Jens Stoltenberg appointed Norway’s finance minister

Former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will make a return to Norway’s government. He will become finance minister as part of a Cabinet reshuffle after the government collapsed last week, POLITICO writes.

“I am deeply honoured to have been asked to help my country at this critical stage. Having carefully considered the current challenges we face, I have decided to accept Prime Minister Støre’s request to serve as his minister of finance,” Stoltenberg said in a press release. He will replace outgoing Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum.

Before becoming NATO chief, Stoltenberg served twice as Norway’s prime minister, 2000-2001 and 2005-2013. He also held the finance minister position in the 1990s.

In his secretary-general role, Stoltenberg steered NATO through the tumultuous first administration of United States President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021, earning the moniker “Trump whisperer” for convincing the U.S. president not to pull out of the transatlantic military alliance.

Days ago, the coalition government of social democrats and centrists in Norway was dissolved due to disagreements over energy policy.

Eight out of the 20 ministers have left the cabinet. The country’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, has promised not to resign and to lead the minority government until the parliamentary elections scheduled for Sept. 8 of this year. The inclusion of Stoltenberg—who enjoys popularity—in the cabinet could help raise the party’s declining ratings.