Erlend Wiborg (born 20 January 1984) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party. He served as deputy mayor of Moss from 2011 to 2013, when he was elected as an MP for Østfold. He has previously served as deputy MP from 2005 to 2013. In parliament, Wiborg served as the first vice chair of the

Standing Committee on Labour and Social Affairs The Standing Committee on Labour and Social Affairs ( no, Arbeids- og sosialkomiteen) is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in ...

from 2013 to 2017, before chairing the committee until 2021.

Political career

Local politics

He has been a member of the

Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ...

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 ...

and the Østfold

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

from 2003 to 2011. He also served as deputy mayor of

from 2011 to 2013. In March 2013, he notably said that the

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...

flag should not be raised during

Constitution Day Constitution Day is a holiday to honour the constitution of a country. Constitution Day is often celebrated on the anniversary of the signing, promulgation or adoption of the constitution, or in some cases, to commemorate the change to constitut ...

celebrations, and that only the Norwegian flag should. He did however acknowledge that the Sami flag should be raised on other occasions. He was criticized by the President of the Sami Parliament, Egil Olli, who said the Wiborg fell in the line of "Progress Party politicians who do not understand Norwegian history. It does not come as a surprise that they don't own any knowledge". Olli further called Wiborg's proposal "historyless".

Parliament

Wiborg was elected to the

Norwegian parliament 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

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden ( Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other s ...

in 2013, and previously served as a deputy representative from 2005 to 2013. He served as the first deputy chair of the

from 2013 to 2017 and chair of the same committee from 2017 to 2021. In March 2019, he expressed that 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 ...

should display the Norwegian flag in the Storting chamber, further saying he would act further upon the matter. He is said to have drawn inspiration from other national parliaments that flag their flags in their respective chambers, notably recently

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, who started this practise in 2017.

President of 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 ...

Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen (born 23 February 1966) is a Norwegian politician from the Conservative Party who is a member of the Storting for Akershus since 2013 and served as the President of the Storting from 2018 to 2021. Personal life She is m ...

said that the matter would be treated normally by the Storting presidency. In early December 2019, he expressed that

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

should be given the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...

, given that their main goal is to work to secure peace. He acknowledged that despite that NATO has gone to war before, he deemed it a necessity, and further expressed understanding that his NATO nomination could be a controversial choice. In September 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Norway The COVID-19 pandemic in Norway has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. On 26 February 2020, the virus was confirmed to have spread to Norway. The number of cases increased rapidly during the month of March, prompting a num ...

, he expressed expectations that both parts in the then ongoing bus strike to end the strike. He also criticized the strike, saying it was irresponsible to strike in the midst of the pandemic. On 9 April 2021, the 81st anniversary of the

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

, he supported

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

MP Lene Westgaard-Halle in her criticism of former Swedish prime minister

Carl Bildt Nils Daniel Carl Bildt (born 15 July 1949) is a Swedish politician and diplomat who was Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994. He was the leader of the Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999. Bildt served as Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affair ...

's tweet that Swedish defence forces were stronger than those of Norway and Denmark. Wiborg tweeted: "Do you think this is an appropriate tweet on the anniversary of your neighbor's invasion? I think

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

summed up your country's participation in the war pretty well".

Party politics

After

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 par ...

announced in March 2023 that he would be stepping down at the April convention; Wiborg was mentioned as a possible candidate to succeed him. He thanked those who had mentioned him as a candidate, but noted that he had to consult with his family before deciding to stand.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiborg, Erlend 1984 births Living people People from Moss, Norway Deputy members of the Storting Progress Party (Norway) politicians Østfold politicians 21st-century Norwegian politicians