Anniken Huitfeldt facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anniken Huitfeldt
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Huitfeldt in 2023
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| Norwegian Ambassador to the United States | |
| Assumed office 26 August 2024 |
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| Prime Minister | Jonas Gahr Støre |
| Preceded by | Anniken Krutnes |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 14 October 2021 – 16 October 2023 |
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| Prime Minister | Jonas Gahr Støre |
| Preceded by | Ine Eriksen Søreide |
| Succeeded by | Espen Barth Eide |
| Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion | |
| In office 21 September 2012 – 16 October 2013 |
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| Prime Minister | Jens Stoltenberg |
| Preceded by | Hanne Bjurstrøm |
| Succeeded by | Robert Eriksson |
| Minister of Culture | |
| In office 20 October 2009 – 21 September 2012 |
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| Prime Minister | Jens Stoltenberg |
| Preceded by | Trond Giske |
| Succeeded by | Hadia Tajik |
| Minister of Children and Equality | |
| In office 29 February 2008 – 20 October 2009 |
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| Prime Minister | Jens Stoltenberg |
| Preceded by | Manuela Ramin-Osmundsen |
| Succeeded by | Audun Lysbakken |
| Member of the Storting | |
| Assumed office 1 October 2005 |
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| Deputy | Gorm Kjernli Are Helseth Ragnhild Male Hartviksen |
| Constituency | Akershus |
| Deputy Member of the Storting | |
| In office 1 October 1993 – 30 September 2005 |
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| Constituency | Akershus |
| Leader of the Workers' Youth League | |
| In office 27 October 1996 – 22 October 2000 |
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| Preceded by | Trond Giske |
| Succeeded by | Eva Kristin Hansen |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Anniken Scharning Huitfeldt
29 November 1969 Bærum, Akershus, Norway |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Ola Petter Flem |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | |
Anniken Scharning Huitfeldt (born 29 November 1969) is a Norwegian historian and politician. She belongs to the Labour Party. Since 2024, she has been Norway's Ambassador to the United States. Before this, she held several important roles as a government minister. She was a minister under Jens Stoltenberg from 2008 to 2013. Later, she served as the foreign minister under Jonas Gahr Støre from 2021 to 2023.
About Anniken Huitfeldt
Her Family and Where She Grew Up
Anniken Huitfeldt was born in Bærum Municipality, Norway. Her father was Iver Huitfeldt, a public prosecutor. Her mother was Sidsel Scharning. Anniken has a sister named Astrid and a brother named Anders. She grew up in the town of Jessheim. She is married to Ola Petter Flem, and they have three children together.
Her Education and Early Steps in Politics
Anniken went to Jessheim Upper Secondary School from 1985 to 1988. After school, she worked for the Workers' Youth League. This is the youth group of the Labour Party.
She studied at the University of Oslo from 1989 to 1992. She focused on political science and history. From 1992 to 1993, she studied geography at the London School of Economics. She then earned a master's degree in history in Oslo from 1993 to 1996.
Anniken was active in student politics from a young age. She was part of the Akershus county school board. She also led the Ullensaker branch of the Workers' Youth League. From 1996 to 2000, she was the leader of the Workers' Youth League.
Anniken's Political Journey
Becoming a Member of Parliament
Anniken Huitfeldt was first elected as a full member of the Parliament of Norway in 2005. She has been re-elected several times since then. The Storting is like the main law-making body in Norway.
From 2005 to 2008, she was the deputy leader of the Committee on Education, Research and Church Affairs. Later, from 2013 to 2021, she led the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence. She also led the Labour Party's women's network for twelve years.
Serving as a Government Minister
Anniken Huitfeldt has held several important jobs as a minister in the Norwegian government.
Minister for Children and Equality
From 2008 to 2009, Anniken was the Minister of Children and Equality. She took over this role in Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet. One of her tasks was to help people who had faced unfair situations. For example, she met with a woman who had wrongly lost her right to live in Norway. Anniken said that stories like hers help the ministry make good laws.
Minister of Culture
After the 2009 election, Anniken became the Minister of Culture. She held this position from 2009 to 2012.
- In 2010, she decided that the government did not need to own the digital version of Store norske leksikon, a large Norwegian encyclopedia. She believed people should be free to use sources they found helpful.
- In 2011, she opened Rock City in Namsos Municipality. This is a national center for pop and rock music.
- In 2012, she announced funding to study how Norwegian music is sold to other countries. She wanted the music industry to be treated like any other business.
Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion
In 2012, Anniken became the Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion. She worked on making sure people had safe workplaces and fair opportunities.
- She visited an oil rig to check on safety measures. She said that even though Norway has high safety standards, there are still risks. She promised money to improve safety checks on rigs.
- She proposed a plan to help recently educated women get full-time jobs. This plan also aimed to give part-time workers more hours if they wanted them.
- She encouraged people to report social security fraud. This was after a report showed an unusual number of fraud cases.
- She also addressed concerns about people losing their work clearance money (AAP). She hoped many would return to work instead of needing disability pensions.
Minister of Foreign Affairs
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On 14 October 2021, Anniken Huitfeldt was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in Jonas Gahr Støre's government. This is a very important role, dealing with Norway's relationships with other countries.
- Helping Norwegians Abroad: She stated that Norway was concerned about Norwegian citizens, especially children, in difficult situations abroad. She emphasized that everyone has a right to help from their country.
- Relations with Russia: She met with the Russian foreign minister to discuss cooperation in the Barents region. However, she later expressed strong concerns about Russia's actions towards Ukraine.
- Supporting Ukraine: When Russia invaded Ukraine, Anniken announced that Norway would close its airspace to Russian planes. She also said that Norway would send weapons to Ukraine. She explained that this help did not make Norway a direct part of the war. She also accused Russia of spreading false information. Norway later expelled several Russian diplomats.
- Human Rights: Anniken spoke out about human rights concerns in other countries. She called on China to respect human rights in Xinjiang. She also urged Iranian authorities to investigate the death of Mahsa Amini and respect freedoms.
- International Law: In 2022, Norway announced it would support Ukraine's case against Russia in the International Court of Justice. Anniken said this shows that the international community does not accept aggression.
- NATO and Global Security: She discussed military cooperation with the UK and hosted a NATO foreign ministers' summit in Oslo. She strongly supported Sweden joining NATO.
- Helping in Crises: During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, her ministry first said it couldn't help Norwegians stuck in Tel Aviv. But then, Anniken confirmed they would send a plane to help citizens get home. She also expressed concern about the blockade of Gaza Strip.
In August 2023, Anniken Huitfeldt faced questions about her husband's stock investments. It was found that her husband had bought shares in companies that could be affected by her work as foreign minister. This was seen as a breach of rules about conflicts of interest. Both Anniken and her husband apologized. On 16 October, she was replaced as foreign minister by Espen Barth Eide.
Norwegian Ambassador to the US
After leaving her role as foreign minister, Anniken Huitfeldt was considered for a new important job. In January 2024, it was announced that she would be nominated as the next Norwegian Ambassador to the United States. She officially started this role on 26 August 2024. As ambassador, she represents Norway and works to strengthen the relationship between Norway and the US.
Images for kids
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Huitfeldt in 2023
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Huitfeldt with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in 2021
