Sandra Borch

Borch was elected a deputy member from Troms for the Centre Party in 2009,[2] and later an ordinary member to the Storting for the period 2017–2021.[3] In the Storting, she was a member of the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment from 2017 to 2021. She was re-elected to the Storting for the period 2021–2025. While being a member of the Støre cabinet from 2021, Ivar B. Prestbakmo met in her place.[2]

She was leader of the Troms branch of the Centre Youth from 2007 to 2009, before she became a member of the Centre Youth’s central board. She then served as the international relations leader from 2009 to 2010, and organisational deputy leader from 2010 to 2011.

In November 2011, she was elected the new leader of the Centre Youth with 85 votes against her opponent Lars Vangen’s 80.[4]

In October 2012, the Centre Youth asked in a letter to the Centre Party's central board that the party should challenge the leadership style of Liv Signe Navarsete after she had become loudly angry at Borch.[5] The background was that Borch had the same day opened for Ola Borten Moe as a possible future leader of the Centre Party. After a debate at a central board meeting five days later, and an unreserved apology from Navarsete, Borch expressed that she had full confidence in her.[6]

As leader of the Centre Youth, Borch opened up for a new debate and oil extraction in Lofoten and Vesterålen. The proposal was however voted down at the Centre Youth’s congress in November 2012.[7]

Borch notably took a stand against cyber bullying after she experienced it herself surrounding her height. In a blog post, she expressed disgust with anonymous bullies and called them cowards. She further expressed that cyber bullying had become a big and widespread problem in society, and called for it to be put on the agenda.[8]

In September 2013, Borch announced that she would not seek re-election as leader, despite having previously indicated that she wanted to. She cited her reason being that she disagreed with the mother party’s business policies.[9] In November, she was succeeded by Erling Laugsand.[10]

She was appointed minister of agriculture in Støre's Cabinet on 14 October 2021.[11]

In one of her first cases as minister, Borch stopped the sale of the Løken farm in Volbu, Valdres. Borch stated that the ministry would work together with Øystre Slidre municaplity to find a more appropriate ownership and operation of the farm.[12]

Borch accused her predecessor, Olaug Bollestad, to not have dealt with compensation to the agricultural sector properly before the previous government’s departure. She notably pointed to the budget priority in the state budget that didn’t let of any costs to deal with its problems. She further stated: “But we must also keep in mind that there are many farmers out there who experience great financial insecurity because they have not been invested in the last eight years”.[13]

On 8 December, she and state secretary Aleksander Øren Heen from the Ministry of the Climate and Environment met with mayors, local representatives and affected traders in surrounding areas of Hardangervidda, affected by a recent wave of scrapie decease. Of the meeting, Borch said: “It is demanding to deal with this serious animal disease. I am therefore pleased that we have had a good meeting with mayors in the Hardangervidda area, local government and other affected traders. It is important for me to listen to their input before the Minister of Climate and the Environment and I soon will decide whether it will be necessary to carry out an extraordinary removal of wild reindeer in the winter of 2021/22”.[14]