Lubna Boby Jaffery (born 2 April 1980) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She has served as minister of culture and equality since 2023 and a deputy member of

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

for

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

since 2009. She previously served as Bergen city commissioner for labour, social affairs, and housing from 2019 to 2021.

Early life and education

Born in Norway to parents of Pakistani origin she grew up in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

. She took her secondary education in

Åsane Åsane is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough makes up the northern part of the city, north of the city centre. Åsane is connected to downtown Bergen by the E16/ E39 highway. The E16 highway continues on t ...

in 1999, and at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

she took the

cand.mag. Candidatus magisterii (male), or candidata magisterii (female), abbreviated as cand.mag., is an academic degree currently awarded in Denmark. The degree is officially translated into English as Master of Arts and currently requires 5 years of stud ...

degree in 2004 and the master's degree in 2007.

Political career

Youth league

She was an adviser in the Workers' Youth League in 2000, before becoming a central board member from 2000 to 2004. She had previously chaired the county branch from 1998 to 1999.

Local politics

Jaffery was a member of the Bergen city council from 1999 to 2003 and

Fjell Fjell is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Midhordland. The municipality consisted of several islands west of the city of Bergen, the major ones being Litlesotra, the northern ...

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

from 2003 to 2007. In 2019, she was appointed Bergen City Commissioner for Labour, Social Affairs and Housing in the Roger Valhammer city government. She resigned from this position when she was promoted to permanent representative in the Storting to cover the duties of Marte Mjøs Persen. She was succeeded by Ruth Grung as city commissioner.

Government

In 2008, Jaffery was appointed as a political advisor in the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion. From March to October 2009 she was a political advisor in the

Minister of Health and Care Services The Minister of Health and Care Services ( no, Helse- og omsorgsministeren) is a councilor of state and chief of the Norway's Ministry of Health and Care Services. Since 14 October 2021 the position has been held by Ingvild Kjerkol of the Labour ...

. From 2009 to 2012 she was a State Secretary in the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) *Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

as a part of Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet.

Parliament

Jaffery has been a deputy representative in the Storting since 2009, having been re-elected since. In 2021, she was promoted to full member, covering for Marte Mjøs Persen after she was appointed to the Støre Cabinet. In the Storting, she sat as a member of the Standing Committee on Health and Care Services in 2021, before being moved to the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs, where she also became first vice chair.

Minister of Culture and Equality

Jaffery was appointed minister of culture and equality on 28 June 2023 following Anette Trettebergstuen's resignation due to impartiality issues. In July, she attended the Moldejazz music festival, and in commemoration of the 12th anniversary of the

2011 Norway attacks The 2011 Norway attacks, referred to in Norway as 22 July ( no, 22. juli) or as 22/7, were two domestic terrorist attacks by neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik against the government, the civilian population, and a Workers' Youth League (AUF) ...

, called for action against outsiderness and extremism, and to secure local communities. A day before the 2024 state budget was presented, Jaffery confirmed that the government would be allocating 10 million NOK to combat sports poverty for children youths in what the government designated as an "ambitious" action plan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffery, Lubna 1980 births Living people University of Bergen alumni Politicians from Bergen Labour Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian state secretaries Norwegian women state secretaries Members of the Storting Norwegian people of Pakistani descent Women members of the Storting 21st-century Norwegian politicians