Bård Hoksrud

Bård André Hoksrud (born 26 March 1973 in Porsgrunn) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party. Since 2005, he has been a member of the Storting. He served as Minister of Agriculture and Food from 2018-2019, and as State Secretary at the Ministry of Transport and Communications from 2013-2015.

Bård Hoksrud
Minister of Agriculture and Food
In office
31 August 2018 – 22 January 2019
Prime MinisterErna Solberg
Preceded byJon Georg Dale
Succeeded byOlaug Bollestad
Member of the Norwegian Parliament
Assumed office
5 October 2005
ConstituencyTelemark
Personal details
Born (1973-03-26) 26 March 1973
Porsgrunn, Norway
NationalityNorwegian
Political partyProgress Party
Spouse(s)Ingunn Lundin Jensen
Children2
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionGrocery store manager

From 1999 to 2002, he was the chairman of the Youth of the Progress Party. He was elected to the Parliament of Norway from Telemark in 2005. He had previously served in the position of deputy representative during the terms 1997–2001 and 2001–2005. On the local level, Hoksrud was a member of Bamble Municipality council from 1991 to 2007. He does not have higher education, but worked as a grocery store manager before entering politics.

Early life and education

He was born 26 March 1973 in Porsgrunn to father, electrician Rolf Oddbjørn Hoksrud (1944-) and mother Karin Gulbrandsen (1947-). Hoksrud finished Vallermyrene Upper Secondary school in 1992. He later managed a series of grocery stores up until 1998.[1]

Political career

Active in the Progress Party's Youth (FPU) since 1989, he was the leader of its Telemark branch as well as central board member from 1996, before becoming its overall leader from 1999 to 2002. Hoksrud, who originally was third in line for the leadership, was elected after Robert Eriksson and Fredrik Färber declined the post.[2] He was also employed as a political aide to the Progress Party parliamentary caucus, as well as serving as an organizational secretary for the party.[1]

Hoksrud started his career at age 18 as an elected politician as a member of Bamble municipal council from 1991 to 2011. Locally he was also a board member of Skiensfjordens Kommunale Kraftselskap from 1999 to 2000 and national board member of the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities from 2000 to 2005.[1]

He served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway during the terms 1997–2001 and 2001–2005, and was elected as a full member in the 2005 parliamentary election. During his first term he sat on the Standing Committee on Transport and Communications, and after he was reelected in the 2009 parliamentary election he became the committees deputy leader.

Hoksrud is one of Norway's most active members of parliament. According to the daily newspaper Aftenposten, Hoksrud was, along with fellow Progress Party politicians Ketil Solvik-Olsen and Torgeir Trældal, the politicians who submitted most formal questions to the Cabinet ministers during parliamentary sessions.[3]

Hoksrud was again re-elected in 2013. When Solberg's Cabinet assumed office following that election, Hoksrud was appointed as a State Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Communications under Ketil Solvik-Olsen. His parliamentary seat was taken by deputy Kristian Norheim.[1]

Views

An outspoken opponent of Toll roads in Norway, Hoksrud frequently accused the Red-green coalition government of "highway robbery", when charging drivers in order to finance future road projects.[4] While he supports a massive increase in road- and railway spending and construction, he believes this should be financed through the state budget.[5] He once referred to the Minister of Transport Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa as a "modern day highwayman, due to her support for toll roads.[6] He has been criticized for allegedly disregarding cases where the Progress Party itself votes in favour of toll roads on the municipal level.[7]

Generally opposed to taxes and restrictions on automobiles, Hoksrud accused prime minister Jens Stoltenberg of having a "hidden agenda" when the latter proposed a ban on diesel cars during specific days, in order to reduce pollution of CO2 and NOx gases, as well as extra taxation for diesel-run cars.[8] This was because the government had advised people to buy diesel-run cars earlier before the health hazards were known.[9] Hoksrud called the plans "hopeless"[10] and polls made indicated that only 40% of drivers would respect the ban.[11]

The "Hoksrud affair"

On 21 September 2011, media outlet TV 2 reported that Hoksrud had visited a brothel in Riga, the capital of Latvia. He subsequently admitted having paid a Latvian prostitute for services.[12] As this is punishable under Norwegian law, the party's then deputy leader, Per Sandberg, said that Hoksrud would resign from his political positions, if the party so wishes.[13] Hoksrud later confirmed this by saying : "I naturally wish that the party be at least possible harm for something extraordinarily stupid I did at my spare-time. I am now aware that the police is to open investigation, and therefore I immediately resign from all of my mandates in the party".[14] As he was popularly elected, he was unable by law to resign from parliament.[15] He did however resign from the party's powerful Central Committee, where he was replaced by Pål Morten Borgli.[16] In the end he received a fine of NOK 25.000 ($4800), which he accepted.[17]

In the aftermath of the case, Hoksrud experienced an outpouring of support on social media,[18][19] and despite being declared politically dead by veteran political analyst Kyrre Nakkim,[20] was unanimously nominated for reelection towards the 2013 elections.[21][22] He was subsequently reelected for a third term.

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References
  1. "Bård Hoksrud" (in Norwegian). Storting.
  2. http://www.na24.no/article3722434.ece
  3. Skumsvoll, Nils (2 August 2012). "Hoksrud stiller flest spørsmål". Varden.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  4. Sellevold, Terje (24 March 2012). "- Driver med landeveisrøveri". Nrk.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  5. Rønningen, Helge (30 October 2012). "Sjekk Frps enorme satsing på vei og jernbane". Nettavisen.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  6. Rud, Thomas (24 August 2011). "- Kleppa er den moderne landeveisrøver". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  7. Helljesen, Vilde (24 August 2011). "Fremskrittspartiet er feige". Nrk.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  8. Blaker, Magnus (7 July 2011). "Dieselbiler kan få kjøreforbud". Nettavsien (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  9. Berge, Jørgen. "Stoltenberg har en skjult agenda". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  10. Ravnaas, Niels (14 June 2011). "- Dette er et håpløst forbud". e24.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  11. Jenssen, Grethe (12 September 2011). "Vil gi blaffen i diesel-forbud". Nrk.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  12. "Stortingspolitiker kjøpte sex i Riga". TV2. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  13. "Frps Hoksrud kjøpte sex i Riga". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  14. Fondenes, Eivind (22 September 2011). "Hoksrud trekker seg fra alle verv". Tv2.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  15. Fondenes, Eivind (30 September 2011). "Bård Hoksrud tilbake på stortinget". tv2.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  16. Holm, Per Annar (22 September 2011). "Hoksrud trekker seg fra sentralstyret". Bt.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  17. Berge, Grete (22 September 2011). "Bård Hoksrud for 25000 i sex-bot". Nrk.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  18. Sandvik, Siv (22 September 2011). "Ikke trekk deg, Frp trenger deg". Nrk.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  19. Fondenes, Eivind (22 September 2011). "Bård Hoksrud får massiv støtte på sosale media". tv2.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  20. Hammerstad, Kathrine (22 September 2011). "- Politisk er han død som en sild". Nrk.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  21. Solvik, Bjørn Magne. "Ingen strid om Bård Hoksrud". Liberaleren (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  22. Øverbø, Solfrid (21 September 2012). "Innrømmer undervurdering av Frp". Nrk.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2012.
Preceded by
Anders Anundsen		 Chairman of the Youth of the Progress Party
1999–2002		 Succeeded by
Trond Birkedal
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