Kjell-Børge Freiberg (born 27 April 1971) is a Norwegian politician for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, formerly for the Progress Party who served as Minister of Petroleum and Energy from 2018 to 2019. He was also an MP for

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

from 2017 to 2021 and mayor of

Hadsel Hadsel ( sme, Válafierda) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Stokmarknes. Other villages in Hadsel include Fiskebøl, ...

from 2007 to 2015.

Career

Freiberg served as the mayor of

from 2007 to 2015. Shortly after the end of his term as mayor, he was appointed as a State Secretary in the

Ministry of Petroleum and Energy The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy ( no, Olje- og energidepartementet) is a Norwegian ministry responsible for energy, including petroleum and natural gas production in the North Sea. It is led by Minister of Petroleum and Energy ...

. He held the position from October 2015 to June 2017, when he was replaced in a state Secretary reshuffle. Following the 2017 election, he was elected as a representative to the

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 ...

from

. Freiberg sought re-election for the 2021 election, but lost the nomination to

Dagfinn Olsen Dagfinn Olsen is a Norwegian orienteering competitor. He won a bronze medal in the ''relay'' event at the 1966 World Orienteering Championships in Fiskars together with Ola Skarholt, Åge Hadler Åge Hadler (born 14 August 1944) is a Norwegi ...

in February 2021. On 25 November 2021, Freiberg was excluded from his party after having allegedly leaked an internal document to ''

Dagens Næringsliv ''Dagens Næringsliv'' (Norwegian for "Today's Business"), commonly known as ''DN'', is a Norwegian newspaper specializing in business news. , it is the third-largest newspaper in Norway. Editor-in-chief is Janne Johannessen, who was appointed i ...

''. The document is said to have contained information of an investigation into Nordland Progress Party leader

for having allegedly breached party guidelines. Freiberg didn't protest the exclusion and thanked for the journey he had in the party. In January 2023, he joined the

and stood to become the Hadsel Conservatives' mayoral candidate in the 2023 local elections.

Minister of Petroleum and Energy

Freiberg was appointed minister of petroleum and energy on 31 August 2018 following a minor reshuffle after

Terje Søviknes Terje Søviknes (born 28 February 1969) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party (Norway), Progress Party who has served as the Minister of Petroleum and Energy from December 2016 to August 2018. From December 2019 to January 2020 he serve ...

and

Ketil Solvik-Olsen Ketil Solvik-Olsen (born 14 February 1972) is a Norwegian politician of the Progress Party who has served as the party's first deputy leader since 2021. He also served as Minister of Transport and Communications from 2013 to 2018 and as the part ...

resigned.Dagbladet.no> In September 2018, after nearly a month in office, Freiberg wrote a debate post in iTromsø, where he expressed that he wanted the country to think long term when it came to the petroleum industry. He also stressed that the government would follow the Paris agreement closely and strengthen the competitive industry.

References

1971 births Living people People from Hadsel Progress Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian state secretaries Members of the Storting Mayors of places in Nordland Petroleum and energy ministers of Norway {{Norway-politician-1970s-stub