The Minister of International Development ( no, Bistands- og utviklingsministeren) is a councillor of state and the chief of the international development portfolio of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

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 ministry was responsible for the foreign service, the country's international interests and foreign policy. Most of the ministry's portfolio is subordinate to the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

. The prime operating agency for international development is the

Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) is a directorate under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In matters regarding Norway's International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), Norad reports to the Norwegian Ministry ...

. The position has been held by ten people representing five parties. The position was created with the appointment of Willoch's Second Cabinet on 8 June 1983, with Reidun Brusletten of the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

appointed the first minister. From 1 January 1984 to 31 December 1989, the minister had their own ministry, the

Ministry of Development Cooperation The Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation ( nl, Minister voor Buitenlandse Handel en Ontwikkelingssamenwerking) is a Minister without Portfolio in the Netherlands. The officeholder, who is a member of the Cabinet and the Counci ...

. Eleven people from four parties had held the position, with

Hilde Frafjord Johnson Hilde Frafjord Johnson (born 29 August 1963 in Arusha, Tanganyika) is a Norwegian politician from the Christian Democratic Party. She is a former Minister of International Development of Norway, and member of the Norwegian Government. She most ...

of the Christian Democratic Party being the only to have held it twice.

Erik Solheim Erik Solheim (born 18 January 1955) is a Norwegian diplomat and former politician. He served in the Norwegian government from 2005 to 2012 as Minister of International Development and Minister of the Environment, and as Under-Secretary-General of ...

of the Socialist Left Party has sat the longest, for six and a half years. Solheim also acted as

Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...

from 18 October 2007 to his retirement. Heikki Holmås of the Socialist Left Party, who was appointed on 23 March 2012, became the last Minister of International Development when

Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet 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 September ...

resigned on 16 October 2013. In

Solberg's Cabinet The Solberg Cabinet was the government of the Kingdom of Norway, headed by Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg as Prime Minister from 16 October 2013 to 14 October 2021. The government was appointed by King Harald V on 16 October 2013 followin ...

, issues related to international development were transferred to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The position was re-established in 2018 after the Liberal Party joined the Solberg Cabinet.

Key

The following lists the minister, their party, date of assuming and leaving office, their tenure in years and days, and the cabinet they served in.

Ministers

References

{{Ministers of Norway

International Development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic or human development on an international scale. It is the basis for international classifications ...

1983 establishments in Norway 2013 disestablishments in Norway