Minister of International Development (Norway)

Minister of International Development of Norway
Bistands- og utviklingsministeren
since 14 October 2021
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Member ofCouncil of State
SeatVictoria Terrasse, Oslo
NominatorPrime Minister
AppointerMonarch
with approval of Parliament
Term lengthNo fixed length
Constituting instrumentConstitution of Norway
PrecursorMinister of Foreign Affairs
Formation8 June 1983 (re-established 17 January 2018)
First holderReidun Brusletten
Abolished16 October 2013
DeputyState secretaries at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
WebsiteOfficial website

The Minister of International Development (Norwegian: Bistands- og utviklingsministeren) is a councillor of state and the chief of the international development portfolio of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway.[1] The ministry was responsible for the foreign service, the country's international interests and foreign policy. Most of the ministry's portfolio is subordinate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.[2] The prime operating agency for international development is the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.[3] The position has been held by ten people representing five parties.

The position was created with the appointment of Willoch's Second Cabinet on 8 June 1983,[4] with Reidun Brusletten of the Christian Democratic Party appointed the first minister.[5] From 1 January 1984 to 31 December 1989, the minister had their own ministry, the Ministry of Development Cooperation.[4] Eleven people from four parties had held the position, with Hilde Frafjord Johnson of the Christian Democratic Party being the only to have held it twice. Erik Solheim of the Socialist Left Party has sat the longest, for six and a half years. Solheim also acted as Minister of the Environment from 18 October 2007 to his retirement.[1] Heikki Holmås of the Socialist Left Party, who was appointed on 23 March 2012,[1] became the last Minister of International Development when Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet resigned on 16 October 2013. In Solberg's Cabinet, issues related to international development were transferred to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.[6] The position was re-established in 2018 after the Liberal Party joined the Solberg Cabinet.

  1. ^ a b c "Jens Stoltenberg's Second Government". Government.no. Archived from the original on 11 April 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  2. ^ "About the Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Government.no. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  3. ^ "Development cooperation". Government.no. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Norwegian Government Ministries since 1945". Government.no. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  5. ^ "Odvar Nordli's Government". Government.no. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  6. ^ "Solberg kutter bistandsministeren" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. 16 October 2013.