Sveinung Rotevatn

Sveinung Rotevatn (born 15 May 1987) is a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. Rotevatn comes from Nordfjordeid, Sogn og Fjordane, and has a master's degree in law from the University of Bergen.[1] He has served as Minister of Climate and the Environment since 2020.[2] Prior to that, he served as a state secretary at the same department from 2018 to 2020 under then minister Ola Elvestuen.

Sveinung Rotevatn
Rotevatn in 2015.
First Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 September 2020
Leader	Guri Melby
Preceded by	Ola Elvestuen
Minister of Climate and the Environment
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 January 2020
Prime Minister	Erna Solberg
Preceded by	Ola Elvestuen
State Secretary for the Ministry of Climate and the Environment
In office 12 October 2018 – 24 January 2020
Prime Minister	Erna Solberg
Minister	Ola Elvestuen
State Secretary for the Ministry of Justice and Public Security
In office 17 January 2018 – 12 October 2018
Prime Minister	Erna Solberg
Minister	Sylvi Listhaug Tor Mikkel Wara
Member of the Norwegian Parliament
In office 1 October 2013 – 2 October 2017
Constituency	Sogn og Fjordane
Leader of the Young Liberals
In office 16 October 2010 – 26 October 2013
Preceded by	Anne Solsvik
Succeeded by	Tord Hustveit
Personal details
Born	15 May 1987 Nordfjordeid, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
Political party	Liberal

Career

Rotevatn became the president of the Young Liberals of Norway, the Liberal Party's youth wing, in 2010[3] and was succeeded in October 2013 by Tord Hustveit.[4]

In 2013, Bergens Tidende called him the biggest political talent in Norway.[5]

Rotevatn was elected MP from the Sogn og Fjordane county constituency in the 2013 Norwegian parliamentary election.[6] He failed to win re-election in the 2017 Norwegian parliamentary election, but was later appointed State Secretary to the Department of Justice and Public Security when the Liberal Party went into coalition government with the Conservative Party and the Progress Party on 17 January 2018.

In 2020, following the Progress Party’s withdrawal from government, he was appointed Minister of the Environment. In May the same year, he announced his intention to run for the party leadership in September to succeed outgoing leader Trine Skei Grande. At the time, he became the first person to announce his run for leader following Grande’s decision to resign.[7] On 23 August, he was designated deputy leader of the party, with Abid Raja as second deputy and Melby as party leader, unanimously by the party's election committee.[8] At the party conference in September, he was elected first deputy leader, with Melby as leader and Raja as second deputy, unopposed.[9]

References

1. "Sveinung Rotevatn - Stortingskandidat for V i Sogn og Fjordane".
2. "The New Cabinet Presented at the Palace". Romerikes Blad. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.;
3. Christoffer Torris Olsen (2010-10-17). "Sveinung Rotevatn ny leder i Unge Venstre". Retrieved 18 October 2010.
4. "Tord Hustveit ny leder i Unge Venstre" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
5. "Politikk og sirkus". 2013-08-30. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
6. Representantprognose for Sogn og Fjordane Kommunal- og regionaldepartementet, September 10, 2013
7. "Sveinung Rotevatn wants to become Liberal Party leader" (in Norwegian). VG. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
8. "Guri Melby: Ready to fight for the leadership" (in Norwegian). VG. 23 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
9. "Guri Melby elected new Liberal Party leader: - I am completely touched" (in Norwegian). TV 2. 26 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.