Børge Brende (born 25 September 1965) is a Norwegian politician and diplomat, and has been the president of the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

since 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, he previously was

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 co ...

from 2013 to 2017,

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 2001 to 2004 and

Minister of Trade and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

from 2004 to 2005. He was elected to 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 ...

from 1997 to 2009.

Career

Brende was chairman of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development from 2003 to 2004 as Norway's Environment Minister. In 2006, he was one of the candidates shortlisted to succeed

Klaus Töpfer Klaus Töpfer (born 29 July 1938) is a German politician ( CDU) and environmental politics expert. From 1998 to 2006 he was executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Early life and education Töpfer was born in ...

as executive director of the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

(UNEP), alongside

Achim Steiner Achim Steiner (born 17 May 1961) is a Brazilian-born environmentalist who currently serves as the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and chairman of United Nations Sustainable Development Group. Before joining UNDP, he w ...

of Germany and

Rajendra K. Pachauri Rajendra Kumar Pachauri (20 August 1940 – 13 February 2020) was the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 2002 to 2015, during the fourth and fifth assessment cycles. Under his leadership the IPCC was awarded ...

of India; the post eventually went to Steiner. In January 2008, Brende joined the

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, particularly in charge of relations with governments and civil society. In 2009, Brende joined the Norwegian

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

. He re-joined the World Economic Forum in 2011 as managing director with responsibility for policy initiatives and engagement of the Forum's non-business constituents. From 2009 to 2011 Brende was Secretary General of Red Cross Norway. He has been the chairman of Mesta, Norway's largest contracting group in the area of road and highway maintenance. He was also a member of the board of Statoil (

Equinor Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger. It is primarily a petroleum company, operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. I ...

). Brende started in 2005 as international vice-chairman of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, an advisory board to the State Council. Brende was the deputy leader of the Conservative Party from 1994 to 1998. As Foreign Minister of Norway Brende normalised the relationship with China. Together with the Foreign Minister of Cuba he was the "guarantor" of the

Colombian peace process The Colombian peace process is the peace process between the Colombian government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC–EP) to bring an end to the Colombian conflict, which eventually led to t ...

. As the Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry, Brende improved the framework conditions for trade and industry, and for innovation and development. By the end of his term in office, funding for innovation had increased by 30%. As a minister of the Environment he was in charge of an increase of the national park area of Norway of more than 50%. As Secretary General of Norwegian Red Cross Brende was leading some of the largest relief operations in the society's history; in Haiti and Pakistan.

Minister of Foreign Affairs (2013–2017)

FM Javad Zarif with Norwegian FM Børge Brende 01

In October 2014, Brende – in his capacity as Chairman of the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) – co-hosted the Cairo Conference on Palestine, an international donor conference on reconstructing the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

, which garnered $5.4 billion in pledges. In 2015, Brende negotiated an interim agreement between Norway and the other coastal states in the Arctic –

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

(on behalf of its territory of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

– on prohibiting

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

in the increasingly ice-free

international waters The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed region ...

of the Arctic. In January 2016, Brende was appointed by

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

Ban Ki-moon to the High-level Advisory Group for ''Every Woman Every Child.''

World Economic Forum

On 15 September 2017, it was announced that Brende will be the president of the World Economic Forum from mid-October 2017.

Other activities

International organizations

* Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2016-2017) *

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is an international financial institution which offers political risk insurance and credit enhancement guarantees. These guarantees help investors protect foreign direct investments against ...

(MIGA),

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Gr ...

, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2013-2017) *

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2013-2017)

Corporate boards

* Statoil, Member of the Board (2012-2013) * Mesta, Chairman of the Board (2009–2011)

Non-profit organizations

Bilderberg Group The Bilderberg meeting (also known as the Bilderberg Group) is an annual off-the-record conference established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally to prevent another world war, is now defi ...

, Member of the Steering Committee * P4G – Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2019) *

(WEF), Member of the Europe Policy Group (since 2017) * Norwegian Defence University College, Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Board (2010–2011)

Recognition

* 2004 – Order of the Phoenix * 2005 – Order of St. Olav * 2005 –

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

* 2018 –

Order of San Carlos The Order of San Carlos is a state order granted by Colombia. The order was founded 16 August 1954 to honor Colombian citizens and foreign civilians and military officers who have made outstanding contributions to the nation of Colombia, especiall ...

Personal life

Brende is married and has two sons.

References

External links

Brende's CV at the Ministry of Trade and Industry
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brende, Boerge 1965 births 20th-century Norwegian politicians 21st-century Norwegian politicians Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Foreign Ministers of Norway Living people Members of the Storting Ministers of Climate and the Environment of Norway Ministers of Trade and Shipping of Norway