Ulf Isak Leirstein (born 30 June 1973) is a Norwegian politician, formerly for the Progress Party and then

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

, and a member 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 ...

from 2005 to 2021. He left the party after it was revealed that he had sent pornographic pictures to a mailing list belonging to the Progress Party's youth wing.

Biography

Leirstein was born in

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neig ...

. He was 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 from 1991 to 2007, and from 1995 to 2007 simultaneously of the

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 ...

county council. He was chairman of the Progress Party's Youth from 1994 to 1995, and served as

deputy mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments. Duties and functions Many elected depu ...

of Moss from 1999 to 2003. From 1996 to 2003, he worked as project leader at Standards Norway (formerly Norwegian Technology Centre). He was the leader of the School Committee of Moss from 1995 to 2003, and

lay judge A lay judge, sometimes called a lay assessor, is a person assisting a judge in a trial. Lay judges are used in some civil law jurisdictions. Lay judges are appointed volunteers and often require some legal instruction. However, they are not permane ...

of the Moss District Court from 1995 to 2005. He has held board positions in several organisations and businesses, and has been a board member of the Port of Moss since 2015. He was a member of the Progress Party's central board from 2003 until 2011. In 2005, Leirstein was elected to the Storting (Norwegian parliament) from

, after having served as a deputy representative since 2001. He was re-elected to the Storting in 2009 and in 2013. He served as first deputy chair of the

Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs The Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs ( no, Finanskomiteen) is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating to economic policy, monetary and credit policy, the financial and credit system ...

from 2005 to 2011, and since 2015 he has been first deputy leader of the Progress Party's parliamentary group. From October 2017 until January 2018, he was a member of the

Standing Committee on Justice The Standing Committee on Justice ( no, Justiskomiteen) is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating to judicial system, the probation service, the police, persons performing civilian national service ...

. In January 2018, Leirstein withdrew from all his political positions and his membership of the Standing Committee on Justice after it was revealed that he had sent multiple emails containing pornographic images and videos to members of the Progress Party's Youth; the youngest recipient, being only 14, was below the

age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally cla ...

at the time. It was also revealed that Leirstein had discussed inviting another underage member of Progress Party's Youth to a

threesome In human sexuality, a threesome is commonly understood as "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". Though ''threesome'' most commonly refers to sexu ...

with a female member of the Progress Party. He would continue in Parliament throughout his term to 2021, moving over to the

Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs The Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs ( no, Kontroll- og konstitusjonskomiteen) is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of No ...

. He resigned his party membership on 26 April 2019, continuing as an

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leirstein, Ulf Isak 1973 births Living people People from Sarpsborg People from Moss, Norway Progress Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian Christians Members of the Storting 21st-century Norwegian politicians