Ex-NATO chief Stoltenberg named Norway finance minister

By AFP - Feb 04,2025 - Last updated at Feb 04,2025

Norway’s outgoing Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum hands a bouquet of flowers to his successor, former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a key handover ceremony, on Tuesday at the ministry of finance in Oslo (AFP photo)

OSLO — Former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg was on Tuesday named Norway’s new finance minister, taking on the key role as the Labour government lags in the polls and a possible transatlantic trade war looms on the horizon.

Stoltenberg, 65, was Norwegian prime minister between 2000 and 2001 and again from 2005 to 2013 before serving as NATO secretary general between 2014 and 2024, when he developed good ties with US President Donald Trump in his first term.

His appointment as finance minister comes after the collapse of Norway’s coalition government last week, when the junior Centre Party quit the government.

The eurosceptic party disagreed with Labour’s intention to implement EU energy directives.

The move left the Labour Party alone in government with a very weak minority in parliament, and meant Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store had to find eight new ministers to fill empty positions in his cabinet.

An economist by training, Stoltenberg has previously served as minister of industry in the 1990s and then as finance minister, in the wealthy Scandinavian country with vast oil and gas reserves and hydro power.

Political observers said his unexpected return to domestic politics was expected to give Labour a boost seven months ahead of legislative elections, given his popularity among Norwegians.

“A strong vitamin injection,” said TV2 political commentator Aslak Eriksrud.

Stoltenberg’s ties with Trump could also prove useful at a time when Norway, which is not a member of the European Union, fears its open and trade-dependent economy could suffer if a trade war breaks out between the United States and Europe.

Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on the EU, and Brussels has warned such a move would be met with countermeasures.

After leaving NATO, Stoltenberg was named chairman of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), viewed as the “Davos of defence” gathering the geopolitical elite every year.

In a statement from the MSC on Tuesday, Stoltenberg said he would return to that position when his tenure in government was over.

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