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Minister of Finance
In office 16 October 2013 – 24 January 2020
Prime Minister	Erna Solberg
Preceded by	Sigbjørn Johnsen
Succeeded by	Jan Tore Sanner
Leader of the Progress Party
In office 6 May 2006 – 8 May 2021
First Deputy	Per Sandberg Sylvi Listhaug
Second Deputy	Per Arne Olsen Ketil Solvik-Olsen Terje Søviknes
Preceded by	Carl I. Hagen
Succeeded by	Sylvi Listhaug
First Deputy Leader of the Progress Party
In office 2 May 1999 – 6 May 2006
Leader	Carl I. Hagen
Preceded by	Lodve Solholm
Succeeded by	Per Sandberg
Parliamentary Leader of the Progress Party
In office 28 January 2020 – 8 May 2021
Leader	Herself
Preceded by	Hans Andreas Limi
Succeeded by	Sylvi Listhaug
In office 5 October 2005 – 17 October 2013
Leader	Carl I. Hagen Herself
Preceded by	Carl I. Hagen
Succeeded by	Harald T. Nesvik
Member of the Norwegian Parliament
In office 1 October 1997 – 30 September 2021
Deputy	Mazyar Keshvari
Constituency	Oslo
Deputy Member of the Storting
In office 1 October 1993 – 30 September 1997
Constituency	Oslo

Personal details
Born	(1969-06-01) 1 June 1969 (age 56) Oslo, Norway
Political party	Progress
Alma mater	Norwegian School of Economics

Siv Jensen (born 1 June 1969) is a Norwegian politician. She was the leader of the Progress Party from 2006 to 2021. She also served as the Minister of Finance from 2013 to 2020. This was part of the Solberg Cabinet, a government led by Erna Solberg. Jensen was also a member of the Norwegian parliament representing Oslo from 1997 to 2021.

Siv Jensen grew up in Oslo and studied business at the Norwegian School of Economics. She was first elected to parliament in 1997. She served four terms in a row. From 2001 to 2005, she led the parliamentary committee for finance. In 2006, she took over as leader of the Progress Party from Carl I. Hagen.

Jensen was the Progress Party's choice for Prime Minister in the 2009 election. Her party achieved very good results that year. For the 2013 election, she supported a government with the Conservative Party. She then led her party into the Solberg Cabinet. This was the first time the Progress Party had been part of a government. In October 2019, Jensen became Norway's longest-serving Minister of Finance since World War II.

Early Life and Education
Political Career
Post-Political Career
Political Views
Personal Life
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and Education

Siv Jensen was born in Oslo. Her parents, Tore Jensen and Monica Kjelsberg, owned a shoe store. She finished elementary school in 1985. Then she went to Oslo Commerce School and graduated in 1988. After that, she studied business at the Norwegian School of Economics. She earned her degree in 1992. Before becoming a full-time politician in 1994, she worked as a sales consultant for Radio 1.

Jensen's interest in politics started in elementary school. She often had discussions in class. She joined the Progress Party in 1988. Her mother had introduced her to the party. Before that, she was briefly a member of the Norwegian Young Conservatives.

Political Career

Member of Parliament

Jensen was a member of the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) for Oslo. She was first elected in 1997. Before that, she was a deputy member from 1993 to 1997. When she became a government minister in 2013, Mazyar Keshvari took her place in parliament.

From 2001 to 2005, Jensen led the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. She had been a member of this committee since 1997. From 2005 to 2013, she was on the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence. Her work on the Finance Committee made her a more visible leader in her party.

Party Leadership

Siv Jensen speaking at a rally in Oslo during the 2009 election.

Siv Jensen in Stockholm, Sweden, 2009.

Jensen with former Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

Siv Jensen became the first deputy chairman of the Progress Party in 1998. In 2005, she became the party's parliamentary leader. In 2006, Carl I. Hagen, who had led the party since 1978, stepped down. Jensen then became the leader of the Progress Party without any opposition. Many wondered if the party would do well without Hagen. However, a survey in 2004 showed that Jensen was more popular than Hagen. This was because she was seen as less controversial.

In May 2009, Jensen gave a speech in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. She was invited by a British Conservative Party MP. The invitation was due to her interest in fighting terrorism and issues with multicultural societies. Jensen said that Britain had "failed completely" in its immigration policy.

As party leader, Jensen started talks with Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg in 2007. They wanted to form a strong center-right group for the 2009 election. When the parties could not agree, Jensen ran for Prime Minister herself. Her party got a record 22.9% of the votes in 2009.

In 2011, the newspaper Aftenposten wrote that the Progress Party had its "two best national elections" under Jensen's leadership. Before the 2013 election, Jensen continued to work for a center-right government. She supported Erna Solberg for Prime Minister. Even though her party's votes dropped, she led the Progress Party into a government coalition for the first time.

On 20 January 2020, Jensen announced that her party was leaving the government. This was a protest against the government's decision to bring home a woman linked to ISIS and her sick child. She also said the party could not achieve its goals in government. The Progress Party ministers officially left the government on 24 January. This was the first time a party had ever left a Norwegian government.

On 18 February 2021, Jensen announced she would step down as party leader. This happened after a new leader was chosen at the party meeting in May. She also said she would not run in the September 2021 election. She wanted to focus more on her personal life. She suggested Sylvi Listhaug as her replacement. Listhaug was later chosen as the new leader on 8 May.

Minister of Finance

On 16 October 2013, Jensen became the Minister of Finance. The Progress Party joined a government led by the Conservative Party. This was the first time the party had been in government. Jensen's first national budget included plans to cut taxes. She also wanted to spend more of Norway's oil money. She set up a committee to look at changing the rule for spending from Norway's Oil Fund.

Post-Political Career

In August 2021, it was announced that Jensen would lead an organization. This group works on preventing drowning. It was started by the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue. The organization was named Flyte in June 2022. She left this role in January 2024 to become a political advisor.

Political Views

Economy

Jensen has described her party as a "classical liberal party." She says its main focus is "individual freedom, individual rights, less state and more individual freedom." She also believes in "more competition instead of less." This is because she thinks state monopolies are not good for competition or prices.

Some in the British press have called her a "Norwegian Margaret Thatcher." Jensen sees former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as one of her "political heroes." She admires Thatcher for being a "controversial politician who dared to stand for something." Jensen supports Thatcher's ideas, like believing that a market economy is the best way.

Israel

Siv Jensen.

Siv Jensen speaking at a Progress Party’s Youth summer camp.

Jensen strongly supports Israel. She has said she is "not afraid to defend Israel's right to defend itself." In 2008, she visited the Israeli city of Sderot. She experienced a Hamas bombing there and had to run to a shelter. She was against the Norwegian government's decision to recognize Hamas. She believes "you don't negotiate with terrorists." Jensen has also suggested moving the Norwegian embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. She is also open to recognizing a future Palestinian state.

In January 2009, during the Gaza War, she spoke at a demonstration in Oslo. The event was called "Let Israel live" and supported Israel. During her speech, rioters threw rocks. Jensen had to leave the stage.

Radical Islam

In February 2009, Jensen gave a speech. She warned about what she called a "sneaking Islamisation" of Norway. This was during a debate about allowing the hijab as part of the police uniform. There were also demands for Muslim-only education and special food in prisons. Her speech caused a lot of discussion among other parties. She used the city district of Rosengård in Malmö, Sweden, as an example of failed integration. She claimed that Sharia law had replaced Swedish law there. She also said emergency staff could not enter certain areas. These statements were very controversial in Sweden.

In March 2009, she said that fighting radical Islam "is the most important fight of our time." She stated that as a classical liberal, she would always fight against totalitarian ideas. She compared radical Islam to communism and National Socialism, calling it a "dark and scary ideology." She also said other parties were "cowardly" for ignoring these issues. She claimed they "close their eyes" and pretend to be tolerant. These statements helped the Progress Party gain more support in polls.

In early 2010, thousands of Muslims protested in Oslo. This was after a newspaper published a cartoon of Muhammad. During this protest, an Islamist speaker warned of a "9/11" or "7/7" in Norway. Jensen then changed her claim from a "sneak-Islamisation" to a "full-blown Islamisation" of Norway.

Climate Change

In December 2008, Jensen questioned the idea that climate change is caused by humans and is dangerous. She mentioned an old idea from the 1970s about global cooling to create doubt about climate science. However, she generally supports expanding and researching renewable energy. In January 2010, she criticized the IPCC. She accused their report of using false information. She referred to a mistake about Himalayan glaciers melting by 2035. She also mentioned ice melting predictions by Al Gore and emails from climate scientists.

Personal Life

Siv Jensen has three half-sisters, one younger brother, Tom Einar Jensen, and one younger sister, Nina Jensen. Nina Jensen used to be the CEO of WWF Norway. Siv Jensen's great-grandmother was Betzy Kjelsberg, an early feminist. Siv Jensen has never married, though she was once engaged.

Jensen has said she is a "proud member of the Church of Norway." However, she has some personal doubts about certain Christian beliefs. She has criticized church leaders for getting too involved in politics. This includes when some church leaders spoke against Norwegian oil drilling.

In 2006, a book about Siv Jensen was published. It was written by Martine Aurdal.