(CLO) On February 4, former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was appointed as Norway's new Finance Minister as part of a cabinet reshuffle.
An experienced negotiator and diplomat, Mr Stoltenberg is expected to help the Labour government regain public support in polls ahead of parliamentary elections in September.
Mr Stoltenberg is a veteran and widely respected politician who served as Norway's prime minister from 2000-2001 and 2005-2013, and headed NATO for a decade.
"This team is ready to lead Norway in difficult times," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told reporters outside the Royal Palace after the new cabinet met King Harald.
"We will make policies that make sense in people's daily lives and are aware of the instability in the world that Norway, a small country, is facing."
Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Photo: X
The Labour Party is lagging in the polls ahead of September's election. However, Mr Stoltenberg, who enjoyed huge popular support during his time at NATO, could help boost Labour's prospects.
At 65, Mr. Stoltenberg has a background in economics and was finance minister in 1996-1997. He is seen as a pragmatic centrist.
In 2022, Mr Stoltenberg was expected to become head of Norway's central bank, but he did not take up the role after US President Joe Biden asked him to continue as head of NATO.
As prime minister, Mr Stoltenberg established the “spending rule”, a self-imposed rule that required the Norwegian government to spend no more than 4% of the total value of the sovereign wealth fund on the national budget. This rule was later reduced to 3% as the fund’s value increased.
Ngoc Anh (according to Politico, CNBC)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/former-general-secretary-of-nato-tro-thanh-bo-truong-tai-chinh-na-uy-post332977.html
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