Karita Bekkemellem (born 15 January 1965 in Lillehammer) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. She belongs to the Norwegian Labour Party, where she leads the women's network. Karita Bekkemellem was the

Minister of Children and Families The Minister of Children and Families ( no, Barne- og familieministeren, se, mánáid- ja bearašministtar) is a Councilor of State and Chief of Norway's Ministry of Children and Family Affairs. Since 14 October 2021, Kjersti Toppe has held the ...

in Jens Stoltenberg's short-lived 2000-2001 cabinet, and also Minister of Children and Equality Affairs in the

second cabinet Stoltenberg Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet was the Government of Norway from 17 October 2005 to 16 October 2013. It was a coalition between the Labour Party, the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party, known as the Red–Green Coalition. On 9 Septembe ...

from 2005 to 2007. She is in her fifth period of representing the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of Møre og Romsdal. In the period from 2001 to 2005 she served as faction leader in the committee for church, education and research affairs. Her autobiography ''Mitt røde hjerte'' (My Red Heart) was published in 2009. In this book, Bekkemellem described the circumstances surrounding her departure from the cabinet in 2007. She also described her childhood where her father had accidentally killed a girlfriend and turned to alcohol. She also wrote about her survival of a suicide attempt in 1992. It was also revealed that she in 1983, when she was 18, had voted for the right-wing Progress Party, though this was apparently based more on her liking of the politician Lodve Solholm than the actual politics of the party.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bekkemellem, Karita Ministers of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion of Norway 1965 births Living people Labour Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting Women members of the Storting Ministers for children, young people and families 21st-century Norwegian politicians 21st-century Norwegian women politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century Norwegian women politicians Women government ministers of Norway