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 Norwegians, Norwegian politician, labour leader, government official and author. He served as Norwegian foreign minister during the critical years of the Nygaardsvold's Cabinet, N ...

. 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 National Police Directorate ( no, Politidirektoratet) a government agency subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security which heads the Norwegian Police Service The Norwegian Police Service ( no, Politi- og lensmannsetaten) is t ...

, 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 provide ...

. 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 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 Asbjørn Johan Bryhn (24 August 1906 – 21 January 1990) was a Norwegian police officer, known for his resistance work during World War II, and later head of the Norwegian Police Surveillance Agency. Personal life Bryhn was born in Drammen as th ...

* 1967–1982 : Gunnar Haarstad * 1982–1990 : Jostein Erstad * 1990–1991 : Svein Urdal * 1991–1993 :

Jan Grøndahl Jan Grøndahl (born 12 July 1934) is a Norwegian police chief and civil servant. He was born in Oslo, and took the cand.jur. degree. After spending the years 1972 to 1977 as chief of police in Sør-Varanger, he served as Governor of Svalbard from ...

(''acting'') * 1993–1996 : Hans Olav Østgaard * 1996–1997 :

Ellen Holager Andenæs Ellen Aimée Holager Andenæs (born 28 August 1947) is a Norwegian jurist. She was born in Oslo. She was a junior solicitor in the Norwegian Prosecuting Authority from 1982 to 1983, public prosecutor in Eidsivating Court of Appeal from 1983 to ...

(''acting'') * 1997–2003 :

Per Sefland Per Ottar Sefland (born 27 January 1949) is a previous Governor of Svalbard. He served from 1 October 2005 to 16 September 2009. Sefland was born in Evje, and his family later moved to Larvik. He married in 1972, and has two daughters. He is a ...

* 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 d ...

(''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 Janne Kristiansen (born 21 November 1952) is a Norwegian jurist. She was the first head of the Criminal Cases Review Commission from 2004 to 2009. and head of the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) from 2009 to 2012, a position from which she ...

* 2012 : Roger Berg (''acting'') * 2012–2019 :

Marie Benedicte Bjørnland Marie Benedicte Bjørnland (born 30 April 1965) is a Norwegian lawyer. She is the current Director of Police since 2019, and was the head of the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) from 2012 to 2019. She was born in Kristiansand and grew up ...

* 2019–2022: Hans Sverre Sjøvold * 2022- :

Beate Gangås Beate Gangås (born 24 April 1963) is a Norwegian police officer and civil servant. In 2019, she was appointed Oslo Chief of Police. She was born in Asker. In her younger days she played football for Asker. She graduated from the University of O ...

References

External links

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

{{Authority control 1937 establishments in Norway