Åsmund Grøver Aukrust (born 28 February 1985) is a Norwegian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

for the Labour Party. He is member of Parliament from Akershus county, first elected at the Norwegian parliament election in 2013. He was the deputy leader of the Workers' Youth League (AUF) from 2010 to 2014. He was also deputy member of the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) 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 based on party-list proportional represe ...

for the term 2009–2013.

Early life and education

Aukrust was born in

Bærum Bærum () is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Akershus County, Norway. It forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a populatio ...

. He studied at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

receiving a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. He currently resides in Oslo.

Political career

Local politics

He was elected to the

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

in 2005.

Youth politics

He served as deputy leader of the Workers' Youth League from 2010 to 2014. He originally ran for the leadership, but narrowly lost the vote to

Eskil Pedersen Eskil Pedersen (born 6 March 1984 in Skien) is a Norwegian politician and former leader of the Workers' Youth League (AUF) from 2010 to 2014, the youth organisation associated with Norway's leading Labour Party. Pedersen survived the massac ...

in a closely contested race, although the election committee overwhelmingly favored him. On 25 April 2011, he was elected vice president of the

International Union of Socialist Youth The International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) is an international youth labour organization, whose activities include publications, supporting member organizations and organization of meetings. Originally named the Socialist Youth Internatio ...

. He was appointed as political advisor to the Minister of Culture

Anniken Huitfeldt Anniken Scharning Huitfeldt (born 29 November 1969) is a Norwegian historian and politician for the Labour Party (Norway), Labour Party. She has served as the Norwegian Ambassador to the United States since 2024. She previously held several mini ...

in November 2011.

Parliament

Aukrust was elected as a deputy member of the

Storting The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The Unicameralism, unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list propo ...

in 2009, holding the position until 2013. He has also been active in campaigning against Norwegian membership in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

through the organization

No to the EU No to the EU (NTEU) () is a Norwegian nonpartisan political organization opposed to Norwegian accession to the European Union. Formed in 1990, No to the EU successfully campaigned against EU membership in the 1994 referendum on the issue throug ...

. At the official unveiling ceremony of the new cabinet after the 2009 elections, Aukrust caused a stir when he suddenly appeared among the ministers. Aukrust explained that he was merely trying to hand out flowers to the cabinet member who was opposed to EU membership. Ahead of the 2013 election the Labour Party announced that Aukrust was nominated for the fourth seat in Akershus county. Analysts considered the seat to be safe for the Labour Party. He was subsequently elected to the seat. He was re-elected in 2017 and 2021. On 23 March 2022, he and

Lene Vågslid Lene Vågslid (born 17 March 1986) is a Norwegian teacher and politician for the Labour Party (Norway), Labour Party. She has served as a member of the Parliament of Norway for Telemark (Storting constituency), Telemark since 2013 after having ser ...

were appointed new deputy parliamentary leaders in the aftermath of

Terje Aasland Terje Aasland (born 15 February 1965, in Skien) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He has served as Minister of Energy since 2022. He has also been a member of parliament for Telemark since 2005. Education Aasland is an electricia ...

's appointment to the government. When he and Vågsild were appointed to government in February 2025, the party chose

Ingvild Kjerkol Ingvild Kjerkol (born 18 May 1975) is a Norwegian politician. A member of Labour Party (Norway), Labour Party, she was elected to the Parliament of Norway from Nord-Trøndelag (Storting constituency), Nord-Trøndelag first time in 2013, and re-e ...

and

Tuva Moflag Tuva Moflag (born 17 March 1979) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She has been member of the Storting for Akershus since 2017. She has also served as one of the party's deputy parliamentary leaders since 2025 and previously serve ...

as their successors. He nominated the

United Nations Relief and Works Agency United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

for the Nobel prize in 2024.

Minister of International Development

Following the Centre Party's withdrawal from government, he was appointed minister of international development on 4 February 2025.

Tenure

A few weeks after taking office, Aukrust announced that the government would be increasing their spending on humanitarian aid by supporting a further six humanitarian aid organisations with 1.9 billion NOK. He argued that humanitarian aid was becoming more important and highlighted the importance of saving lives, alleviate suffering and safeguarding human dignity and rights. Aukrust announced in May that the government would be selecting former Socialist Left Party politician

Bård Vegar Solhjell Bård Vegar Solhjell (born 22 December 1971) is a former Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party. He served as Minister of Education from 2007 to 2009, and as Minister of the Environment from 2012 to 2013, both in Stoltenberg's Sec ...

as their candidate for the leadership of the

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

. Aukrust described Solhjell as "a perfect candidate" and campaigned for his candidacy when meeting with several ambassadors from African countries. He also cited Solhjell's background in

Norad North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and pr ...

as an opportunity for him to make reforms at the UN. In late May, he criticised the Progress Party for their lack of response on

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

's blockade of humanitarian aid into

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

. He also warned that Norway could end up with "one of the most Israel-friendly governments in Europe" should the Progress Party end up in government following the 2025 election. Party member

Erlend Wiborg Erlend Wiborg (born 20 January 1984) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party. He served as deputy mayor of Moss from 2011 to 2013, when he was elected as an MP for Østfold. He has previously served as deputy MP from 2005 to 2013. In p ...

argued that the Labour government had ruined their negotiating position by recognising

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

References

External links

Åsmund Aukrust's official blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aukrust, Asmund 1985 births Living people University of Oslo alumni Labour Party (Norway) politicians Bærum politicians Deputy members of the Storting Survivors of the 2011 Norway attacks Norwegian republicans Members of the Storting 2013–2017 Members of the Storting 2017–2021 Members of the Storting 2021–2025