Jon-Ivar Nygård
Jon-Ivar Nygård (born 2 January 1973) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He has served as minister of transport since 2021. He previously served as the mayor of Fredrikstad from 2011 to 2021.
Jon-Ivar Nygård | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Transport | |
| Assumed office 14 October 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Jonas Gahr Støre |
| Preceded by | Knut Arild Hareide |
| Member of the Storting | |
| Assumed office 1 October 2021 | |
| Deputy | Solveig Vitanza |
| Constituency | Østfold |
| Deputy Member of the Storting | |
| In office 1 October 2013 – 30 September 2017 | |
| Constituency | Østfold |
| Mayor of Fredrikstad | |
| In office 20 October 2011 – 21 October 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Eva Kristin Andersen |
| Succeeded by | Siri Martinsen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 January 1973 Borge, Østfold, Norway |
| Nationality | Norwegian |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | University of Oslo |
| Occupation | Politician |
Early and personal life
Born in Borge, Nygård graduated as cand.mag. from the University of Oslo in 1998.[1]
Political career
Local politics
He was member of the municipal council of Fredrikstad since 1993, and served as mayor in Fredrikstad from 2011 to 2021.[1][2]
Parliament
Having previously been a deputy representative from 2013 to 2017,[3] Nygård was elected representative to the Storting from the constituency of Østfold for the period 2021–2025, for the Labour Party.[4] While part of the government from October 2021, Solveig Vitanza met in the Storting in his place.[3]
Minister of Transport
On 14 October 2021, Nygård was appointed minister of transport in Jonas Gahr Støre’s cabinet.[5]
Nygård announced that he wants an end to tenders for Norwegian train routes, and allocate routes directly to Vy. At the same time, he announced that foreign companies, like Go-Ahead and SJ, would keep their contracts until they expire.[6]
In November, Nygård announced that the government would not cancel future construction of planned motorways, while also reiterating an increased focus on railways, notably InterCity.[7]
On 15 November, Nygård and Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion Hadia Tajik met the head of SAS Norway, Kjetil Håbjørg, regarding the ongoing conflict with it’s staff. As a solution, Nygård was set to present the government’s new aviation strategy, commenting: “We will create an aviation strategy, and Norwegian wage and working conditions will be important. It is about getting a good overview of how this is in the industry and having good control mechanisms”.[8]
In a press release on 8 December, it was announced that the government would expand the compensation scheme for train companies and commercial bus and ferry routes. Nygård stated: “The pandemic has not developed as we had hoped. New national measures have now been introduced to limit the spread of infection in society. We therefore expect that fewer travelers will use public transport. The government is therefore in favour of compensating train companies and commercial bus and boat routes for reduced ticket revenues until March 2022. If the infection control measures so require, the government will consider further extension”. He also stressed that if they were the make cuts in the routes too early, they would risk losing more travellers that otherwise would return.[9]
References
- Tvedt, Knut Are. "Jon-Ivar Nygård". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- "Fredrikstad har fått ny ordfører" (in Norwegian). Dagsavisen. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- "Nygård, Jon-Ivar (1973-)". stortinget.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- Tvedt, Knut Are. "Stortingsrepresentantene 2021–2025". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- "Norge har fått ny regjering" (in Norwegian). NRK. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- "Den nye samferdselsministeren vil gi alt til Vy" (in Norwegian). VG. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- "Samferdselsministeren: Avlyser ikke motorveiutbygging" (in Norwegian). Dagsavisen. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- "Hadia Tajik møtte SAS-sjefen: – Har spurt om hvorfor de er i konflikt med nesten 500 av sine ansatte" (in Norwegian). E24. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- "Korona: Regjeringen vil forlenge kompensasjonsordning for togselskaper og kommersielle buss- og båtruter" (in Norwegian). government.no. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.