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The red–green coalition was a
centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...
coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...
of
parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
in
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 ...
, constituting the Labour Party (Ap), the Socialist Left Party (SV), and the Centre Party (Sp). Unlike many other Red-Green coalitions, the "green" here was the colour of a centrist
eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...
Nordic agrarian party rather than an actual green political movement. It governed from 2005 until Labour Party leader
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. ...
resigned his cabinet on 16 October 2013 following the coalition's defeat in the 2013 elections. Opponents of the Red-Green Coalition sometimes referred to the coalition by other names. The Norwegian
centre-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
parties, comprising
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
, Progress Party, Christian Democrats and
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
usually called it a "socialist coalition". The
Red Electoral Alliance Red Electoral Alliance (, , RV) was an alliance of far-left groups formed into a Norwegian political party to promote revolutionary socialism ideals into the Norwegian parliament. The party dissolved itself on 10 March 2007, when it participated ...
feels that "red" is not a descriptive colour for this coalition and therefore uses "pale red". Similarly, the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
and the Liberal Party, which also use green as their color, claim that the three parties do not deserve the green color. After the 2013 election defeat, the "red-green parties" has continued to be used informally as a moniker for the former coalition partners, although the alliance between the parties has been formally dissolved.


History

The coalition was established in 2005 to constitute an alternative to the centre-right government of
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 ser ...
, and won the 2005 Norwegian parliamentary election with a slight
majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the "#Related terms, Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a Set (mathematics), set consisting of more than half of the se ...
. The Labour-led
centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...
government formed was the first majority government in Norway since 1985. It replaced the Bondevik government on 17 October 2005. However, different views between the three parties taking part in the coalition on several important issues led to tough negotiations at Soria Moria in Oslo to put their differences aside in order to reach a common platform. The victory was a historical landmark for a number of reasons. The Labour Party had never been a member of a
coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
, except for a short interim at the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The Socialist Left Party had never participated in any government, and historically had been unwilling to co-operate with Labour. In addition, the Centre Party is co-operating with the centre-left of Norwegian politics for the first time, having previously formed governments with both the
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
and the Christian Democratic Party on several occasions. A good relationship between the leader of Labour Party,
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. ...
, and of the Socialist Left, Kristin Halvorsen, has been considered a major factor in forming the alliance. Halvorsen was considered more pragmatic and moderate than some of her old-guard party colleagues; the Socialist People's Party, one of SV's predecessors, was established in the early 1960s as an ideological opponent to Labour's foreign policy, and it was the main opponent to
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
membership. After the September 2005 election, some old members criticised Halvorsen for being too benign towards Labour. The 2009 parliamentary elections resulted in a renewed majority for the Red-Green coalition, with 86 seats out of 169. The Socialist Left Party lost four seats in parliament, while the Labour Party gained three. The successful re-election of a sitting government is a rare event in Norway, and had not happened since 1993.


The Coalition Cabinet (2013)

*
Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
:
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. ...
( Ap) * Minister of the Environment:
Bård Vegar Solhjell Bård Vegar Solhjell (born 22 December 1971) is a former Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party. He served as Minister of Education from 2007 to 2009, and as Minister of the Environment from 2012 to 2013, both in Stoltenberg's Sec ...
( Sv) * Minister of Local Government and Regional Development: Liv Signe Navarsete ( Sp). *
Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
:
Espen Barth Eide Espen Barth Eide (born 1 May 1964) is a Norwegian politician and political scientist. He is currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Jonas Gahr Støre's government, having previously done so under Jens Stoltenberg. He has been ...
( Ap) *
Minister of Justice and Public Security In Norway, the Minister of Justice and Public Security is the head of the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police, Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police and a member of Government of Norway. The current minister is Astri Aas-Hanse ...
: Grete Faremo ( Ap) *
Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...
: Sigbjørn Johnsen ( Ap). * Minister of Trade and Industry: Trond Giske ( Ap) * Minister of Transport and Communications: Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa ( Sp) *
Minister of Health and Care Services The Minister of Health and Care Services () is a Council of State (Norway), councilor of state and chief of the Norway's Ministry of Health and Care Services (Norway), Ministry of Health and Care Services. Since 19 April 2024 the position has been ...
:
Jonas Gahr Støre Jonas Gahr Støre (; born 25 August 1960) is a Norwegian politician who has served as the prime minister of Norway since 2021. He has been Leader of the Labour Party since 2014. He served under Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as Minister of ...
( Ap) * Minister of Education and Research: Kristin Halvorsen ( Sv) * Minister at the Office of the Prime Minister: Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen ( Ap) *
Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...
: Hadia Tajik ( Ap) * Ministry of Agriculture and Food: Lars Peder Brekk ( Sp) * Minister of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs: Rigmor Aasrud ( Ap) *
Minister of Labour Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...
:
Anniken Huitfeldt Anniken Scharning Huitfeldt (born 29 November 1969) is a Norwegian historian and politician for the Labour Party (Norway), Labour Party. She has served as the Norwegian Ambassador to the United States since 2024. She previously held several mini ...
( Ap) * Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs: Lisbeth Berg-Hansen ( Ap) * Minister of Petroleum and Energy: Ola Borten Moe ( Sp) *
Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...
: Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen ( Ap) * Minister of Foreign Affairs (Development cases): Heikki Holmås ( Sv) * Minister of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion: Inga Marte Thorkildsen ( Sv)


See also

* Red-green alliance * Red-green alliance (Sweden)


References


External links


Norwegian Election: The Victory of a "Red - Green" Alliance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Red-green coalition (Norway) Political party alliances in Norway Politics of Norway Socialist Left Party (Norway) Labour Party (Norway) 2005 establishments in Norway