85 Facts About Jens Stoltenberg

Jens Stoltenberg has previously served as prime minister of Norway and secretary general of NATO.

Jens Stoltenberg started his career in government as a state secretary in the Ministry of the Environment in 1990 and was elected to the Storting in 1993.

Jens Stoltenberg served as Minister of Industry and Energy from 1993 to 1996 and Minister of Finance from 1996 to 1997.

Jens Stoltenberg was prime minister from 2000 to 2001, was leader of the Labour Party from 2002 to 2014, and served as prime minister for a second time from 2005 to 2013.

Jens Stoltenberg has been described as a cautious politician, belonging to the right wing of social democracy.

Jens Stoltenberg's mother, Karin Stoltenberg, was a geneticist who served as state secretary in multiple governments during the 1980s.

Jens Stoltenberg lived in SFR Yugoslavia from 1961 to 1964 while his father worked at the Norwegian embassy.

Jens Stoltenberg attended primary school at Oslo Waldorf School, and upper secondary school at Oslo Cathedral School.

Jens Stoltenberg served his mandatory military service with the Army's Infantry Training Centre at Evjemoen in Aust-Agder.

Several of Jens Stoltenberg's friends were arrested by the police after these events.

From 1979 to 1981, Jens Stoltenberg was a journalist for Arbeiderbladet.

Jens Stoltenberg worked part-time as an hourly paid instructor at the University of Oslo during this period.

Jens Stoltenberg ended this relationship after being informed by the Norwegian Police Security Service that his contact was a KGB agent, warning him against further contact.

Jens Stoltenberg served as State Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment from 1990 to 1991.

Jens Stoltenberg was first elected to Parliament in 1993 for the Oslo constituency, and is a member of the Labour Party.

Jens Stoltenberg served as Minister of Industry from 1993 to 1996, until Brundtland resigned.

Jens Stoltenberg became the parliamentary leader and prime minister candidate for the Labour Party in February 2000.

Jens Stoltenberg was the deputy leader of the Labour Party while Jagland was the party leader.

Jens Stoltenberg refused to say whether he would challenge Jagland for the leadership position, which was seen by political commentators as a sign that he probably would seek the leadership position.

In November 2002, Jens Stoltenberg was unanimously elected new leader at the party's congress.

Jens Stoltenberg again vowed to work for more democracy, openness, and humanity, but without naivete.

Jens Stoltenberg was the prime minister candidate for the Red-Green Coalition in the 2013 elections, seeking re-election for a third term.

Jens Stoltenberg has been described as a cautious politician, belonging to the right wing of social democracy.

Jens Stoltenberg said he was both inspired by and wanted to learn from Blair's policies.

In security policy, Jens Stoltenberg favours increased military spending and dialogue.

Jens Stoltenberg has been instrumental in modernising the Norwegian armed forces, and in contributing forces to various NATO operations.

Jens Stoltenberg has always been a supporter of Norwegian membership in the European Union.

Jens Stoltenberg has criticized Israel over alleged violations of international law in the Palestinian Territories as well as in international waters, such as the Gaza flotilla raid.

Jens Stoltenberg took an international role during the financial crisis by promoting international financial cooperation.

The summit in Copenhagen ended without a binding agreement, but before the subsequent COP16 in Cancun, Jens Stoltenberg succeeded then-British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the leadership of the committee dealing with the financing of climate actions in developing countries, consisting of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

In January 2014 Jens Stoltenberg became United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Change.

Jens Stoltenberg has been an advocate for having all the world's children vaccinated against infectious diseases.

Jens Stoltenberg was a board director of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization from 2002 to 2005 and was awarded the Children's Health Award in 2005.

Jens Stoltenberg was one of the key driving forces behind the initiative, and has stressed that this is an important contribution to save 9 million children from dying of the most common childhood illnesses.

Jens Stoltenberg warned the United States against not allowing Ukraine to be a part of negotiations over a peace treaty with Russia over the war in Ukraine.

In 2011, Jens Stoltenberg received the United Nations Foundation's Champion of Global Change Award, chosen for his extraordinary effort toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals and bringing fresh ideas to global problems.

In 2013, Jens Stoltenberg served as a UN special envoy on climate change, and he chaired the UN High-Level Panel on System Wide Coherence and the High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing.

On 28 March 2014, NATO's North Atlantic Council appointed Jens Stoltenberg as designated successor of Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the 13th Secretary General of NATO and Chairman of the council, effective from 1 October 2014.

Norway was a founding member of NATO in 1949, and Jens Stoltenberg is the first Norwegian to serve as secretary-general, although former Conservative Party Prime Minister Kare Willoch was considered a strong candidate in 1988.

Jens Stoltenberg strongly condemned the 2016 Turkish coup d'etat attempt and expressed full support for Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.

In June 2016, Jens Stoltenberg said it was essential to step up cooperation with Israel, since Israel had been an active alliance partner for 20 years.

In June 2018, Jens Stoltenberg told Der Spiegel that NATO would not help Israel in the case of an attack by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In 2016, Jens Stoltenberg stated that the NATO strongly supported "the UN-led political process to find a solution" to the dispute over the northern part of Cyprus, which has been under illegal occupation since the Turkish invasion of 1974.

Jens Stoltenberg helped to change Trump's stance on burden-sharing, as well as maintain a robust deterrence policy toward Russia.

Jens Stoltenberg said NATO is not trying to isolate Russia.

In March 2019, Jens Stoltenberg stated that "Georgia will become a member of NATO".

In June 2020, Jens Stoltenberg urged like-minded nations to stand up to China's "bullying and coercion".

Jens Stoltenberg said that Turkey has "legitimate security concerns" during press conference with Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu.

In October 2020, Jens Stoltenberg called for an immediate end to the fighting over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, an enclave that belongs to Azerbaijan under international law but is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians.

On 19 February 2021 Jens Stoltenberg addressed the Munich Security Conference via teleconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic with largely anodyne remarks.

On 14 April 2021, Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance has agreed to start withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan by 1 May Soon after the withdrawal of NATO troops started, the Taliban launched an offensive against the Afghan government, quickly advancing in front of a collapsing Afghan Armed Forces.

Jens Stoltenberg attended the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, and specified that the fight against climate change is something the military could participate in.

Jens Stoltenberg expressed that militaries should work with operating both fossil and environmentally friendly ones.

Jens Stoltenberg stated that NATOs day experts in Brussels has exchanged information with Ukraine, and that experts from the alliance would be assisting Ukrainian authorities with the matter.

Jens Stoltenberg added: "In the coming days, NATO and Ukraine will sign an agreement on enhanced cooperation on data security, including Ukraine's access to NATO's malware sharing platform".

On 21 February 2022, Jens Stoltenberg condemned Russia's diplomatic recognition of two self-proclaimed separatist republics in Donbas.

On 4 March 2022, Jens Stoltenberg said NATO would not establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

On 8 March 2022, Jens Stoltenberg warned that if there is any Russia's attack "against any NATO country, NATO territory, that will trigger Article 5" of the North Atlantic Treaty.

In May 2022 Jens Stoltenberg said Finland and Sweden would be welcomed "with open arms" to NATO if they apply for membership to the alliance.

Jens Stoltenberg said that Turkey has "legitimate concerns" about Finland and Sweden joining the alliance.

Jens Stoltenberg said that Putin is planning a long war in Ukraine and is ready to launch new offensives.

On 4 July, Jens Stoltenberg was confirmed to receive a fourth extension of his mandate as NATO Secretary General to 1 October 2024, which would make his tenure as Secretary General at least a decade long.

In October 2023, Jens Stoltenberg condemned Hamas' actions during the Gaza war and expressed his support to Israel and its right to self-defense.

Jens Stoltenberg warned Iran and Hezbollah not to get involved in Israel's war with Hamas.

In February 2024, Jens Stoltenberg warned that NATO member states have to prepare for a confrontation with Russia "that could last decades".

Jens Stoltenberg said that the best defense tools against Russia are an increase in arms supplies to Ukraine and an increase in NATO's military capabilities.

On 9 July 2024, Jens Stoltenberg was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States, from United States President Joe Biden for his services to NATO during the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Jens Stoltenberg answered that he regrets that NATO allies and NATO itself did not do more to strengthen Ukraine before Russia's invasion of Ukraine began.

Jens Stoltenberg confirmed on 14 December that he had applied for the position, and specified that he had told the Ministry of Finance that he could not ascend to the position before his term as NATO Secretary-General had expired on 1 October 2022.

Jens Stoltenberg's pre-nomination was opposed by all opposition parties, with support only coming from the government parties and the Christian Democratic Party.

Jens Stoltenberg's appointment was officially announced on 4 February 2022.

However, after a NATO summit in March 2022 concerning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Jens Stoltenberg accepted a renewed term of one year to continue as NATO secretary-general and thereby resigned as incoming central bank governor.

On 8 October 2024, it was announced that Jens Stoltenberg would be the next Chairman of the Munich Security Conference and would assume his role in February 2025.

On November 8,2024, Jens Stoltenberg was appointed Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group, an annual private conference attended by political leaders, business executives, academics, and media representatives.

Jens Stoltenberg's appointment placed him in a leadership role within the organization's decision-making structure.

Much like his position in the Munich Security Conference, Jens Stoltenberg stepped down as head of the steering committee to focus entirely on his responsibilities as a minister.

On 12 July 2020 Jens Stoltenberg was the invited guest on the long running BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs.

Jens Stoltenberg participated in protest rallies against the US war in Vietnam in the 1970s.

In 2001, Jens Stoltenberg crashed his Labour Party-owned car into a parked car; he then left the premises without leaving a note with his name or number; the damages cost 8000 Norwegian kroner to repair.

In 2002, Jens Stoltenberg admitted to having used hashish in his youth.

Jens Stoltenberg therefore asked the Ministry of Justice and Public Security to evaluate his impartiality in the upcoming government response to the report on drugs by the Stoltenberg Commission, headed by his father, Thorvald Stoltenberg.

In 2011 Jens Stoltenberg got a 380,000 kroner boat as a birthday gift from the Norwegian Labour Party and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions; the givers paid the tax for the gift which led to criticism.

Jens Stoltenberg has one living sister, Camilla, a medical researcher and administrator who is one year older than he; and one late sister, Nini, four years younger, who died in 2014.

Jens Stoltenberg prefers to spend his summer vacations at his family's cottage on the Hvaler Islands in the Oslofjord.

In December 2011, in order to mark 100 years since Roald Amundsen reached the south pole on skis, Jens Stoltenberg journeyed to Antarctica.