Helen Oddveig Bjørnøy (born 18 February 1954 in

Ålesund Ålesund () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of Ålesund Municipality. The centre of the town of Ålesund lies on the islands of Hessa, Aspøya, Ålesund, Asp� ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

) is a Norwegian

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

minister and politician ( Socialist Left Party), currently County Governor of

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

. From October 2005 to October 2007, she was Minister of the Environment in the Red-Green Coalition

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

headed by

Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (; born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. Since 2025, he has been the Minister of Finance in the Støre Cabinet. He has previously been the prime minister of Norway and secretary general of NATO. ...

. On 18 October 2007 she was relieved from her duties in the government and replaced by

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 ...

(Socialist Left Party).

Biography

Bjørnøy graduated from

MF Norwegian School of Theology MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society (MF for short) is a Norwegian private specialized university. MF focuses on education, research and dissemination of their fields of expertise. The specialized university is located at Majorstu ...

in 1980 and was ordained a minister in the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

the same year. She held a teaching position as assistant professor in the field of

Ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

at Lovisenberg Deaconal University College from 1991 to 1999. Her last position before entering into government was Secretary General for the Church City Mission, '' Kirkens Bymisjon'' (1999–2005). Bjørnøy suffered an illness in 2016, taking an indefinite leave as Buskerud's County Governor. In 2020, she was one of those who called for further review of a new biolaw being proposed in Norway. She has advocated for the recognition of children's rights and the protection of the female body. Bjørnøy is married to Tortein Lalim.

References

Norwegian government releaseThe Church City Mission
1954 births Living people MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society alumni Ministers of climate and the environment of Norway Socialist Left Party (Norway) politicians Politicians from Ålesund Norwegian priest-politicians Women government ministers of Norway 20th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy 20th-century Norwegian women politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians Women Lutheran clergy {{Norway-politician-1950s-stub