The Minister of Foreign Affairs ( nb, Utenriksministeren, nn, Utanriksministeren) 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 Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. Since 14 October 2021, the position has been held by

Anniken Huitfeldt Anniken Scharning Huitfeldt (born 29 November 1969) is a Norwegian historian and politician for the Labour Party. She has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2021. She previously served as Minister of Children and Equality from 2008 to 2 ...

of the Labour Party. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, based at

Victoria Terrasse Victoria Terrasse is an historic building complex located in central Oslo, Norway. The complex now houses the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. History Victoria Terrasse was built between 1884 and 1890 as an apartment complex. It was desig ...

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 of ...

, is responsible for Norway's relation with foreign countries, including diplomacy and

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

foreign aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

and cooperation with

international organisation An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states an ...

s. Except during the four in which a Deputy of the

Prime Minister of Norway The prime minister of Norway ( no, statsminister, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government department ...

was appointed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs ranks second in the cabinet after the

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 ...

and is his deputy.

History

The position was created on 7 June 1905, the day Norway declared independence from Sweden, with the Liberal Party's

Jørgen Løvland Jørgen Gunnarsson Løvland (3 February 1848 – 21 August 1922) was a Norwegian educator and civil servant of the Liberal Party who served as the 10th prime minister of Norway from 1907 to 1908. Background Løvland was born at Lauvland in Evj ...

as the inaugural. Forty people from five parties have held the position, all men excepting the current officeholder. From 1983 to 2013 the

Minister of International Development An International development minister is a position in many governments responsible for development aid and international development. Country-related articles and lists *: Minister for International Development *: Minister of International D ...

, which was responsible for issues related to foreign aid, was attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Notable officeholders

Halvard Lange Halvard Manthey Lange (16 September 1902 – 19 May 1970) was a Norwegian politician and diplomat, who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1946-1963 and again from 1963-1965. He was also the longest serving Foreign Minister to date, ha ...

(

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

) is the longest-serving, having held the position for more than eighteen years in four cabinets. The shortest-serving is the fellow party member,

Edvard Bull, Sr. Edvard Bull (4 December 1881 – 26 August 1932) was a Norwegian historian and politician for the Labour Party. He took the doctorate in 1912 and became a professor at the University of Kristiania in 1917, and is known for writings on a broad r ...

, who held the position for the sixteen days that Hornsrud's Cabinet lasted.

Johan Ludwig Mowinckel Johan Ludwig Mowinckel (22 October 1870 – 30 September 1943) was a Norwegian statesman, shipping magnate and philanthropist. He served as the 16th prime minister of Norway during three separate terms. Biography Johan Ludwig Mowinckel was born ...

(Liberal) was appointed four times as minister. Three people have sat concurrently as Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs: Løvland, Mowinckel and Ivar Lykke (

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

). Three officeholders would later become Prime Minister: Løvland, Mowinckel and

Kjell Magne Bondevik Kjell Magne Bondevik (; born 3 September 1947) is a Norway, Norwegian Lutheranism, Lutheran Religious minister, minister and Politics of Norway, politician. As leader of the Christian Democratic Party (Norway), Christian Democratic Party, he serv ...

(

Christian Democratic Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

). Two former Prime Ministers have held the office:

John Lyng (22 August 1905 – 18 January 1978) was a Norwegian politician from the Conservative Party. He was the 24th prime minister of Norway from 28 August to 25 September 1963 in a coalition government consisting of the Conservative, Centre, Christ ...

(Conservative) and

Thorbjørn Jagland Thorbjørn Jagland (born Thorbjørn Johansen; , 5 November 1950) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. He served as the secretary general of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019. He served as the 32nd prime minister of Norway from ...

(Labour).

Trygve Lie Trygve Halvdan Lie ( , ; 16 July 1896 – 30 December 1968) was a Norwegians, Norwegian politician, labour leader, government official and author. He served as Norwegian foreign minister during the critical years of the Nygaardsvold's Cabinet, N ...

(Labour) resigned from the office to become the inaugural

Secretary-General of the United Nations 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 ...

. Two people have died while in office:

Knut Frydenlund Knut Frydenlund (31 March 1927 – 26 February 1987) was a Norwegian diplomat and politician for the Labour Party who served as foreign minister from 1973–1981 and again from 1986–1987. Frydenlund was born in Drammen and began his diplo ...

and

Johan Jørgen Holst Johan Jørgen Holst (29 November 1937 – 13 January 1994) was a Norwegian politician representing Labour, best known for his involvement with the Oslo Accords. Holst was Minister of Defence from 1987 to 1989 and from 1990 to April 1993. He t ...

(both Labour).

List of Ministers

The following lists the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, their party, date of assuming and leaving office, their tenure in years and days, and the cabinet they served in. :Key

Minister of European Affairs

The Minister of European Affairs was responsible for cases related to the EEA and Norway's relation with the EU. The post was established on 16 October 2013 by the Solberg Cabinet, which at the time consisted of the Conservatives and the Progress Party. It was abolished on 17 January 2018 when the Liberals joined the Cabinet.

Key

Ministers

References

External links

* {{Ministers of Norway Foreign relations of Norway

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

1905 establishments in Norway