The Norwegian Police Security Service (, ) is the police

security agency A security agency is a governmental organization that conducts intelligence activities for the internal security of a nation. They are the domestic cousins of foreign intelligence agencies, and typically conduct counterintelligence to thwart other ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The agency was previously known as ''POT'' (' or Police Surveillance Agency), the name change was decided by the

Parliament of Norway 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 ...

on 2 June 2001.

History and organization

The service was established in 1937 by direction of the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

led by

Trygve Lie Trygve Halvdan Lie ( , ; 16 July 1896 – 30 December 1968) was a Norwegian politician, labour leader, government official and author. He served as Norwegian foreign minister during the critical years of the Norwegian government in exile in Lo ...

. It is responsible for monitoring and maintaining interior security in Norway. Known operational departments include ''counterintelligence unit'', ''counterterrorism unit'', ''counterproliferation and organized crime unit'', ''counterextremism unit'', ''investigation unit'', ''surveillance unit'', ''technology unit'', ''security analysis unit'' and ''foreign citizens unit''. In addition, PST is in charge of all VIP protection domestically and abroad except for the royal family, which has its own independent escort service. PST is, unlike all ordinary police services, not a part of the National Police Directorate, but placed directly under the

Ministry of Justice and Public Security The Royal Ministry of Justice and Public Security ( no, Det kongelige justis- og beredskapsdepartement) is a Norwegian government ministry that oversees justice, the police, and domestic intelligence. The main purpose of the ministry is to provid ...

. The agency is monitored by the

Norwegian Parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Committee Parliament's Intelligence Oversight Committee ( no, Stortingets kontrollutvalg for etterretnings-, overvåkings- og sikkerhetstjeneste), commonly known as the EOS Committee ( no, EOS-utvalget) is Norway's body responsible for supervising public int ...

, after the debates concerning the

Lund Report The Lund Report (Official title: "Dokument nr. 15 (1995-96) - Rapport til Stortinget fra kommisjonen som ble nedsatt av Stortinget for å granske påstander om ulovlig overvåking av norske borgere", in English: "Document no. 15 (1995-96) - Repor ...

. The organization consists of ' (central unit) which is located in

Nydalen Nydalen is a neighbourhood in the Nordre Aker borough in northern Oslo, Norway. History In the late 19th century, the banks of the Akerselva River were dotted with various industrial buildings, Nydalen included. However, a transformation soon ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, as well as regional offices in all the police regions.

Directors

This is a list of the directors of the agency. * 1957–1966 : Asbjørn Bryhn * 1967–1982 :

Gunnar Haarstad Gunnar Haarstad (12 November 1916 – 13 April 1992) was a Norwegian jurist and police officer, a resistance member during World War II, and later head of the Norwegian Police Security Service, Norwegian Police Surveillance Agency for fifteen ye ...

* 1982–1990 :

Jostein Erstad Jostein Einar Erstad (27 May 1922 – 2 July 2011) was a Norwegian jurist. He was born in Skodje. He was a police superintendent in Oslo from 1962 to 1966, teacher at the Norwegian Police Academy from 1966 to 1971, public prosecutor in Eidsivatin ...

* 1990–1991 : Svein Urdal * 1991–1993 : Jan Grøndahl (''acting'') * 1993–1996 : Hans Olav Østgaard * 1996–1997 : Ellen Holager Andenæs (''acting'') * 1997–2003 : Per Sefland * 2003–2004 :

Arnstein Øverkil Arnstein Øverkil (29 March 1937 – 27 February 2014) was a Norwegian police chief and civil servant. He was born in Hegra, and from 1985 to 2002 he was the chief of police in Asker and Bærum Police District. In 2003 he was appointed as acting ...

(''acting'') * 2004–2009 :

Jørn Holme Jørn Holme (born 16 August 1959) is a Norwegian judge and civil servant. He grew up at Nordberg, and originally wanted to become a priest. He was active in the Norwegian Christian Student Association while studying. He graduated with the cand. ...

* 2009 : Roger Berg (''acting'') * 2009–2012 : Janne Kristiansen * 2012 : Roger Berg (''acting'') * 2012–2019 : Marie Benedicte Bjørnland * 2019–2022:

Hans Sverre Sjøvold Hans Sverre Sjøvold (born 20 August 1957) is a Norwegian civil servant and former police chief. In 2022, he resigned as chief of Norwegian Police Security Service.https://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/i/x8owll/sjoevold-gaar-av-som-pst-sjef. Verden ...

* 2022- : Beate Gangås

References

External links

Official website
(in Norwegian)
Instruction for the Norwegian Police Security Service
(in Norwegian)

{{Authority control 1937 establishments in Norway