The Minister of Agriculture and Food ( no, Landbruks- og matministeren) is a

councilor of state A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...

and chief of the

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Ministry of Agriculture and Food An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

. The ministry is responsible for issues related to

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

and

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...

. Major subordinate agencies include the

Norwegian Agriculture Authority 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 the ...

, the

Norwegian Food Safety Authority Norwegian Food Safety Authority ( no, Mattilsynet) is a Norwegian government agency responsible for safe food and drinking water, and works within the fields of human, plant, fish and animal health as well as environmentally friendly production a ...

and

Statskog Statskog is a Norwegian state-owned enterprise responsible for the management of state-owned forest and mountain real estate totaling approximately 20% of the area of Norway. About 5% of Statskog's land is productive forest while 80% is above the ...

. The position was created on 31 March 1900, along with the ministry, and

Ole Anton Qvam Ole Anton Qvam (5 August 1834 – 8 July 1904) was a Norwegian lawyer and Liberal politician, who was the Norwegian minister of Justice 1891–1893, 1898–1899 and 1900–1902, minister of the Interior 1899–1900, as well as head of the ministr ...

was the inaugural officeholder. Fifty people from eight parties have held the office. During the

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

from 1940 to 1945, the office was both held by a German puppet government and an elected government in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Until 2004 the position was known as the Minister of Agriculture. The longest-serving officeholder is

Hans Ystgaard Hans Ystgaard (19 February 1882 – 25 November 1953) was a Norwegian farmer and politician of the Norwegian Labour Party. He served as the Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a cou ...

, who served for more than ten years under

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Johan Nygaardsvold Johan Nygaardsvold (; 6 September 1879 – 13 March 1952) was a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party who served as the 21st prime minister of Norway from 1935 to 1945. From June 1940 until May 1945, he oversaw the Norwegian Government-in-ex ...

, who himself holds the shortest tenure, of sixteen days.

Gunhild Øyangen Gunhild (with variants Gundhild, Gunhilda, Gunhilde, Gunhjild, Gunilda, Gunnhild, Gunnhildr, Gunnhildur) is a Germanic feminine given name composed of two words meaning "war" (gunn and hild/hildr). It may refer to: *, allegedly a Danish queen cons ...

has served for more than nine years, and was also the first female to hold the position; while

Gunnar Knudsen Gunnar Knudsen (19 September 1848 – 1 December 1928), born Aanon Gunerius Knudsen, was a Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Norway twice from 1908 to 1910 and from 1913 to 1920. He also inherited ...

held it for more than eight, both in the course of two terms.

Håkon Five Håkon Martin Henriksen Five (27 September 1880 – 15 January 1944) was a Norway, Norwegian politician for the Venstre (Norway), Liberal Party. He was Minister of Agriculture 1919–1920, 1921–1923, 1924–1926 and 1933–1935, and Norwegian Mi ...

has been appointed a record four times, serving for nearly five years.

Jens Hundseid Jens Valentinsen Hundseid (6 May 1883 – 2 April 1965) was a Norwegian politician from the Agrarian Party. He was a member of the Norwegian parliament from 1924 to 1940 and the 20th prime minister of Norway from 1932 to 1933. Hundseid felt for ...

served in the office while being Prime Minister. The current minister is

Sandra Borch Sandra Konstance Nygård Borch (born 23 April 1988) is a Norwegian politician currently serving as the minister of research and higher education since 2023, and previously minister of agriculture and food from 2021 to 2023. A member of the Cent ...

, who assumed the position in 2021.

Ministers

The following lists the minister, their party, date of assuming and leaving office, their tenure in years and days, and the cabinet they served in. Parties

Ministers

References

{{Ministers of Norway Agriculture in Norway

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...