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{{Audio|Jens Stoltenberg.ogg|'''Jens Stoltenberg'''}} (born 16 March 1959) is the [[Prime Minister of Norway]]. He took office in October of 2005; he was previously Prime Minister from 2000 to 2001. He has also been the leader of the [[Norwegian Labour Party]] since 2002 and has been a Member of Parliament from Oslo since 1993. He was Deputy Minister (''statssekretær'') in the Department of the Environment from 1990 to 1991, Minister of Industry from 1993 to 1996, and Minister of Finance from 1996 to 1997.
{{Audio|Jens Stoltenberg.ogg|'''Jens Stoltenberg'''}} (born 16 March 1959) is the [[Prime Minister of Norway]]. He took office in October of 2005; he was previously Prime Minister from 2000 to 2001. He has also been the leader of the [[Norwegian Labour Party]] since 2002 and has been a Member of Parliament from Oslo since 1993. He was Deputy Minister (''statssekretær'') in the Department of the Environment from 1990 to 1991, Minister of Industry from 1993 to 1996, and Minister of Finance from 1996 to 1997.


<font size="234" color="#0001"> HELLO <font>
== Career ==
=== Early career ===
From 1979-81 Stoltenberg was a journalist for [[Arbeiderbladet]]; between 1985 and 1989, he was the leader of the [[Workers' Youth League (Norway)|Workers' Youth League]] and between 1990 and 1992, leader of the [[Oslo]] chapter of the Labour Party.<ref name="BIOGRAPHY"/>

=== Minister of Finance ===
{{Main|Premiership of Thorbjørn Jagland}}
Before becoming Minister of Finance, Stoltenberg was Minister for trade and energy in [[Gro Harlem Brundtland]]'s [[Gro Harlem Brundtland's third term as Prime Minister of Norway|cabinet]] between 1993-1996.<ref name="BIOGRAPHY"/> In 1996 when Brundtland resigned, [[Thorbjørn Jagland]] stepped in for her and became the new Norwegian Prime Minister.<ref name="BIOGRAPHY"/> In Jagland's government, Stoltenberg became [[Minister of Finance (Norway)|Minister of Finance]].<ref name="BIOGRAPHY"/> On the 29 September 1997, Jagland resigned because he had stated that the cabinet would resign should the party receive less than 36.9% of the popular vote.<ref>{{cite news |first=Herbjørn |last=Sørebø |title=Ikkje noko mediemord |url=http://www.dagogtid.no/arkiv/2000/07/herb.html |work=Dag og Tid |date=17 February 2000 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2008-03-31 }}</ref> Labour only received 35.0%, which meant that Jagland was forced to resign, and power was given to the [[Kjell Magne Bondevik's first term as Prime Minister of Norway|first cabinet of Kjell Magne Bondevik]].<ref name="resign">{{cite news |first=Berit |last=Almendingen |title=Meddelelse fra statsminister Thorbjørn Jagland om Regjeringens avskjedssøknad |url=http://www.stortinget.no/no/Saker-og-publikasjoner/Saker/Sak/?p=1921 |work=Nettavisen |date=29 September 1997 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2009-02-01 }}</ref><ref name="SEATTLETIMES">{{cite news |author=Mary Williams Walsh |title=Norway's Problem: Too Much Cash -- Oil Is Flowing And Surplus Is Fat |url=http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19971016&slug=2566475 |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=Thursday, October 16, 1997 - Page updated at 12:00 AM|language=|accessdate=2009-02-02 }}</ref> After Jagland's resignation, Stoltenberg served as the of standing committee on oil and energy affairs in the [[Stortinget|Storting]].<ref name="BIOGRAPHY">{{cite news |first=|last=|title=Jens Stoltenberg Biography |url=http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2006-Ra-Z/Stoltenberg-Jens.html |work=notablebiographies.com |date= |language=|accessdate=2009-02-02 }}</ref>

=== AUF membership scandal ===
{{main|Workers' Youth League membership scandal}}
The [[Workers' Youth League (Norway)|AUF]] (Workers' Youth League) membership scandal refers to the [[police]] [[investigation]] and subsequent court cases in [[Norway]] in early 1998 where four members of AUF stood accused of deliberately inflating membership numbers of their organization in order to receive increased government funding.<ref name="SCANDALIII"/> They were eventually found guilty of fraud and handed [[jail sentence]]s.<ref name="SCANDALIII"/> The unlawful practice of submitting higher membership numbers to city council offices had at the time become an accepted culture in various political youth organizations, and it is believed that the leadership of the parties involved were aware of this practice.<ref name="SCANDALIII"/> Although only four members were prosecuted and jailed, former members of the AUF and by that stage leading politicians got of the hook.<ref name="SCANDALIII"/> Among them were former prime minister Jagland and Stoltenberg.<ref name="SCANDALIII">{{cite news |first=Andreas |last=Arneseth |title=Alvorlig tiltale om grovt bedrageri |url=http://tux1.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/d28635.htm |work=[[Aftenposten]] |date= Oppdatert: 5. januar 1998 kl. 12:59 |language=Norwegian|accessdate=2009-02-02 }}</ref>

On March 14th 1995, twelve days after VG published the story Stoltenberg and former leader of the AUF [[Turid Birkeland]], admitted that 'advancing' money to pay for [[membership]] fees was a common and accepted practice at the time they were involved with the organisation.<ref name="SCANDAL"/> However, on March 17th, 1998, Stoltenberg was called in to give testimony in the case.<ref name="SCANDAL"/> He told the [[Oslo|Oslo city]] [[court]], under oath, that he was unfamiliar with the artificial [[inflating]] of membership figures which took place in the AUF.<ref name="SCANDAL"/> He also told the court that he was unaware of any form of fraud taking place in the organisation under his [[leadership]], and stated that he had never heard of 'advancing' money to pay for memberships until the Norwegian newspaper [[VG]] broke the story on March 2nd, 1995.<ref name="SCANDAL"/> He also stated that in his opinion it was not necessarily wrong to 'advance' money for members provided that the members in question reimbursed this fee later on.<ref name="SCANDAL">{{cite news |first=Kari |last= WESTENGEN |title=Stoltenberg: staten godtok «juks» |url=http://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/1998/03/18/71436.html |work=[[Dagbladet]] |date=onsdag 18.03.1998 kl. 14:02, oppdatert 14:12 |language=Norwegian|accessdate=2009-02-02 }}</ref>

Stoltenberg was also cross-examined by defence lawyer Tor Erling Staff, who pointed out that membership numbers for the AUF during Stoltenbergs tenure, 11 000, were too high.<ref name="SCANDAL"/> According to Staff's calculations such a huge membership numbers would mean that the AUF had to recruit several thousand members each year.<ref name="SCANDAL"/> The following day, March,18, Stoltenberg told the court that the government had accepted non-paying members in youth organizations as normal members for many years, provided that the membership was confirmed by [[word of mouth]] by the member in question.<ref name="SCANDAL"/>

=== First term ===
{{main|Jens Stoltenberg's first term as Prime Minister of Norway}}
[[File:Vladimir Putin at the Millennium Summit 6-8 September 2000-28.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Then [[Russia|Russian]] [[President of Russia|President]] [[Vladimir Putin]] with Stoltenberg in [[New York City]], 2000.]]
In 2000 the [[Kjell Magne Bondevik's first term as Prime Minister of Norway|first cabinet of Bondevik]] resigned following a [[motion of confidence]].<ref name="CABINETII">{{cite news |title=Norway's new cabinet named |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/680950.stm |work=[[BBC]] |date=Friday, 17 March, 2000, 12:04 GMT |language=|accessdate=2009-02-01 }}</ref> Stoltenberg's first cabinet governed Norway from 17 March 2000 to 19 October 2001.<ref name="CABINETII"/> Stoltenberg was the [[deputy leader]] of the labor party while Jagland was the [[party leader]]. Instead Jagland was given the post as [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Norway)|Foreign Minister]]. Again, Jagland made national headlines similar to the publicity about "The Norwegian House" and "36.9%", this time for the phrase "[[Bongo from Congo]]", originally coined as an internal joke in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the expense of the President of Gabon, [[Omar Bongo]].<ref name="BONGOCONGE">{{cite news |first= |last= |title=Jagland omtalte president som Bongo fra Kongo |url=http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/artikkel.php?artid=1159979 |work=Verdens Gang |date=6 February 2001 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2008-03-31 }}</ref> Stoltenberg's first tenure as Prime Minister (2000&ndash;2001) was controversial within his own party, being responsible for reforms and modernisation of the [[welfare state]] that included part-privatising several key state-owned services and corporations. In the [[Norwegian parliamentary election, 2001|parliamentary election]] of 10 September 2001, the party suffered one of its worst results ever, winning only 24% of the vote.

The 2001 election met with instability for the labour party, because of the voters' unhappiness with the lack of [[nursery schools]], [[retirement home]]s and a declining standard of [[public education]] in Norway.<ref name="LABORREIIC"/> The Norwegian [[newspaper]] [[Dagbladet]] stated: "We are heading for a political earthquake when the votes are counted tonight, if we believe the opinion polls."<ref name="LABORREIIC"/> In an [[interview]] with [[The Associated Press]] Jagland stated "It is unstable and unpredictable."<ref name="LABORREIIC">{{cite news |title=Norway set for close polls result |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/09/10/norway.ballot/index.html |work=CNN |date=September 10, 2001 Posted: 2:51 PM EDT (1851 GMT) |language=|accessdate=2009-02-02 }}</ref> After the election in 2001, Stoltenberg and his cabinet was forced to resign, with the labor party suffering from its worst election campaign results since 1924.<ref name="LABORRE"/> With the 98% votes taken, the Labor Party only garned 24%, falling from 35%.<ref name="LABORRE"/> Jagland, the party leader of the labor party, commented on the results saying, "We will have to make a decision about whether to continue in government after we know the full results".<ref name="LABORRE">{{cite news |title=Norway poll sparks power struggle |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1536377.stm |work=BBC |date=Tuesday, 11 September, 2001, 08:49 GMT 09:49 UK |language=|accessdate=2009-02-01 }}</ref> After the election Stoltenberg said, "What is clear is that this was a very bad election."<ref name="LABORRE"/>

=== Power Struggle ===
The disastrous results of 2001 were quickly followed by a bitter leadership battle between Jagland and Stoltenberg. In 2002 Jagland was replaced as party leader by Stoltenberg. This didn't come as a surprise for many in the labor party.<ref>{{cite news |first=Kirsten |last=Karlsen |title=Deler makta til 2004 |url=http://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/2001/03/25/249285.html |work=Dagbladet |date=25 March 2001 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2008-03-31 }}</ref> However, before any voting took place Jagland relinquished the post and gave it Stoltenberg.<ref name="backed down"> {{cite news |first=Håvard |last=Narum |title=Ville kjempet mot Jagland |url=http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/politikk/article306584.ece |work=Aftenposten |date=6 April 2002 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2008-03-31 }}</ref> Because Jagland had recently been hospitalized due to general health problems,<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |title=Ingen tegn til sykdom |url=http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/nrk_buskerud/1571234.html |work=NRK |date=15 January 2002 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2008-03-31 }}</ref> and had moreover felt "responsibility to end this destructive personal strife".<ref name="backed down"/> The power struggle ended up with Stoltenberg becoming the new labor party leader in Norway.<ref name="backed down"/>

=== Second term ===
{{main|Jens Stoltenberg's second term as Prime Minister of Norway}}
Stoltenberg's second cabinet has governed Norway since 17 October 2005. The [[Norwegian parliamentary election, 2005|2005 parliamentary election]] saw a vast improvement for Labour, and the party gained a majority in parliament together with the other "Red-Green" parties, the [[Sosialistisk Venstreparti|Socialist Left Party]] and the [[Senterpartiet|Centre Party]]. This paved the way for a historic first in Norway, with Labour joining in a coalition government, the [[Red-Green Coalition (Norway)|Red-Green Coalition]]. Stoltenberg became Prime Minister for the second time on 17 October 2005. Since the election Stoltenberg’s cabinet has been hit by some scandals, and the Government has been far behind the opposition in most opinion polls. However, Mr. Stoltenberg's personal approval ratings have remained high throughout the term. And in January 2009 the government gained support in the people. For the first time since taking office the coalition is now heading for re-election with a majority of the parliamentary mandates. The next General Election is due in September 2009.


== Personal life ==
== Personal life ==

Revision as of 08:52, 22 May 2009

Jens Stoltenberg
Jens Stoltenberg, 2007. Photo: Harry Wad
Prime Minister of Norway
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 October 2005
MonarchHarald V
Preceded byKjell Magne Bondevik
In office
3 March 2000 – 19 October 2001
MonarchHarald V
Preceded byKjell Magne Bondevik
Succeeded byKjell Magne Bondevik
Personal details
Born200px
(1959-03-16) 16 March 1959 (age 65)
Oslo, Norway
Died200px
Resting place200px
Political partyNorwegian Labor Party
SpouseIngrid Schulerud
Parent
  • 200px
ProfessionEconomist

Jens Stoltenbergⓘ (born 16 March 1959) is the Prime Minister of Norway. He took office in October of 2005; he was previously Prime Minister from 2000 to 2001. He has also been the leader of the Norwegian Labour Party since 2002 and has been a Member of Parliament from Oslo since 1993. He was Deputy Minister (statssekretær) in the Department of the Environment from 1990 to 1991, Minister of Industry from 1993 to 1996, and Minister of Finance from 1996 to 1997.

HELLO

Personal life

Stoltenberg grew up in a political family. His father, Thorvald Stoltenberg, is one of the most prominent politicians in Norway and a former Foreign Minister; his mother Karin Stoltenberg was a junior minister. The late Marianne Heiberg, married to former Foreign Minister Johan Jørgen Holst, was his aunt on his mother's side. Stoltenberg is married to the diplomat Ingrid Schulerud and has two children. He was raised in the Waldorf Education system as formulated by Rudolf Steiner, and educated at the Oslo katedralskole and the University of Oslo. He likes to spend his summer vacations on the Hvaler Islands in the Oslo fjord. In the winter he is an active cross-country skiier. He has two sisters, Camilla who is one year older than him, she is a medical reseacher and administrator, and Nini who is four years younger. She is a recovering heroin addict and the family has been portrayed in Norwegian mass media on their struggles to cope with this challenge.

He belongs to the Stoltenberg family which emigrated to Norway in the 17th century, from the North German village of Stoltenberg in Schleswig-Holstein (the Duchies were then in a personal union with the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway).

References

Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Trade and Energy of Norway
1993 – 1996 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Finance and Customs of Norway
1996 – 1997 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Norway
2000 – 2001 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Workers' Youth League
1985 – 1989 		Succeeded by

Template:Incumbent succession box

Template:Incumbent succession box

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