Knut Arild Hareide

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Knut Arild Hareide (born 23 November 1972) is a Norwegian politician who served as a member of parliament 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 ...

and as the leader of the Christian Democratic Party from 2011 to 2019. He served as Minister of Transport and Communications from 2020 to 2021,NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

> and as Minister of the Environment from 2004 to 2005 in the second Bondevik cabinet. In 2007, he announced he would step down from the national political scene for the time being, but he returned when he was nominated as the top candidate for the Christian Democratic Party ticket in

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

in the 2009 election where he won the county's

leveling seat Leveling seats (, , , , ), commonly known also as adjustment seats, are an election mechanism employed for many years by all Nordic countries (except Finland) in elections for their national legislatures. Germany also used national leveling seats ...

. After Dagfinn Høybråten stepped down as party leader, Hareide was unanimously elected to take his place at the 2011 party convention. In the 2013 election, Hareide was reelected to parliament, this time from his home county of Hordaland. Before his tenure as government minister, Hareide had sat through one term in the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

of his native

Bømlo Bømlo () is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the southwestern part of Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnhordland. The administrative centre of the muni ...

, served as a deputy representative to the

national parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as well as working two years as a State Secretary. He was also second deputy leader of his party from 2003 to 2007, having come through the ranks of the party's

youth organization The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for Minor (law), minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted othe ...

. Outside politics Hareide is an economist by education and he has worked for the media conglomerate

Schibsted Schibsted ASA is an international media group. The company has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The ...

Education

Hareide was born in the village Rubbestadneset in

. He started his higher education in 1992, the same year he graduated from upper secondary school. Enrolled at the

Norwegian School of Economics The Norwegian School of Economics () or NHH is a business school situated in Bergen, Norway. It was founded in 1936 as Norway's first business school and is the leading teaching and research institution in Norway for the fields of management and ...

(NHH), he graduated in 1997 with a siv.øk. degree. During his time at NHH, he also minored in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

(1995) at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

.. Retrieved on 2009-05-02. Hareide was active in student politics. His involvement included terms as a member of the student parliament at the University of Bergen, as the leader of the Student Union of the Norwegian School of Economics 1994–1995, and as a board member of the national student union 1993–1994. During the period in student politics, Hareide held a

Christian democratic Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...

middle ground between radical (such as later socialist politician

Aslak Sira Myhre Aslak Sira Myhre (born 28 May 1973 in Stavanger) is a Norwegian culture administrator. Since 2014 he is director of the National Library of Norway. Myhre has been a leftwing politician, and was for a period leader of the former party Red Elector ...

) and conservative representatives, an experience he has described as educational.

Career

Hareide was active in the Youth of the Christian People's Party, being a member of the national board 1999–2001 before joining the national board of the Christian Democratic Party. He worked as a political advisor in the Ministry of Church Affairs, Education and Research from 1998 to 2000, during the first cabinet Bondevik. He later became State Secretary in the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

from 2001 to 2003 during the second cabinet Bondevik. In 2003 he became second deputy leader of the Christian Democratic Party nationwide. He then joined the cabinet during a 2004 reshuffle, serving as the Norwegian Minister of the Environment from summer 2004 to fall 2005. He was the youngest ever cabinet member from the Christian Democratic Party, and the first Christian Democratic to hold the post. The second cabinet Bondevik did not survive the 2005 elections, and as such Hareide had to step down from office that year. His successor was Helen Bjørnøy. Until 2009, Hareide had never been elected to the Norwegian Parliament, but served as a deputy representative during the terms 1997–2001, 2001–2005 and 2005–2009. On the local level of politics he was a member of Bømlo municipality council from 1991 to 1995. In 2007 Hareide announced that he had left politics for the time being to pursue a career in the national media conglomerate

, as an organizational director. His career in the company started with the position of trainee in 1997. Outside politics, his only paid full-time appointments have been in Schibsted. He still works behind the scenes for his party, occasionally commenting on issues in the national media. He did not rule out a return to national politics in the future, and in late 2008 he was selected by his party as the top candidate on the party's ticket in

county. The Christian Democratic Party formerly held a seat in this county, but lost it in 2005. Hareide has never lived in Akershus. Party leader Dagfinn Høybråten hails from Akershus, but he runs on the

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

ticket to secure a safe seat. Prior to the 2009 election, Hareide announced that he would leave national politics if he failed to win a parliament seat. Although the Christian Democrats suffered nationwide setbacks in 2009, Hareide managed to win Akershus' levelling seat after a close race against Dagfinn Sundsbø of the Centre Party. In parliament, Hareide became the chair of the Standing Committee on Transport and Communications. After Høybråten announced that he would not seek reelection as party leader of KrF, Hareide quickly emerged as the leading candidate to succeed Høybråten, after the two other apparent candidates, Dagrun Eriksen and Hans Olav Syversen, announced they would not run. Hareide is considered to belong to the socially liberal wing of the party, and conservative members of the party have demanded that at least one of the deputy leaders be from the party's conservative wing if they are to support Hareide. Hareide supported the efforts to eliminate the rule which requires Christian Democratic party representatives to declare a Christian faith, and a vote gave a clear majority to abolish that rule two years later. Hareide was unanimously voted in as new party leader at the 2011 convention on 30 April 2011. Hareide declined the nomination as parliamentary leader, and Hans Olav Syversen was elected to this position. On 18 November 2011 Hareide was appointed to lead the parliamentary committee that is investigating the

2011 Norway Attacks The 2011 Norway attacks, also called 22 July () or 22/7 in Norway, were two domestic terrorism, domestic terrorist attacks by far-right politics, far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik against the politics of Norway, government, the civil ...

. His nomination to that position was proposed by the red-green parties. On 23 January 2012 Hareide denounced a speech at KrF's local chapter in

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsbor ...

that had suggested that the terrorist attacks and the Alexander Kielland disaster were divine warnings or punishments for Norway's policy towards Israel; Hareide said that this was far beyond normal thinking and completely out of line with the party's values.

Reception and issues

Following the 11th United Nations Climate Change Convention in Buenos Aires in December 2004, Hareide spoke out against the United States and China, whom he saw as "problems" in the international work against climate change. Hareide gained a fair level of praise for his role in the convention, from both his own party as well as political opponents. Hareide received heavy criticism for the policy on large carnivores. A decision in early 2005, to uphold the ongoing wolf hunt even though a certain

alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...

she-wolf ''Gråfjellstispa'' had mistakenly been shot in January that year, was met with protests from the national

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...

chapter and other environment organizations, as well as the Swedish Minister of the Environment Lena Sommestad and representatives from the European Union. Hareide described the event as "regrettable", but "not against the law". The case made headlines in ''

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

'' and ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organ ...

''. A few weeks before, Hareide had been criticized in a parliamentary hearing session for being too wolf-friendly. The environmental organizations went as far as to press charges against the Ministry of the Environment. The Ministry was acquitted when the case was finally brought up in late 2006, some time after Hareide left office. In July the same year, Hareide received further criticism as the number of licenses to kill large carnivores allegedly was not only at a record high (12 brown bears, 10 grey wolves, 22 wolverines and 13 lynx), but also contradictory to the parliamentary policy on the matter. According to Hareide, the actions were in line with the parliamentary stance on the issue. In April 2005 he was criticized for an issue connected to monetary support of environmental projects and organizations. The Ministry approved a $90,000 project support for the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

, while the pressure group Bellona faced a cut of the same amount. Hareide, being a devout Christian and a member of the Church of Norway, was accused of putting his own religious interests ahead of environmental considerations. The case became a curiosity in the Norwegian media as some of the money was channelled into the church internet site, which, among other things, contained a set of prayers for

earthworm An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they we ...

s – described in such odd terms as "the blind subterranean workers", "small sisters and brothers in the

compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by Decomposition, decomposing plant and food waste, recycling organic materials, and man ...

" and "members of the subterranean congregation". Hareide responded to the criticism by describing the overall project as "exciting". One of Hareide's last actions in office was to approve the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the Hatteberg watershed in Kvinnherad, a protected natural area. Most of the criticism went to his successor, Helen Bjørnøy, who neglected to roll back the decision when assuming office. She eventually resigned halfway into her term. During his time as Minister of the Environment, Hareide was parodied in the television comedy program '' Tre brødre som ikke er brødre''. The character Knut Arild Hareide, played by

Harald Eia Harald Meldal Eia (born 9 February 1966) is a Norwegian comedian, and sociologist. In recent years, Eia has also made TV-documentaries and written books. Eia became a household name in Norway in the mid-90s and has since then been one of cou ...

, was portrayed in several sketches as a physically weak person. These parodies were criticized by the authors in a 2005 book about different forms of

mobbing Mobbing, as a sociological term, refers either to bullying in any context, or specifically to that within the workplace, especially when perpetrated by a group rather than an individual. Psychological and health effects Victims of workplace mo ...

; this stirred a minor debate in the Norwegian media. Nonetheless, Hareide himself showed a video clip of one of the parodies when publicly announcing his stepdown from national politics at the 2007 party congress. In a poll taken in December 2013, Hareide received a 99 percent approval rating among Christian Democratic voters.

Resignation from party leadership

In September 2018, Hareide made an ultimatum to his own party, that they should either join the Labour Party and Centre Party to form a government, thereby toppling the Solberg Cabinet, or entering the Solberg Cabinet, consisting of the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

, Progress Party and Liberals. Hareide led the Labour-favoured campaign, and had it been successful, it would have led to

Jonas Gahr Støre Jonas Gahr Støre (; born 25 August 1960) is a Norwegian politician who has served as the prime minister of Norway since 2021. He has been Leader of the Labour Party since 2014. He served under Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as Minister of ...

becoming prime minister. On the opposing side who favoured to enter the current cabinet, was Kjell Ingolf Ropstad and Olaug Bollestad. On the party conference on 2 November, the party voted to enter the Solberg cabinet. Negotiations eventually started to enter the cabinet, led by Ropstad himself. Hareide resigned as party leader in January 2019 and subsequently as parliamentary leader twelve days later. He was succeeded by Ropstad at the party conference in April the same year. In October 2019, he announced that he didn’t want to seek re-election to Parliament in the 2021 election.

Return as minister

In January 2020, about a year after the Christian Democrats entered the Solberg cabinet, the Progress Party chose to withdraw after disagreements after a family was brought home from Syria with a sick child, which had been against their wishes. Hareide returned from a committee travel, presumed to be because of the changes in the government, something he didn't confirm or deny upon his arrival at Oslo Gardermoen Airport. By 23 January, rumours circulated that he might be appointed as minister, which was confirmed the day after, to be the position of Transport Minister. This marked the first time since Bondevik's second cabinet that Hareide held a ministerial post. His appointment was criticized by the Progress Party, who saw it as a taunt given his opposition to enter the Solberg Cabinet in 2018.

Minister of Transport and Communications

After Widerøe announced in February 2020, that they would be cutting 15 percent of their short haul routes, Hareide criticised the move and called it “dramatic”. He stressed that the airline’s services were crucial for the districts and regions, and warned that it would impact citizens all over the country. The Labour Party blamed the airline’s decision on the government for a lack of district policies. In June 2020, Hareide announced that

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

restrictions on airlines, notably SAS,

Norwegian Air Shuttle Norwegian Air Shuttle Aksjeselskap, ASA, trading as Norwegian, is a Norway, Norwegian Low-cost carrier, low-cost airline and Scandinavia's second-largest airline, behind Scandinavian Airlines. It is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in Europe ...

and Widerøe, would be lifted, and that they would be able to fly with full seats. Hareide stated it was a wish from the airlines, and that the government thought it was defendable based on infection control. Following controversy regarding the Hungarian low-cost airline Wizzair possibly breaching Norwegian laws, Hareide, alongside trade minister Iselin Nybø, met virtually with representatives from the airline in early December 2020. Hareide told the press that he made himself clear about the Norwegian labour model, and expressed that he felt that he “spoke like

” when explaining the model for the airline representatives. On 20 April 2021, the opposition passed a motion that would ensure the beginning of the construction of the Northern Norway Line. Hareide criticised the motion, saying “my concern is that we will be creating expectations that I think are unrealistic to deliver upon”. He also stressed the construction of the new line would cost more than the originally expected 107–120

NOK Nok is a village in Jaba, Nigeria, Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The village is an archeological site. Archaeology The discovery of terracotta figurines at this location caused its name to be used for the Nok culture, ...

. He further added that “I think Northern Norway should really think if they want this rail line. Everything indicates it will cost a lot, lot more”. Following revelations of company bonuses at

in late June 2021, Hareide called it a “serious betrayal” from the company, and that it would make it difficult for the government to assist the aviation sector next time a crisis could occur. After long extensive criticism of the

Norwegian Public Roads Administration The Norwegian Public Roads Administration () is a Norwegian government agency responsible for national and county public roads in Norway. This includes planning, construction and operation of the national and county road networks, driver trainin ...

’s handling of driving tests waiting time, in July 2021, Hareide stated that even retired instructors were brought in to compensate capacity. He also expressed criticism to the Centre Party’s Maren Grøthe, that only finished educated instructors could step in, not ones that were nearly done with their education, because it would breach the bare minimum demand from the EEA. At the end of August, Hareide attended the opening ceremony in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

for the country’s first hybrid driven train that would be going on the Trønder- and Røros line. The Trøndelag county mayor Tore O. Sandvik was also invited to the ceremony, but didn’t attend, in protest against the purchase. He expressed that the entire Trønder line should be electrified instead. Hareide responded to his criticism by saying that electrifying railines will take time, and indicated that hybrid trains was a step in the right direction. He also gave a reassurance, saying that electrifying railines is a work in progress. In early September, Hareide asked the Norwegian Railway Directorate to evaluate the timeframe, costs and necessary prerequisites for a possible night train to

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, by 1 November. Hareide expressed he imagined it could either be a public purchase or an exposure to completion for the route. He further stated that it was an exciting concept, “both that and to get a train to

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

and

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beyond”. A few days before the 2021 election, Hareide asked the Railway Directorate to get in touch with the

Swedish Transport Administration The Swedish Transport Administration () is a government agency in Sweden, controlled by the Riksdag and the Government of Sweden. It is responsible for long-term infrastructure planning for transport: road, rail, shipping and aviation. It owns, c ...

to make a common proposal for a possible railway connection between

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

and

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, something both country’s authorities have agreed to do. Hareide stressed the importance to map out the marked potential, evaluating the railway capacity, evaluate the costs, possible tracks, and social economic estimations. He also expressed that it should receive inputs from non-state initiatives, who could in turn see the potential for building such a railway without state investments. Despite the Storting approving in February to abolish the need for health certificate for elderly drivers, Hareide stated in October that he would not oblige to the decision. Instead he defended the certificate, saying it was an important tool to keep drivers safe. He also referred to it being the professional opinion to keep the certificate, but also said it was up to the new government to handle the issue further.

Director of the Norwegian Maritime Authority

On 12 November 2021, he was nominated to become the next director of the Norwegian Maritime Authority. He assumed office on 1 January 2022. On 5 December 2021, a month before assuming the position, he announced that he and his family would be moving to Karmøy in relation to his new job.

Director of the Norwegian Shipowners' Association

In March 2024, it was announced that Hareide would be taking over as director of the

Norwegian Shipowners' Association The Norwegian Shipowners Association () is an employers' organization and interest group for Norwegian shipping and offshore companies. The organization's primary fields are national and international industry policies, employer issues, competen ...

, starting 1 August.

Personal life

Hareide comes from a middle-class background, his father being a transportation manager and his mother a consultant. Although reluctant to comment on the issue, Hareide was likely single during his first tenure in national politics. He has been confronted with rumours of homosexuality by segments of the media, but these have been dismissed. In 2008 he was reported as having a relationship with Solveig Engevik from Kolbotn, which ended in 2010. In the spring of 2011 he was confirmed in a relationship with school teacher Lisa Marie Larsen. The couple married in

Moi Moi or MOI may refer to: People * Moi (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Moisés Delgado (born 1994), Spanish footballer commonly known as simply Moi * Moisés Rodríguez (born 1997), Spanish footballer commonly known as ...

on 23 June 2012, and had a daughter on 6 April 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hareide, Knut Arild 1972 births Living people Norwegian state secretaries Ministers of climate and the environment of Norway Christian Democratic Party (Norway) politicians Leaders of political parties in Norway Norwegian Lutherans Hordaland politicians Akershus politicians Norwegian School of Economics alumni Norwegian businesspeople People from Bømlo Ministers of transport and communications of Norway Members of the Storting 2009–2013 Members of the Storting 2013–2017 Members of the Storting 2017–2021