Torbjørn Røe Isaksen

Torbjørn Røe Isaksen (born 28 July 1978) is a Norwegian politician, MP for the Conservative Party who has served as Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion since January 2020.[1] He previously served as Minister of Trade and Industry from 2018 to 2020 and Minister of Education and Research from October 2013 to January 2018; except from September to November 2017 when he was on parental leave and his duties were undertaken by Henrik Asheim.

Torbjørn Røe Isaksen MP
Røe Isaksen in 2018.
Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 January 2020
Prime Minister	Erna Solberg
Preceded by	Anniken Hauglie
Minister of Trade and Industry
In office 17 January 2018 – 24 January 2020
Prime Minister	Erna Solberg
Preceded by	Monica Mæland
Succeeded by	Iselin Nybø
Minister of Education and Research
In office 26 November 2017 – 17 January 2018
Prime Minister	Erna Solberg
Preceded by	Henrik Asheim (acting)
Succeeded by	Jan Tore Sanner
In office 16 October 2013 – 15 September 2017
Prime Minister	Erna Solberg
Preceded by	Kristin Halvorsen
Succeeded by	Henrik Asheim (acting)
Minister of Fisheries Acting
In office 2 March 2020 – 13 March 2020
Prime Minister	Erna Solberg
Preceded by	Geir-Inge Sivertsen
Succeeded by	Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen
Member of the Norwegian Parliament
In office 1 October 2009 – 30 September 2017
Constituency	Telemark
Leader of the Young Conservatives
In office 20 June 2004 – 22 June 2008
Preceded by	Ine Marie Eriksen
Succeeded by	Henrik Asheim
Personal details
Born	28 July 1978 Ålesund, Møre og Romsdal, Norway
Nationality	Norwegian
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Henriette Ringnes (m. 2011)
Children	3
Alma mater	University of Oslo

Isaksen edited the newspaper Xtra, published by the Young Conservatives (Unge Høyre), the youth wing of the Conservative Party from 2002 to 2004, and he was the leader of the Young Conservatives from 2004 to 2008. Prior to entering politics full-time, Isaksen worked as a freelance journalist and was the political editor in the gazette Minerva. Isaksen holds a master's degree in political science from the University of Oslo. His master's thesis was on Friedrich Hayek.[2] In 2008 he published the book The Right Turn. For a New Conservatism, which was printed in three editions.

Hailing from Porsgrunn, he served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Telemark during the 2005–2009 term.[3] In the 2009 election he was the top candidate for the Telemark Conservatives and was elected to the parliament for the first time.

In 2007 he was named Norway's most talented young politician by VG.[4]

After Geir-Inge Sivertsen resigned as Minister of Fisheries in March 2020, Røe Isaksen was acting minister for 11 days before Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen’s appointment.[5][6] On 27 May 2020, he stated to Minerva that he's not intendig to stand for the 2021 election, and that he would be stepping down from politics all together. His reasoning was to focus more on his family.[7]

Controversy

On 6 October 2020 an article at NRK.no told about a meeting in the office of the Minister of Trade and Industry, a few[8] days after 10 July 2019; during the meeting the minister gave an exception to a regulation; the exception benefited two voyages by MS Roald Amundsen. As of 7 October 2020 the trade unions LO, Sjømannsforbundet and Norsk Sjøoffisersforbund have requested an urgent meeting with the new Minister of Trade and Industry.[9] Hege-Merethe Bengtsson, who is a lawyer and a leader of the trade union Det norske maskinistforbund, claims that Isaksen had no authority to make that exception to rules and regulations.[10]

Publications

• T.R. Isaksen and N. Astrup; Velferd etter velferdsstaten
• T.R. Isaksen; Høyre om (2008)
• T.R. Isaksen with Henrik Syse; Conservatism, an anthology With translated texts from amongst others Augustin, Edmund Burke, Joseph de Maistre, Konrad Adenauer and Roger Scruton (2011)

References

1. "This Is Solberg's Cabinet 4.0". NRK. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.;
2. Nyhagen, Christine Skogen (20 May 2009). "Skrev masteroppgaven på 20 dager" (in Norwegian). Universitas. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
3. "Torbjørn Røe Isaksen" (in Norwegian). Storting.
4. FAKTA: Torbjørn Røe Isaksen Archived 2013-02-23 at Archive.today Varden, 11 December 2009, retrieved 10 January 2013
5. "Torbjørn Røe Isaksen Appointed Acting Fisheries Minister" (in Norwegian). TV 2. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
6. "Melby New Education Minister" (in Norwegian). Adresseavisen. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
7. "Torbjørn Røe Isaksen is not standing for election to the Storting next autumn" (in Norwegian). 27 May 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
8. https://www.nrk.no/tromsogfinnmark/xl/derfor-kan-hurtigruten-seile-med-internasjonalt-mannskap-i-norge-1.15107731
9. https://www.nrk.no/tromsogfinnmark/ber-om-hastemote-med-naeringsminister-iselin-nybo-om-hurtigruten-1.15190345
10. https://www.nrk.no/tromsogfinnmark/ber-om-hastemote-med-naeringsminister-iselin-nybo-om-hurtigruten-1.15190345

External links

• Blog
• Minerva magazine
• List of publications by Torbjørn Røe Isaksen in BIBSYS (Norway)