Kristin Halvorsen

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Kristin Halvorsen, 17 October 2005

Kristin Halvorsen (born September 2, 1960 in Horten, Vestfold) is a Norwegian socialist politician and is the Minister of Finance since 17 October 2005 in the second cabinet Stoltenberg.

Taking over as leader of the Socialist Left Party in 1997, she established an unprecedented level of consensus within the party. The last few years have been marked by high polling numbers, but at the 2005 election, the party received a disappointing 8.8 percent, down almost 10 percent points from the best polls. Many who describe themselves as being on the left side of the party have suggested that Halvorsen step down.

The Socialist Left, in coalition with the Labour Party and the Centre Party, won Norway's September 2005 parliamentary elections. The resulting Red-Green coalition government marked the first time that the Socialist Left Party had been included in the cabinet. Kristin Halvorsen took on the office as the 78th Minister of Finance in Norwegian history and the first woman to serve in that post.

After taking some university courses in pedagogics and criminology, but never graduated with a bachelor's degree, Halvorsen worked for a while as a legal secretary. She served as a vice member to the Parliament from 1985, and was elected member of Parliament in 1989, representing the county of Oslo, a seat she has held since. She has been a member of the parliamentary standing Committee on Finance (1989-1997) and the Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs (1997-2001). She is presently a member of the Election Committee and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Chairman of the Socialist Left Party's parliamentary group, but is on leave from these positions while sitting in government.

Halvorsen was the first Norwegian party leader to launch a blog. On January 5, 2006, she caused a controversy by stating in an interview that she and her party supported a boycott of Israeli products ([1], [2]) due to Israel's treatment of Palestinians. The government and the other parties in the coalition distanced themselves from these remarks ([3]), and Halvorsen later apologised ([4]).

Kristin Halvorsen's parents were Leif Georg Halvorsen, a banker, and Marit Larsen, a teacher. Kristin is married to Charlo Halvorsen, a producer at Norsk Rikskringkasting. Together they have two children.