Marte Mjøs Persen

Marte Mjøs Persen (born 24 April 1975) is a Norwegian politician. She has served as mayor in Bergen from 2015 until she was elected a member of the Storting in 2021. She has served as minister of petroleum and energy since 2021.

Marte Mjøs Persen
Minister of Petroleum and Energy
Assumed office
14 October 2021
Prime MinisterJonas Gahr Støre
Preceded byTina Bru
Member of the Storting
Assumed office
1 October 2021
ConstituencyHordaland
Mayor of Bergen
In office
28 October 2015 – 22 September 2021
DeputyMarita Moltu
Rune Bakervik
Preceded byTrude Drevland
Succeeded byRune Bakervik
Personal details
Born (1975-04-24) 24 April 1975
Bergen, Hordaland, Norway
NationalityNorwegian
Political partyLabour
Other political
affiliations
Domestic partnerNils-Olav Nøss
Children4
Alma materUniversity of Bergen[1]
OccupationPolitician

Political career

Persen is a former member of the Red Electoral Alliance, and served as deputy chairman from 2003 to 2007, when the alliance merged to form the Red Party. She left the Red Party in 2008 after internal disagreements.[2] She has been elected member of the city council in Bergen since 2003, first representing the Red Electoral Alliance, and from 2008 the Labour Party. In 2015 she was elected mayor in Bergen, and reelected in 2019.[1]

Parliament

She was elected representative to the Storting from the constituency of Hordaland for the period 2021–2025, for the Labour Party.[3]

Minister of Petroleum and Energy

On 14 October 2021, Mjøs Persen was appointed minister of petroleum and energy in Støre's Cabinet.[4]

As the new minister of energy Persen faced a delicate problem. The wind farms of Storheia (80 mills) and Roan (71 mills) are situated within Fosen Reindeer District (Norwegian: Fosen reinbeitedistrikt), and they are built in spite of loud protests from the Sami People. A recent judgment in the Supreme Court ruled that the windmills are set up in violation of the rights of the indigenous people, thus illegally, and the license granted by the Ministry in 2013 was illegal.[5]

Regarding the electricity price crisis, Persen promised measures to give people a lower price. She stated that the government would take a look at both short and long term solutions.[6]

In the Storting question time on 27 October, Persen acknowledged that electrification of the Norwegian shelf would require an increased use of power on land in the short term up until 2030.[7]

Person met the lawyers representing the Sami people in the issue of the wind farms within the Fosen area, on 2 November. She didn’t offer a solution to the matter as the issue stood, but emphasised that she prioritised the state’s duty for the people and for the Sami population. She also said she would be meeting the Sami people effected face to face, as soon as possible.[8]

In December, she and fellow ministers Anniken Huitfeldt and Jan Christian Vestre, and Crown Prince Haakon visited the United States to promote Norwegian interests notably regarding “War, the Arctic, offshore wind, contemporary art and Christmas trees”. Persen notably cited that they were going to visit Equinor’s recently opened Brooklyn office in relation to the ongoing offshore wind projects outside of New York.[9] Persen decided to travel home after only a day out of the four scheduled days to spend in the U. S, citing to compensate for a state secretary with a child who had to be home due to a COVID-19 closed kindergarten. Her chief of communication, Arvid Samland, denied that her return home was due to Progress Party leader Sylvi Listhaug’s criticism of Persen’s visit.[10]

Personal life

Persen was born in Bergen on 24 April 1975,[1] a daughter of Svein Persen and Eli Hedvig Mjøs,[11] and graduated with a bachelor degree from the University of Bergen.[1] She lives with her partner, Nils-Olav Nøss and has four children, notably triplets and one adult son.[12]

References
  1. Garvik, Olav. "Marte Mjøs Persen". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  2. Horn, Anders; Sjøli, Hans Petter (12 February 2008). "Generasjonsopprør i Rødt". Klassekampen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  3. Tvedt, Knut Are. "Stortingsrepresentantene 2021–2025". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  4. "Norge har fått ny regjering" (in Norwegian). NRK. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  5. Børstad, Johannes; Måsø, Jan Rune; Kringstad, Kirsti; Mølster, Elisabeth Strand (11 October 2021). "Hun blir statsråd og får vindkraftsaken i fanget etter knusende dom". nrk.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  6. "Håper regjeringen kutter elavgift og moms på strøm" (in Norwegian). NRK. 18 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  7. "Ap og Sp krevde mer havvind - nå kommer ny statsråd med innrømmelse" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  8. "Reindriftssamene på Fosen får foreløpig ingen svar fra regjeringen" (in Norwegian). ABC Nyheter. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  9. "Tre statsråder på plass i USA: − Vi har veldig mye å tilby amerikanerne" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  10. "Sylvi Listhaug raser etter USA-besøk: - Ikke til å tro" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  11. "Persen, Marte Mjøs (1975-)". stortinget.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  12. "Trillingmor fra Flaktveit blir byens nye ordfører" (in Norwegian). Bergensavisen. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
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