State Secretary (Norway)

In Norway, a State Secretary (Norwegian: statssekretær) is a partisan political position within the executive branch of government. Contrary to the position Secretary of State in many other countries, the Norwegian State Secretary does not head his or her Ministry, rather, they are second in rank to a Minister. Resembling a de facto vice minister, the State Secretary, however, cannot attend a Council of State, and does not act as a temporary Minister in case of illness or other leave of absence.

Modern use

The modern State Secretary institution was established in 1947, following a 78-41 vote in the Norwegian Parliament. The Labour and Communist parties voted for, whereas the Agrarian (Centre), Christian Democratic, Liberal, and Conservative parties voted against. The cabinet at that time was a single-party Labour cabinet led by Einar Gerhardsen, and one State Secretary was appointed seven of the ministries. State Secretaries in the Office of the Prime Minister followed in 1956,[1] having originally been known as Secretaries to the Prime Minister.[2] When the cabinet Lyng (Conservative, Christian Democratic, Centre, Liberal) assumed office in August 1963, they appointed State Secretaries in nearly all ministries, and when the cabinet Korvald (Christian Democratic, Centre, Liberal) assumed office, it became the first cabinet to employ two State Secretaries in one ministry.[1]

In 1968 the Conservative representative Paul Thyness, himself a former State Secretary, had proposed a parliamentary resolution which requested the sitting cabinet to "take the function and status of State Secretary position into closer consideration. A public reporting committee convened in 1970; in 1971 Thyness became a member of this committee. In 1972, Thyness and fellow committee member Guttorm Hansen proposed four changes to the Norwegian Constitution in order to cement the State Secretary position in Norwegian law. A Norwegian Official Report was also produced; in 1974 (NOU 1974: 18). In 1976 the constitutional change was passed, following a 146-9 parliamentary vote. The only party which opposed the change was the Anders Lange Party; its four representatives voted together with individuals from other parties. One proposal was scrapped, though; the idea that State Secretaries should meet in parliamentary sessions, allowing for closer scrutiny of the executive branch of government by the legislative branch.[1]

Originally, the position was typically given to external technical experts or young politicians with little or no prior expericence as elected politicians. In 1980, a landmark was made as Helen Bøsterud became the first State Secretary with prior experience in Parliament. However, this is still not the rule.[1] On the other hand, becoming a Parliament member or even Minister after serving as State Secretary is common. Jan P. Syse (State Secretary 1970–1971) and Kjell Magne Bondevik (State Secretary 1972–1973) would serve as Prime Ministers,[3][4] and Thorvald Stoltenberg (State Secretary 1971–1972 and 1973–1979) and Jonas Gahr Støre (State Secretary 2000–2001) would serve as Ministers of Foreign Affairs.[5][6]

Historical use

The title State Secretary was first used in 1814. While Norway was still a part of Denmark, in March 1814, Crown Prince Christian Frederick created a Government Council (Regjeringsråd), with a regular secretary who was titled Secretary to the Government (Regjeringssekretær). According to the Norwegian Constitution of May 1814, the name of the Government Council was changed to Council of State, the secretary position being renamed to the State Secretary at the same time. The name remained until 1925, when it was changed to Secretary to the Council of State (Statsrådsekretær). Following restructuring in 1969 and 1987, the position were transformed into a civil servant position in the Office of the Prime Minister, and is today known as Secretary to the Government (Regjeringsråd).[7]

List of current State Secretaries

This is a list of the State Secretaries in the second cabinet Stoltenberg, which governed Norway from 2005 to 2013.[8] Unless otherwise noted, the term started on 17 October 2005.

Ministry	State Secretary	Period	Party
Office of the Prime Minister	Svein Fjellheim		Labour
	Torbjørn Giæver Eriksen		Labour
	Rita Skjærvik		Labour
	Kjersti Markusson	22 October 2007 –	Socialist Left
	Hilde Singsaas	1 December 2006 – (acting since 17 March)	Labour
	Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen	1 December 2006 –	Labour
	Per J. Jordal	3 March 2008 –	Centre
	Jan-Erik Larsen	15 September 2008 –	Labour
Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Raymond Johansen	28 October 2005 –	Labour
	Elisabeth Walaas	21 September 2007 –	Labour
	Håkon Gulbrandsen (International Development)	16 November 2007–	Socialist Left
Ministry of Defence	Eirik Øwre Thorshaug		Labour
Ministry of Industry and Trade	Rikke Lind	26 January 2007 –	Labour
	Øyvind Slåke	14 December 2007 –	Labour
Ministry of Government Administration and Reform	Wenche Lyngholm	21 October 2005 –	Socialist Left
Ministry of Finance	Roger Schjerva		Socialist Left
	Geir Axelsen		Labour
	Roger Sandum		Socialist Left
	Ole Morten Geving	12 October 2007 –	Centre
	Henriette Westhrin	18 October 2007 –	Socialist Left
Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development	Aase Marthe J. Horrigmo[9]	17 January 2018 –	Conservative
	Dag-Henrik Sandbakken	21 October 2005 –	Centre
	Janne Sjelmo Nordås	2 November 2007 –	Centre
Ministry of Health and Care Services	Rigmor Aasrud	21 October 2005 –	Labour
	Kari Henriksen	3 December 2007 –	Labour
	Dagfinn Sundsbø	20 June 2008 –	Centre
	Ellen Birgitte Pedersen	27 June 2008 –	Socialist Left
Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs	Mette Gundersen	21 October 2005 –	Labour
	Wegard Harsvik	3 December 2007 –	Labour
Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion	Jan-Erik Støstad	21 October 2005 –	Labour
	Libe S. Rieber-Mohn	21 October 2005 –	Labour
	Laila Gustavsen	21 October 2005 –	Labour
	Raimo Valle	26 October 2007 –	Labour
Ministry of Transport and Communications	Geir Pollestad	8 October 2008 –	Centre
	Lars Erik Bartnes		Centre
Ministry of Fisheries	Vidar Ulriksen	21 October 2005 –	Labour
Ministry of the Environment	Henriette Killi Westhrin		Socialist Left
	Ketil Raknes		Socialist Left
Ministry of Agriculture	Ola T. Heggem	28 October 2005 –	Centre
Ministry of Justice and Police	Astri Aas-Hansen	9 February 2007 –	Labour
	Kristin Bergersen		Labour
	Pål K. Lønseth		Labour
Ministry of Children and Equality	Kjell Erik Øie	21 October 2005 –	Labour
Ministry of Petroleum and Energy	Liv Monica Bargem Stubholt	21 September 2007 –	Centre
	Robin Kåss	8 October 2008 –	Labour
Ministry of Education and Research	Lisbet Rugtvedt		Socialist Left
	Jens Revold	18 October 2007 –	Socialist Left

References

1. Søberg, Morten (30 October 2008). "Den nye politiske klassen". Dag og Tid (in Norwegian). Retrieved 31 October 2008.
2. Einar Gerhardsen's Second Government. 5 November 1945 - 19 November 1951 – Government.no
3. "Jan P. Syse" (in Norwegian). Storting.
4. "Kjell Magne Bondevik" (in Norwegian). Storting.
5. "Thorvald Stoltenberg" (in Norwegian). Storting.
6. "Jonas Gahr Støre" (in Norwegian). Storting.
7. Secretary to the Council of State since 1814 – Government.no
8. Jens Stoltenberg's Second Government. 17 October 2005–present – Government.no
9. "State Secretary Aase Marthe J. Horrigmo (Conservative Party)". Government of Norway.