ...
degree in political science.
Career
Angell-Hansen started working for the
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Norwegian (Bokmål): ''Det kongelige utenriksdepartement''; Norwegian (Nynorsk): ''Det kongelege utanriksdepartement'') is the foreign ministry of the Kingdom of Norway. It was established on June ...
in 1982. She was a deputy under-secretary of state in the
Norwegian Office of the Prime Minister
The Norwegian Office of the Prime Minister (, abbreviated SMK) is a cabinet department that assists the Cabinet of Norway and the Prime Minister of Norway in the leadership of the Cabinet and Government. It has since 2021 been led by Prime Minis ...
from 2000 to 2005, served as the Norwegian ambassador to
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
from 2005 to 2007, and to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
from 2008.
Since 2022, Angell-Hansen has been co-chairing – alongside
Joy Phumaphi
The word joy refers to the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune, and is typically associated with feelings of intense, long lasting happiness.
Dictionary definitions
Dictionary definitions of joy typically include a sense of ...
– the joint
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
/
WHO Global Preparedness Monitoring Board The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (abbreviated GPMB) is a joint arm of the WHO and the World Bank.Norges 100 mektigste kvinner '' Kapital'', via '' Hegnar Online'', retrieved 14 April 2013 In 2012, the magazine ''Stat & Styring'' named her as the sixth most powerful civil servant of the Norwegian stateErling Fossen Statens mektigste 2012 ''Stat & Styring'', 12 December 2012 and the magazine ''Kapital'' named her as Norway's tenth most powerful woman.