Solberg's Cabinet

The Solberg Cabinet was the government of the Kingdom of Norway, headed by Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg as Prime Minister from 16 October 2013 to 14 October 2021. The government was appointed by King Harald V on 16 October 2013 following the parliamentary election on 9 September, consisting of the Conservative Party and the Progress Party as a minority government. On 16 December 2015, the cabinet was re-shuffled. The government secured renewed support following the 2017 parliamentary election. It was expanded on 14 January 2018, when an agreement was reached to include the Liberal Party,^[1][2] and further expanded on 22 January 2019 when the Christian Democratic Party joined the coalition. On 20 January 2020, the Progress Party announced that it would withdraw from the government, citing the decision to bring home the family of a sick child from Syria, which included the child's mother, a Norwegian citizen who had volunteered for the Islamic State.^[3]

Solberg's Cabinet
Cabinet of Norway
Date formed	16 October 2013
Date dissolved	14 October 2021
People and organisations
Head of state	Harald V of Norway
Head of government	Erna Solberg
No. of ministers	20
Ministers removed	22
Member party	Conservative Party Liberal Party (from 2018) Christian Democratic Party (from 2019) Progress Party (2013–2020)
Status in legislature	coalition majority government (2019–2020) Coalition minority government (2013–2019; 2020–2021)
History
Elections	2013 2017
Legislature terms	2013–2017 2017–2021
Predecessor	Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet
Successor	Støre's Cabinet

On 12 October 2021, Solberg handed the government's resignation as a result of the majority against it following the 2021 election. The cabinet functioned as an interim government until the Støre Cabinet was sworn in.^[4]

Parliamentary support from 2013 and majority government from 2019

The Government is a centre-right coalition. At its formation in 2013, it consisted of the Conservative Party and the Progress Party, relying on parliamentary support from the Liberal Party and the Christian Democratic Party through a separate agreement giving them influence on policy.^[5] The Liberal Party entered the government in January 2018, and so did the Christian Democratic Party in January 2019. The Progress Party left the coalition, the first Government in which it had participated, in January 2020.^[6] From January 2018 to January 2020 the coalition held a majority in the Parliament. The government is the first in Norway since 1986 in which centre-right parties have participated in a majority coalition.

Name

By convention, a Norwegian government is usually named after the Prime Minister, in casu the Solberg Cabinet. The Government, however, has officially referred to itself (until the Liberal Party's entering) as the Høyre Frp Cabinet. Informally, it is called the Blue Cabinet and even the Blue Blue Cabinet, referring to Høyre's light blue and the Progress Party's dark blue party colour, respectively.

Members

On 16 October 2013, Erna Solberg's cabinet ministers were formally appointed by King Harald V.^[7]

The Cabinet had 18 ministers; two fewer than the previous Stoltenberg cabinet. It had eleven ministers from the Conservatives and seven from Progress, reflecting the parties' numerical strength in Parliament.^[8]

The cabinet had nine men and nine women. Their average age on taking office was 43. Six ministers had studies in economics, four were jurists and four had studies in the humanities or social sciences.^[9]

Seven ministers hailed from Western Norway,^[9] including Listhaug who now represented Oslo. Seven ministers (including Listhaug) represented Eastern Norway, three ministers represented Trøndelag, one Northern Norway and one Sørlandet. Siv Jensen was the only minister who was born and grew up in Oslo.^[9]

On 16 December 2015, Solberg made a cabinet reshuffle. The reshuffle increased the number of cabinet ministers from 18 to 20.

Three cabinet ministers were replaced on 20 December 2016.

A minor reshuffle happened on 20 October 2017 following the 2017 election.

The Liberal Party joined the coalition on 17 January 2018.

On 22 January 2019, with the Christian Democratic Party entering the coalition, the government consisted of 22 ministers, the greatest number ever in a Norwegian government.

Portfolio	Minister	Took office	Left office	Party
Prime Minister	Erna Solberg	16 October 2013	14 October 2021		Conservative
Minister at the Office of the Prime Minister, responsible for EEA Affairs and EU Relations, also Chief of Staff at the Office of the Prime Minister	Vidar Helgesen	16 October 2013	16 December 2015[n 1]		Conservative
Minister of Finance	Siv Jensen	16 October 2013	24 January 2020		Progress
	Jan Tore Sanner	24 January 2020	14 October 2021		Conservative
Minister of Local Government and Modernisation	Jan Tore Sanner	16 October 2013	17 January 2018[n 2]		Conservative
	Monica Mæland	17 January 2018	24 January 2020		Conservative
	Nikolai Astrup	24 January 2020	14 October 2021		Conservative
Minister of Defence	Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide	16 October 2013	20 October 2017[n 3]		Conservative
	Frank Bakke-Jensen	20 October 2017	14 October 2021		Conservative
Minister of Foreign Affairs	Børge Brende	16 October 2013	20 October 2017		Conservative
	Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide	20 October 2017	14 October 2021		Conservative
Minister of Justice, Public Security and Immigration[n 4]	Anders Anundsen	16 October 2013	20 December 2016		Progress
	Per-Willy Amundsen	20 December 2016	17 January 2018		Progress
	Sylvi Listhaug	17 January 2018	20 March 2018		Progress
	Tor Mikkel Wara	4 April 2018	15 March 2019		Progress
	Jøran Kallmyr	29 March 2019	24 January 2020		Progress
	Monica Mæland	24 January 2020	14 October 2021		Conservative
Minister of Trade and Industry	Monica Mæland	16 October 2013	17 January 2018[n 5]		Conservative
	Torbjørn Røe Isaksen	17 January 2018	24 January 2020		Conservative
	Iselin Nybø	24 January 2020	14 October 2021		Liberal
Minister of Transport and Communications	Ketil Solvik-Olsen	16 October 2013	31 August 2018		Progress
	Jon Georg Dale	31 August 2018	24 January 2020		Progress
	Knut Arild Hareide	24 January 2020	14 October 2021		Christian Democratic
Minister of Agriculture	Sylvi Listhaug	16 October 2013	16 December 2015[n 6]		Progress
	Jon Georg Dale	16 December 2015	31 August 2018		Progress
	Bård André Hoksrud	31 August 2018	22 January 2019		Progress
	Olaug Bollestad	22 January 2019	14 October 2021		Christian Democratic
Minister of Fisheries and Seafood[n 7]	Elisabeth Aspaker	16 October 2013	16 December 2015[n 8]		Conservative
	Per Sandberg	16 December 2015	13 August 2018		Progress
	Harald T. Nesvik	13 August 2018	24 January 2020		Progress
	Geir-Inge Sivertsen	24 January 2020	2 March 2020		Conservative
	Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen	13 March 2020	14 October 2021		Conservative
Minister of Education and Research	Torbjørn Røe Isaksen	16 October 2013	17 January 2018[n 9]		Conservative
	Jan Tore Sanner	17 January 2018	24 January 2020		Conservative
	Trine Skei Grande	24 January 2020	13 March 2020		Liberal
	Guri Melby	13 March 2020	14 October 2021		Liberal
Minister of Higher Education and Research	Iselin Nybø	17 January 2018	24 January 2020		Liberal
	Henrik Asheim	24 January 2020	14 October 2021		Conservative
Minister of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion	Solveig Horne	16 October 2013	17 January 2018		Progress
	Linda Hofstad Helleland	17 January 2018	22 January 2019		Conservative
Minister of Children and Family Affairs	Kjell Ingolf Ropstad	22 January 2019	20 September 2021		Christian Democratic
Minister of Petroleum and Energy	Tord Lien	16 October 2013	20 December 2016		Progress
	Terje Søviknes	20 December 2016	31 August 2018		Progress
	Kjell-Børge Freiberg	31 August 2018	18 December 2019		Progress
	Sylvi Listhaug	18 December 2019	24 January 2020		Progress
	Tina Bru	24 January 2020	14 October 2021		Conservative
Minister of Health and Care Services	Bent Høie	16 October 2013	14 October 2021		Conservative
Minister of Elderly and Public Health	Åse Michaelsen	17 January 2018	3 May 2019		Progress
	Sylvi Listhaug	3 May 2019	18 December 2019		Progress
	Terje Søviknes	18 December 2019	24 January 2020		Progress
Minister of Labour and Social Affairs	Robert Eriksson	16 October 2013	16 December 2015		Progress
	Anniken Hauglie	16 December 2015	24 January 2020		Conservative
	Torbjørn Røe Isaksen	24 January 2020	14 October 2021		Conservative
Minister of Culture and Church Affairs	Thorhild Widvey	16 October 2013	16 December 2015		Conservative
	Linda Hofstad Helleland	16 December 2015	17 January 2018[n 10]		Conservative
	Trine Skei Grande	17 January 2018	24 January 2020		Liberal
	Abid Raja	24 January 2020	14 October 2021		Liberal
Minister of Climate and the Environment	Tine Sundtoft	16 October 2013	16 December 2015		Conservative
	Vidar Helgesen	16 December 2015	17 January 2018		Conservative
	Ola Elvestuen	17 January 2018	24 January 2020		Liberal
	Sveinung Rotevatn	24 January 2020	14 October 2021		Liberal
Minister of Migration and Integration	Sylvi Listhaug	16 December 2015	17 January 2018[n 11]		Progress
Minister of European Affairs and Nordic Cooperation	Elisabeth Aspaker	16 December 2015	20 December 2016		Conservative
	Frank Bakke-Jensen	20 December 2016	20 October 2017[n 12]		Conservative
	Marit Berger Røsland	20 October 2017	17 January 2018		Conservative
Minister of International Development	Nikolai Astrup	17 January 2018	22 January 2019		Conservative
	Dag Inge Ulstein	22 January 2019	14 October 2021		Christian Democratic
Minister of Digital Affairs	Nikolai Astrup	22 January 2019	24 January 2020		Conservative
Minister of Public Security	Ingvil Smines Tybring-Gjedde	22 January 2019	24 January 2020		Progress
Minister of Regional and Digital Affairs	Linda Hofstad Helleland	24 January 2020	14 October 2021		Conservative

1. became Minister of Climate and the Environment
2. became Minister of Education and Integration
3. became Minister of Foreign Affairs
4. Minister of Migration and Integration was separate minister from 2015 to 2018
5. became Minister of Local Government and Modernisation
6. became Minister of Migration and Integration
7. until 2015 also Minister for Nordic Cooperation Affairs
8. became Minister of European Affairs and Nordic Cooperation
9. became Minister of Trade and Industry
10. became Minister of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion
11. became Minister of Justice, Public Security and Immigration
12. became Minister of Defence

State Secretaries

Ministry	State Secretary	Period	Party
Office of the Prime Minister	Julie Brodtkorb	- 21 April 2017	Conservative
	Lars Øy		Conservative
	Sigbjørn Aanes		Conservative
	Fredrik Färber	- 17 October 2014	Progress
	Marit Berger Røsland	17 October 2014 - 16 December 2015	Conservative
	Tore Vamraak	- 19 June 2015	Conservative
	Torkild Haukaas	19 June 2015 -	Conservative
	Ingvild Næss Stub	19 June 2015 -	Conservative
	Laila Bokhari	- 15 August 2016	Conservative
Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Bård Glad Pedersen	- 18 September 2015	Conservative
	Hans Brattskar	- 7 August 2015	Conservative
	Pål Arne Davidsen	- 22 November 2013	Progress
	Morten Høglund	22 November 2013 - 16 December 2015	Progress
	Ingvild Næss Stub	- 19 June 2015	Conservative
	Elsbeth Tronstad	19 June 2015 -	Conservative
	Tone Skogen	7 August 2015 -	Conservative
	Laila Bokhari	15 August 2016 -	Conservative
	Tore Hattrem	18 December 2015 - 23 September 2016	Conservative
	Marit Berger Røsland	23 September 2016 - 2017	Conservative
Ministry of Finance	Paal Bjørnestad	- 16 December 2016	Conservative
	Jon Gunnar Pedersen	- 19 June 2015	Conservative
	Tore Vamraak	19 June 2015 -	Conservative
	Jørgen Næsje		Progress
	Ole Berget	- 17 October 2014	Progress
	Himanshu Gulati	17 October 2014 -	Progress
	Jon Georg Dale	17 October 2014 - 16 December 2015	Progress
	Cecilie Brein-Karlsen	20 December 2016 -	Progress
Ministry of Defence	Øystein Bø		Conservative
Ministry of Local Government and Modernization	Paul Chaffey		Conservative
	Kristin Holm Jensen		Conservative
	Anders Bals	- 28 November 2014	Conservative
	Anne Karin Olli	28 November 2014 -	Conservative
	Jardar Jensen	- 6 November 2015	Conservative
	Grete Ellingsen	6 November 2015 -	Conservative
	Per Willy Amundsen	- 20 December 2016	Progress
Ministry of Health and Care	Anne Grethe Erlandsen		Conservative
	Lisbeth Normann		Conservative
	Astrid Nøklebye Heiberg	- 15 April 2016	Progress
	Cecilie Brein-Karlsen	- 20 December 2016	Progress
Ministry of Agriculture and Food	Hanne Blåfjelldal		Progress
	Ingvild Ofte Arntsen[10]	30 October 2020-14 October 2021	Christian Democrat
Ministry of Transport and Communications	Bård Hoksrud	- 5 June 2015	Progress
	Reynir Johannesson	5 June 2015 -	Progress
	Jon Georg Dale	- 17 October 2014	Progress
	Tom Cato Karlsen	17 October 2014 -	Progress
	John-Ragnar Aarset	- 16 December 2015	Conservative
	Amund Drønen Ringdal	16 December 2015 – 11 May 2016	Conservative
	Ingvild Ofte Arntsen[10]	24 January 2020-30 October 2020	Christian Democrat
Ministry of Trade and Fisheries	Dilek Ayhan		Conservative
	Eirik Lae Solberg	– 3 April 2014	Conservative
	Lars Jacob Hiim	3 April 2014 –	Conservative
	Amund Drønen Ringdal	– 16 December 2015	Conservative
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs	Torkil Åmland	– 16 December 2015	Progress
	Kristian Dahlberg Hauge	– 29 April 2016	Progress
	Thor Kleppen Sættem	25 October 2013 – 20 December 2016	Conservative
	Christl Kvam	2015 –	Conservative
Ministry of Culture	Knut Olav Åmås	- 6 June 2014	Conservative
	Bjørgulv Vinje Borgundvaag	6 June 2014 - 8 January 2016	Conservative
	Himanshu Gulati	15 January 2016 -	Progress
Ministry of the Environment	Lars Andreas Lunde		Conservative
Ministry of Petroleum and Energy	Kåre Fostervold	- 23 October 2015	Progress
	Kjell-Børge Freiberg	23 October 2015 -	Progress
Ministry of Justice	Himanshu Gulati	- 17 October 2014	Progress
	Jøran Kallmyr	17 October 2014 - 19 February 2016	Progress
	Vidar Brein-Karlsen		Progress
	Hans J. Røsjorde	25 October 2013 - 19 June 2015	Progress
	Gjermund Hagesæter	19 June 2015 - 20 December 2016	Progress
	Thor Kleppen Sættem	20 December 2016 –	Conservative
	Marit Berger Røsland	16 December 2015 - 23 September 2016	Conservative
	Torkil Åmland	29 September 2017 -	Progress
	Toril Charlotte Ulleberg Reynolds	1 October 2017 -	Progress
	Knut Morten Johansen	17 January 2018 -	Progress
	Sveinung Rotevatn	17 January 2018 -	Liberal
Ministry of Children and Social Inclusion	Maria Hoff Aanes	- 17 October 2014	Progress
	Kai-Morten Terning	17 October 2014 -	Progress
	Ida Krag	26 November 2015 - 6 January 2016 (acting)	Progress
	Jøran Kallmyr	16 December 2015 - 19 February 2016	Progress
	Marit Berger Røsland	16 December 2015 - 1 April 2016	Conservative
	Vidar Brein-Karlsen	19 February 2016 - 1 April 2016	Progress
Ministry of Children and Family Affairs	Ingvild Ofte Arntsen[10]	30 October 2020-14 October 2021	Christian Democrat
Ministry of Education	Bjørn Haugstad[11]	16 October 2013-22 February 2018	Conservative
	Birgitte Jordahl	25 October 2013 – 12 August 2016	Conservative

References

1. "Norway's Liberals to join Conservative-led government". Reuters. 14 January 2018.
2. "Solberg Solidifies Grip on Norway as Liberals Join Government". Bloomberg News. 14 January 2018.
3. "Fremskrittspartiet trekker seg fra regjeringen". Aftenposten. 20 January 2020.
4. "Statsminister Erna Solberg om sin avskjed: – Jeg er stolt" (in Norwegian). NRK. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
5. Conservative Party and Progress Party to form a coalition government. 2013-09-30 Aftenposten
6. Norway PM Loses Majority After Populist Partner Quits. 2020-01-20 Bloomberg News
7. Official news release from the Cabinet 16 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
8. NTB (14 October 2013)Frp får landbruksministeren Aftenposten. Retrieved 17 October 2013 (in Norwegian)
9. John Olav Egeland (16 October 2013) En regjering for markedsstaten Aftenposten. Retrieved 17 October 2013 (in Norwegian)
10. "Ingvild Ofte Arntsen". Regjeringen.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2024-08-01.
11. "Bjørn Haugstad". Regjerningen.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2024-08-01.