Bjarne Håkon Hanssen (born 1 November 1962) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

politician of the Labour Party who served Minister of Health and Social Care Services from 2008 to 2009, Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion from 2005 to 2008 and Minister of Agriculture from 2000 to 2001. On 8 October 2009 Hansen announced that he would step down as a minister when Stoltenberg's reshuffled cabinet would be put together. As a minister he was both liked for his down to earth attitude, but also received much criticism for statements like “People on benefit must get up in the morning”. He was also member of Parliament from 1997 to 2009 and county mayor of Nord-Trøndelag from 1995 to 1997.

Biography

Hanssen graduated from Namsos Upper Secondary School in 1981 and from Levanger Teacher College in 1985. He worked within the psychiatric services before becoming administrative chief for Fosen municipality in 1989. He was first elected to the Nord-Trøndelag county council in 1983. In 1995 he was elected County Mayor, but was then elected to

Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

two years later. In 2000 he was appointed Minister of Agriculture, serving until 2001. He became Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion in 2005; in June 2008 he was moved to the post of Minister of Health. He held said post until he announced that he would not stand for re-election in the 2009 and election and subsequently step down as minister.

References

* 1962 births Living people Labour Party (Norway) politicians Government ministers of Norway Ministers of Agriculture and Food of Norway Ministers of Health and Care Services of Norway Members of the Storting Politicians from Nord-Trøndelag People from Namsos 21st-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians {{Norway-politician-stub