Kristin Halvorsen (born 2 September 1960) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

of the Socialist Left Party. She served as

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

from 2005 to 2009 and as Minister of Education from 2009 to 2013. She also served as the party's leader from 1997 to 2012 and a member of parliament representing Oslo, from 1989 to 2013. Taking over as leader of the Socialist Left Party in 1997, she established an unprecedented level of consensus within the party. At the 2005 election, the party received a disappointing 8.8% share of the vote, and in 2009 down further, to 6.2%. She stepped down as leader in 2012, and was succeeded by

Audun Lysbakken Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken (born 30 September 1977) is a Norwegian politician and the current leader of the Norwegian Socialist Left Party. His career in national politics began when he was elected to the Norwegian parliament in 2001. In 2006, he b ...

on 11 March. The Socialist Left, in coalition with the Labour Party and the Centre Party, won Norway's September 2005 parliamentary elections. The resulting Red-Green coalition government marked the first time that the Socialist Left Party was included in the cabinet. Halvorsen took office as Minister of Finance, becoming the first woman to hold the position.

Background

Halvorsen was born in Horten,

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered t ...

. After taking university courses in

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

(1.5 years) and criminology (1 year) without receiving a degree, Halvorsen worked for a while as a

legal secretary A legal secretary is a particular category of worker within the legal profession. Background In the practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, ...

. She served as a vice member to the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

from 1985, and was elected member of Parliament in 1989, representing the county of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

, a seat she has held ever since. She has been a member of the parliamentary standing Committee on Finance (1989–1997) and the Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs (1997–2001). She is presently a member of the Election Committee and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Chairman of the Socialist Left Party's parliamentary group, but is on leave from these positions while sitting in government. Halvorsen was the first Norwegian party leader to launch a

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...

. Kristin Halvorsen's parents are Leif Georg Halvorsen, a civil engineer, and Marit Larsen, a teacher. Kristin is married to Charlo Halvorsen, an editor at

Norsk Rikskringkasting NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

Controversies

Kindergarten coverage promise

In the electoral campaign of the 2005 election Halvorsen announced that she would leave politics if the government would not be able to provide all citizens with

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

for their children by the end of 2007, and proclaimed that "this is so important for me that you'll get rid of me if we don't accomplish this". While she stood firmly by her announcement even two months after the election, she in October 2006 simply withdrew her promise, stating that "what I have said is that we'll have full coverage in 2007. But nobody will get rid of me if full coverage is missing in one or two municipalities". By the end of 2007, 90 percent of municipalities will be able to offer kindergarten for all applicants, with the not fully covered constituting approximately 43 municipalities in Norway.

Poverty resolved "with the stroke of a pen" claim

In the same electoral campaign she claimed that poverty in Norway could be eliminated "with the stroke of a pen". After being elected to government and becoming

, by the end of the four-year term she had not accomplished this, as homelessness was actually increasing. When attending a television program during the 2009 electoral campaign, she also refused to apologise to the poor in Norway for her failure.

Israel boycott

On 5 January 2006, Halvorsen caused a controversy by calling for boycott of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i products as a sign of solidarity with the Palestinians. The government and the other parties in the coalition distanced themselves from these remarks, and Halvorsen later apologized as foreign matters were outside her government position. In January 2009, Halvorsen took part in anti-Israel protests which erupted into violent riots.

Books

*''Rett fra hjertet'' (Straight from the Heart), 2004

References

External links

*
Entry at party website

Blog at party website
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Halvorsen, Kristin 1960 births Living people Members of the Storting Ministers of Finance of Norway Women members of the Storting Politicians from Porsgrunn Politicians from Oslo People from Horten Socialist Left Party (Norway) politicians University of Oslo alumni 21st-century Norwegian politicians 21st-century Norwegian women politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century Norwegian women politicians Women government ministers of Norway Female finance ministers Ministers of Education of Norway