Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes (born 4 June 1975 in Tromsø) is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party. He has been the party’s deputy leader since 2019 and an MP for Troms since 2013.

Early life

Fylkenes was born in Tromsø, but spent two years of his childhood in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

from 1983 to 1985. He has been communications advisor for Norwegian Nurses Organisation and communications leader for the Norwegian technology council.

Political career

Parliament

Fylkesnes was elected as a deputy member to 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 ...

in the 2001 election, which he was for only one term. He was later elected a regular member in the 2013 election and has won re-election since. In parliament, he was a member of the

Standing Committee on Education, Research and Church Affairs The Standing Committee on Education and Church Affairs ( no, Kirke, utdannings- og forskningskomiteen) is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating to education, research and church affairs. It corres ...

from 2013 until December 2015 when he moved to the Committee on Business and Industry.

Deputy leader

On 30 March 2019, he was elected deputy leader of the Socialist Left Party, succeeding

Snorre Valen Snorre Serigstad Valen (born 16 September 1984 in Oslo) is a Norwegian journalist, musician and former politician from the Socialist Left Party. He served as an MP in the Storting from Sør-Trøndelag from 2009 to 2017, and deputy leader of th ...

. He won with 108 votes against 100 for his opponent,

Kari Elisabeth Kaski Kari Elisabeth Kaski (born 12 July 1987) is a Norwegian politician. A member of the Socialist Left Party, she has been an MP for Oslo since 2017, and the second vice chair of the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs since 2021. P ...

. Few days before the 2021 election, ''

Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 million ...

'' revealed that Fylkesnes had owned a parliamentary apartment for free while also owning and renting an apartment in Oslo since 2013. He stated that he wasn't concerned how the ownership of the Oslo apartment would effect his economic status. He also argued that being an MP in an uncertain job, and that he wanted a place for his family to live, which is why they wished to keep the apartment. Fylkesnes joined the Socialist Left Party's negotiating team to form a new government on 27 September 2021 in

Hurdal Hurdal is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hurdal. Hurdal is located about north of Oslo, along the lake Hurda ...

. He vowed to contribute effectively, "take quick decisions and whatever it takes". Following his party's withdrawal from government negotiations on 29 September, Fylkesnes was appointed to head a negotiation unit in the Storting. In August 2022, he was open to his party withdrawing their cooperation with the Støre government on the state budget for 2023 if they went ahead with an electricity support package to the business industry. After

Audun Lysbakken Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken (born 30 September 1977) is a Norwegian politician and the current leader of the Norwegian Socialist Left Party (Norway), Socialist Left Party. His career in national politics began when he was elected to the Norwegian par ...

announced that he would not be seeking re-election as leader, Fylkesnes was floated as a possible contender to succeed him, alongside

Kirsti Bergstø Kirsti Bergstø (born 1 July 1981) is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party (Norway), Socialist Left Party. She has served as one of the party's deputy leaders since 2017. Personal life Bergstø was born in Rana, Norway, Rana in ...

and

References

Socialist Left Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting Troms politicians 1975 births Living people 21st-century Norwegian politicians {{Norway-politician-1970s-stub