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 the ...

, a state secretary ( no, statssekretær) is a partisan political position within the

executive branch of government The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ba ...

. Contrary to the position secretary of state in many other countries, a Norwegian state secretary does not head his or her ministry, rather, they are second in rank to a minister. Resembling a ''de facto'' vice minister, the state secretary, however, cannot attend a

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

, and does not act as a temporary minister in case of illness or other leave of absence.

Modern use

The modern state secretary institution was established in 1947, following a 78-41 vote in 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 ...

. The

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

and Communist parties voted for, whereas the Agrarian (Centre), Christian Democratic,

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, and

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 ...

parties voted against. The cabinet at that time was a single-party Labour cabinet led by

Einar Gerhardsen Einar Henry Gerhardsen (; 10 May 1897 – 19 September 1987) was a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party of Norway. He was the 22nd prime minister of Norway for three periods, 1945–1951, 1955–1963 and 1963–1965. With totally 17 years in ...

, and one state secretary was appointed seven of the ministries. State secretaries in the Office of the Prime Minister followed in 1956, having originally been known as Secretaries to the Prime Minister. When the

cabinet Lyng The Lyng Cabinet governed Norway between 28 August 1963 and 25 September 1963. It was the first in 28 years not to be led by the Norwegian Labour Party. It was a centre-right coalition government of the Conservative Party, Centre Party, Chris ...

(Conservative, Christian Democratic, Centre, Liberal) assumed office in August 1963, they appointed state secretaries in nearly all ministries, and when the

cabinet Korvald Korvald's Cabinet governed Norway between 18 October 1972 and 16 October 1973. The centre cabinet was led by Lars Korvald as Prime Minister and consisted of the Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political p ...

(Christian Democratic, Centre, Liberal) assumed office, it became the first cabinet to employ two state secretaries in one ministry. In 1968 the Conservative representative

Paul Thyness Paul Thyness (10 April 1930 in Aker, Norway – 30 March 2016 in Oslo) was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. In 1955 he graduated with the cand.philol. degree and majoring in political science at the University of Oslo. He was ...

, himself a former state secretary, had proposed a parliamentary resolution which requested the sitting cabinet to "take the function and status of State Secretary position into closer consideration." A public reporting committee convened in 1970; in 1971 Thyness became a member of this committee. In 1972, Thyness and fellow committee member Guttorm Hansen proposed four changes to the

Norwegian Constitution nb, Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov nn, Kongeriket Noregs Grunnlov , jurisdiction = Kingdom of Norway , date_created =10 April - 16 May 1814 , date_ratified =16 May 1814 , system =Constitutional monarchy , ...

in order to cement the state secretary position in Norwegian law. A

Norwegian Official Report A Norwegian Official Report ( no, Norges offentlige utredninger, NOU) is a report published by a panel or committee appointed by the Norwegian government. The Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the su ...

was also produced; in 1974 (NOU 1974: 18). In 1976 the constitutional change was passed, following a 146-9 parliamentary vote. The only party which opposed the change was the Anders Lange Party; its four representatives voted together with individuals from other parties. One proposal was scrapped, though; the idea that state secretaries should meet in parliamentary sessions, allowing for closer scrutiny of the

by the

legislative branch A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

. Originally, the position was typically given to external technical experts or young politicians with little or no prior experience as elected politicians. In 1980, a landmark was made as Helen Bøsterud became the first state secretary with prior experience in parliament. However, this is still not the rule. On the other hand, becoming a member of parliament or even minister after serving as a state secretary is common. Jan P. Syse (State Secretary 1970–1971) and

Kjell Magne Bondevik Kjell Magne Bondevik (; born 3 September 1947) is a Norwegian Lutheran minister and politician. As leader of the Christian Democratic Party, he served as the 33rd prime minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000, and from 2001 to 2005, making him, af ...

(State Secretary 1972–1973) would serve as

prime ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...

, and

Thorvald Stoltenberg Thorvald Stoltenberg (8 July 1931 – 13 July 2018) was a Norwegian politician and diplomat. He served as Minister of Defence from 1979 to 1981 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1987 to 1989 and again from 1990 to 1993 in two Labour governme ...

(State Secretary 1971–1972 and 1973–1979) and

Jonas Gahr Støre Jonas Gahr Støre (; born 25 August 1960) is a Norwegian politician who has served as the prime minister of Norway since 2021 and has been Leader of the Labour Party since 2014. He served under Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as Minister of For ...

(State Secretary 2000–2001) would serve as ministers of foreign affairs.

Historical use

The title ''state secretary'' was first used in 1814. While Norway was still a part of Denmark, in March 1814, Crown Prince Christian Frederick created a Government Council (''Regjeringsråd''), with a regular

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

who was titled Secretary to the Government (''Regjeringssekretær''). According to the Norwegian Constitution of May 1814, the name of the Government Council was changed to Council of State, the secretary position being renamed to the state secretary at the same time. The name remained until 1925, when it was changed to Secretary to the Council of State (''Statsrådsekretær''). Following restructuring in 1969 and 1987, the position were transformed into a civil servant position in the Office of the Prime Minister, and is today known as Secretary to the Government (''Regjeringsråd'').

List of current state secretaries

This is a list of the state secretaries in Støre's Cabinet. Unless otherwise noted, the term started on 14 October 2021.

References

{{Reflist Politics of Norway Government of Norway *