Dag-Inge Ulstein (born 4 December 1980) is a Norwegian politician for the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

serving as the party leader since 2024. He previously served as its deputy leader. Ulstein was appointed Minister of International Development in Solberg's Cabinet on 22 January 2019, a position which he held until the cabinet resigned following the 2021 election.

Political career

Local politics

Ulstein served as Bergen's city commissioner for social, housing and area investment from 2013 to 2014, when his party withdrew from the council cabinet, citing disagreements over a proposed route for the

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

Åsane Åsane is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough makes up the northern part of the city, north of the city centre. Åsane is connected to downtown Bergen by the E16/ E39 highway. The E16 highway continues on ...

. When Harald Schjelderup became chief commissioner following the 2015 local elections, Ulstein was appointed city commissioner for finance. He held the post until he stepped down in 2018.

Parliament

Having been a deputy to the Storting for the Christian Democratic Party from

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

from 2017 to 2021, Ulstein was elected representative to the

Storting The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The Unicameralism, unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list propo ...

for the period 2021–2025. In the Storting, he was a member of the

Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence () is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating foreign affairs, military, development cooperation, Svalbard or in other polar regions and matters ...

from 2021. In June 2024, he announced that he wouldn't be seeking re-election at the 2025 election.

Minister of International Development

Following his party's negotiations to enter the Solberg cabinet, Ulstein was appointed minister of international development on 22 January 2019. This was despite the fact that he had supported the Labour favouring faction of the party in the path choice the year before.

Other

Ulstein is leading

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

's ACT-A Initiative (Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator). ACT-A is set up to lead the efforts to mobilize political and financial support to ensure equitable distribution of corona virus vaccines, medicines and tests. He is also a Board Member of the Global Center on Adaptation to address climate change. He has previously held the position as head of development at Haraldsplass Diaconal Foundation, a specialised hospital. Prior to this position he was the general manager at Haraldsplass therapy and counselling center (2012–2014). Ulstein was considered one of the most leading candidates to replace

Kjell Ingolf Ropstad Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (born 1 June 1985) is a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party, who served as the Minister of Children, Family and Church Affairs and the leader of the Christian Democratic Party from 2019 to 2021. He has bee ...

as party leader after the resigned following a parliamentary housing scandal. Ulstein never confirmed his candidacy, but still pulled himself out of consideration in October 2021, thereby leading to

Olaug Bollestad Olaug Vervik Bollestad (born 4 November 1961) is a Norwegian nurse and politician for the Christian Democratic Party who is a member of Parliament for Rogaland since 2013. She served as the party leader between 2021 and 2024, having been deputy le ...

being the presumptive new party leader. He was however open to become deputy leader.

Party deputy leader

Ulstein was designated as first deputy leader along with Bollestad as leader. At the party convention on 13 November, he won with 149 votes against Truls Olufsen-Mehus' 11. He was re-elected at the 2023 convention alongside Bollestad, with Ida Lindtveit Røse joining as second deputy leader. He became acting party leader following Bollestad's resignation following a formal complaint made against her by parliamentary staffers over her leadership style and behaviour. He was floated as a possible successor to Bollestad, which he initially declined to be considered before later reversing his decision in September. The party's election committee officially designated him as leader in December, with Ida Lindtveit Røse as first deputy and

Jorunn Gleditsch Lossius Jorunn Elisabet Gleditsch Lossius (born 29 February 1980) is a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party. Education Lossius has studied Christianity, drama/theater, and history at the University of Agder. Political career Par ...

as second deputy leader.

Party leader

Ulstein, Røse and Lossius were formally elected at the extraordinary party convention on 25 January 2025.

Civic career

Ulstein was a vocalist in the Norwegian Christian pop-group Elevate. He would later serve as the vocalist for the electronica band Electric City.

Other activities

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank and international financial institution that aims to collectively improve economic and social outcomes in Asia. It is the world's second largest multi-lateral d ...

(AIIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2019) *

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is an international financial institution which offers political risk insurance and credit enhancement guarantees. These guarantees help investors protect foreign direct investments against ...

(MIGA),

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Group ...

, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2019) *

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2019)

Personal life

Ulstein is originally from

Sula Municipality Sula () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre Districts of Norway, district. The administrative centre is the village of Langevåg. Other villages ...

and moved to Bergen in 2001. He is a sexologist by profession. He is married to Ingjerd Mella, with whom he has four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulstein, Dag-Inge 1980 births Living people Christian Democratic Party (Norway) politicians Ministers of international development of Norway Members of the Storting 2021–2025