Norway: Siltanews – News Desk
Jens Stoltenberg, the former NATO chief and Norwegian prime minister, is making a stunning if temporary return to top Norwegian politics. As finance minister in the Norwegian Labour Party’s new government, he can help rescue it and perhaps fend off a trade war as he assumes political responsibility for Norway’s enormous wealth: It may be the best defense against the unpredictable Donald Trump and Trump’s new hatchet man Elon Musk.
It’s a major turn of events for Norway, which “lost” Stoltenberg to NATO in 2014 after Stoltenberg himself had lost his bid for a third term as Norway’s prime minister. The man best known simply as “Jens” in Norway became so internationally popular and respected during his time at NATO that his term as secretary general was extended twice, first for a second term from 2018 and then again in 2022 when tensions were high after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The second extension thwarted Stoltenberg’s own desire to be appointed as chief of Norway’s central bank in 2022. The appointment was not without controversy, since Labour under Støre had just won government power and questions arose over possible conflicts of interest. A probe was launched that ended when Stoltenberg agreed to stay on at NATO instead.
Now Stoltenberg, educated as an economist, will be in a position that politically ranks above the independent central bank, which in turn is in charge of Norway’s huge sovereign wealth fund known as the Oil Fund. Its run through NBIM (Norges Bank Investment Management), led since 2020 by the wealthy Norwegian financier Nicolai Tangen. Tangen and Elon Musk have recently been in the news after the Oil Fund voted against Musk’s request for an enormous pay package. Musk wasn’t happy, but the ever-growing Oil Fund gives Norway clout as the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world.