Erna Solberg

Who is Erna Solberg?

Erna Solberg is a Norwegian politician who has been leader of the Conservative Party since May 2004 and Prime Minister of Norway since October 2013.

Solberg has served as a member of the Storting since 1989 and served as Minister of Local Government and Regional Development in Bondevik's Second Cabinet from 2001 to 2005. In her term as minister, she oversaw the tightening of immigration policy and the preparation of a proposed reform of the administrative divisions of Norway. After the 2005 election, she chaired the Conservative Party parliamentary group until 2013. Solberg has emphasized the social and ideological basis of the Conservative policies, although the party also has becomed visibly more pragmatic.

After winning the election in September 2013, she became the second female Prime Minister of Norway, after Gro Harlem Brundtland. Solberg's Cabinet, often referred to informally as the "Blue-Blue Cabinet", is a two-party minority cabinet consisting of the Conservative Party and Progress Party. The cabinet has established a formalized co-operation with the non-socialist Liberal Party and Christian Democratic Party in the Storting.