25 Facts About Guri Melby

Guri Melby was born on 3 February 1981 and is a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party.

Guri Melby has served as the party leader since 2020 and Minister of Education from 2020 to 2021.

Guri Melby is a member of parliament for Oslo since 2021, having previously been a deputy member for the same constituency between 2013 and 2021.

When Trine Skei Grande was appointed to Solberg's Cabinet in 2018, Melby moved up to full representative, which she was until Grande resumed her duties in 2020.

Guri Melby was elected a regular representative in the 2021 election.

Guri Melby stated afterwards that it was "at best naive of the Storting to accept that our democratic rules are deceived by a manipulative system, at worst we have allowed ourselves to be dictated, and that is even worse".

Guri Melby took over from Ola Elvestuen, who had been elected to Parliament following the 2013 parliamentary election.

Guri Melby was succeeded by Lan Marie Nguyen Berg after the coalition was defeated following the 2015 local elections.

Guri Melby expressed sorrow by Grande's resignation, saying that "being education minister was her dream job".

Guri Melby's appointment coincided with the lockdown and closing of schools in Norway due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guri Melby was criticised by many educational experts for her decision, but she defended it by saying that it would be up to the schools respectively to decide and notify their county governor about it.

Guri Melby was however supported by the lecturer team, the Education Association and the Oslo City Commission for Knowledge and Education.

Guri Melby stressed the importance to keep students physically at school as much as possible.

Guri Melby expressed scepticism to Oslo's Knowledge and Education Commissioner's proposal to keep schools in Oslo at a yellow level.

Guri Melby quickly apologised for her statement, and said it came out wrong.

The leader of the Norwegian Lecturer Team, Rita Helgesen, criticised Guri Melby, stating that she had created a new subject that was not a subject at all.

The Conservative's Turid Kristensen criticised Guri Melby, stating that they didn't want to build down common subjects.

Guri Melby became the third person after Sveinung Rotevatn and Abid Raja to announce their run for the leadership.

Guri Melby told reporters that she had sought advice from Grande herself and did not exclude seeking advice from her if she became leader.

Guri Melby further stated that the party "is pursuing a drug policy that is failing and has negative consequences".

In November, after minister of culture Anette Trettebergstuen stated that no members of the government or representatives of the state would attend the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Guri Melby praised Trettebergstuen, while adding that no members of the Storting should attend the event either.

In June 2022, Guri Melby reiterated the Ukrainian ambassador's sentiment that the Norwegian government should be harsher against Russia.

Guri Melby noted that Norway should block Russian vessels from entering Norwegian waters, saying: "As long as Russia blocks Ukrainian vessels from going to port in Ukraine, the Russians should not be allowed to use Norwegian ports".

On 19 November 2023, Guri Melby declared her candidacy for Prime Minister in an attempt to appeal to voters from the right wing-bloc who were dissatisfied with Erna Solberg's intentions of running for the post again in the 2025 election.

The Green Party leader Arild Hermstad expressed support for Guri Melby's candidacy, calling it "a good idea".