Minister of Transport of Norway facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Minister of Transport of Norway
Incumbent Jon-Ivar Nygård since 14 October 2021
Ministry of Transport
Member of	Council of State
Seat	Oslo
Nominator	Prime Minister
Appointer	Monarch with approval of Parliament
Term length	No fixed length
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Norway
Precursor	Minister of the Interior
Formation	22 February 1946
First holder	Nils Langhelle
Deputy	State secretaries at the Ministry of Transport
Website	Official website: https://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/sd/id791/

The Minister of Transport (called Samferdselsministeren in Norwegian) is a very important person in the Norwegian government. This person is a Councillor of State and leads the Ministry of Transport. Think of them as the boss of all things related to how people and goods move around Norway!

Currently, Jon-Ivar Nygård from the Labour Party holds this job. He started in October 2021. The Ministry of Transport is in charge of many things that help Norway run smoothly. This includes postal services, telecommunications (like phones and internet), civil aviation (air travel), public roads, rail transport (trains), and all kinds of public transport. They even handle ferry services that are part of national roads and coastal shipping.

To do all this, the Ministry works with several agencies and companies. For example, they work with Avinor, which runs airports, and Vy, which operates trains. They also work with the Norwegian National Rail Administration and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Even Norway Post, the national postal service, is part of their responsibility. There are also special groups that investigate accidents and oversee air and rail safety.

History of the Transport Minister Role

The job of Minister of Transport was created on February 22, 1946. Before that, these tasks were handled by the Ministry of Labour. The very first Minister of Transport was Nils Langhelle from the Labour Party.

Since 1946, 28 different people have held this important position. They have come from six different political parties. Most of them, 16 people, were from the Labour Party. The Centre Party had five ministers, while the Christian Democratic Party, the Conservative Party, and the Liberal Party each had two. Only one minister has been from the Progress Party.

The person who served the longest as Minister of Transport was Kjell Opseth from the Labour Party. He held the job for almost six years! On the other hand, Lars Leiro from the Centre Party had the shortest time in office, serving for only four weeks. Interestingly, Lars Leiro took over from and was later followed by Trygve Bratteli. Trygve Bratteli is the only person who has been Minister of Transport twice. He also later became the Prime Minister, which is the head of the government.

Understanding the Minister List

The list below shows all the people who have served as Norway's Minister of Transport. It includes their name, their political party, when they started and left the job, how long they served, and which government (cabinet) they were part of.

      Labour Party
      Centre Party
      Conservative Party
      Christian Democratic Party
      Liberal Party
      Progress Party

List of Ministers

Photo	Name	Party	Took office	Left office	Tenure	Cabinet	Ref
	Langhelle, NilsNils Langhelle	Labour	22 February 1946	5 January 1952	5 years, 317 days	Gerhardsen II Torp
—	Pettersen, Jakob MartinJakob Martin Pettersen	Labour	5 January 1952	22 January 1955	3 years, 17 days	Torp
—	Varmann, KolbjørnKolbjørn Varmann	Labour	22 January 1955	23 April 1960	5 years, 92 days	Gerhardsen III
	Bratteli, TrygveTrygve Bratteli	Labour	23 April 1960	28 August 1963	3 years, 127 days	Gerhardsen III
—	Leiro, LarsLars Leiro	Centre	28 August 1963	25 September 1963	28 days	Lyng
	Bratteli, TrygveTrygve Bratteli	Labour	25 September 1963	20 January 1964	117 days	Gerhardsen IV
	Himle, ErikErik Himle	Labour	20 January 1964	12 October 1965	1 year, 265 days	Gerhardsen IV
	Kyllingmark, HåkonHåkon Kyllingmark	Conservative	12 October 1965	17 March 1971	5 years, 156 days	Borten
	Steen, ReiulfReiulf Steen	Labour	17 March 1971	18 October 1972	1 year, 215 days	Bratteli I
—	Austrheim, JohnJohn Austrheim	Centre	18 October 1972	16 October 1973	363 days	Korvald
—	Lorentzen, AnnemarieAnnemarie Lorentzen	Labour	16 October 1973	15 January 1976	2 years, 91 days	Bratteli II
—	Christiansen, RagnarRagnar Christiansen	Labour	15 January 1976	11 January 1978	1 year, 361 days	Nordli
—	Jordahl, AsbjørnAsbjørn Jordahl	Labour	11 January 1978	8 October 1979	1 year, 270 days	Nordli
—	Bye, RonaldRonald Bye	Labour	8 October 1979	14 October 1981	2 years, 6 days	Nordli Brundtland I
—	Koppernæs, IngerInger Koppernæs	Conservative	14 October 1981	8 June 1983	1 year, 237 days	Willoch I
	Jakobsen, Johan J.Johan J. Jakobsen	Centre	8 June 1983	9 May 1986	2 years, 335 days	Willoch II
—	Borgen, KjellKjell Borgen	Labour	9 May 1986	13 June 1988	2 years, 35 days	Brundtland II
	Engseth, WilliamWilliam Engseth	Labour	13 June 1988	16 October 1989	1 year, 125 days	Brundtland II
—	Lie, Lars GunnarLars Gunnar Lie	Christian Democratic	16 October 1989	3 November 1990	1 year, 18 days	Syse
	Opseth, KjellKjell Opseth	Labour	3 November 1990	25 October 1996	5 years, 357 days	Brundtland III
—	Rønbeck, SisselSissel Rønbeck	Labour	25 October 1996	17 October 1997	357 days	Jagland
	Dørum, Odd EinarOdd Einar Dørum	Liberal	17 October 1997	15 March 1999	1 year, 149 days	Bondevik I
—	Fjærvoll, Dag JosteinDag Jostein Fjærvoll	Christian Democratic	15 March 1999	17 March 2000	1 year, 2 days	Bondevik I
	Gustavsen, Terje MoeTerje Moe Gustavsen	Labour	17 March 2000	19 October 2001	1 year, 216 days	Stoltenberg I
	Skogsholm, TorildTorild Skogsholm	Liberal	19 October 2001	17 October 2005	3 years, 363 days	Bondevik II
	Navarsete, Liv SigneLiv Signe Navarsete	Centre	17 October 2005	20 October 2009	4 years, 3 days	Stoltenberg II
	Kleppa, Magnhild MeltveitMagnhild Meltveit Kleppa	Centre	20 October 2009	18 June 2012	2 years, 242 days	Stoltenberg II
	Arnstad, MaritMarit Arnstad	Centre	18 June 2012	16 October 2013	1 year, 120 days	Stoltenberg II
	Solvik-Olsen, KetilKetil Solvik-Olsen	Progress	16 October 2013	31 August 2018	4 years, 319 days	Solberg
	Dale, Jon GeorgJon Georg Dale	Progress	31 August 2018	24 January 2020	1 year, 146 days	Solberg
	Knut Arild Hareide	Christian Democratic	24 January 2020	14 October 2021	1 year, 263 days	Solberg
	Nygård, Jon-IvarJon-Ivar Nygård	Labour	14 October 2021	present	3 years, 314 days	Støre