Ingrid Schulerud

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Ingrid Schulerud (b. 1959) is the wife of Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, and Deputy Director General for Central Europe and EEA-financing in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Schulerud is the daughter of Mentz Schulerud, an author and radio personality well known for his encyclopaedic knowledge of the city of Oslo. Her aunt - Mentz’ sister - is the children’s book author Anne-Cath. Vestly. She attended Oslo katedralskole, where she met Jens when they were both 17. Here she defeated her future husband in the election for representative to the national students’ union, running for the Socialist Left Party.

After travels in Latin America, Schulerud wanted to work for developmental organisations, but was engaged by the Ministry of International Development to study the environmental impact of World Bank projects. This led her to break off her ongoing master's degree, and undergo the basic training for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which she finished in 1988. In 1990, while stationed at the Norwegian embassy in Budapest, her husband was appointed Under Secretary of the Department of the Environment, upon which she returned home to Norway. After this she has held different positions in the Ministry, mostly with matters relating to the Baltic countries and Central Europe. Schulerud has also been active in Norsk Tjenestemannslag (the Norwegian Civil Service Union), and has attended the Norwegian National Defense College; an institution for education on military and strategic matters for both military personnel and civilians.

Although deeply engaged in issues such as women’s rights and the environment, as first lady in two different periods (2000-2001 and 2005- present) Schulerud has chosen a somewhat withdrawn position. During the first period she did not accompany her husband on any official state visits for over a year, when the two visited India in April of 2001. Here she made a good impression both on the Norwegian press and the host country. All in all, however, she has chosen to stay out of the media’s scrutiny primarily to shield her children. The couple has a son and a daughter and live in Nordberg in Oslo.