The Minister of Agriculture and Food () is a councillor of state and chief of the

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Ministry of Agriculture and Food An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

. The ministry is responsible for issues related to

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

and

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

. Major subordinate agencies include the

Norwegian Agriculture Authority Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *Norwegian language, including the two ...

, the

Norwegian Food Safety Authority Norwegian Food Safety Authority () is a Norwegian government agency responsible for safe food and drinking water, and works within the fields of human, plant, fish and animal health as well as environmentally friendly production and ethically a ...

and

Statskog Statskog is a Norwegian state-owned enterprise responsible for the management of state-owned forest and mountain real estate totaling approximately 20% of the area of Norway. About 5% of Statskog's land is productive forest while 80% is above th ...

. The position was created on 31 March 1900, along with the ministry, and

Ole Anton Qvam Ole Anton Qvam (5 August 1834 – 8 July 1904) was a Norwegian lawyer and Liberal politician, who was the Norwegian minister of Justice 1891–1893, 1898–1899 and 1900–1902, minister of the Interior 1899–1900, as well as head of the minis ...

was the inaugural officeholder. Fifty people from eight parties have held the office. During the

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

from 1940 to 1945, the office was both held by a German puppet government and an elected government in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Until 2004 the position was known as the Minister of Agriculture. The longest-serving officeholder is Hans Ystgaard, who served for more than ten years under

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Johan Nygaardsvold Johan Nygaardsvold (; 6 September 1879 – 13 March 1952) was a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party who served as the prime minister of Norway from 1935 to 1945. From June 1940 until May 1945, he oversaw the Norwegian Government-in-exile f ...

, who himself holds the shortest tenure, of sixteen days.

Gunhild Øyangen Gunhild (with variants Gundhild, Gunhilda, Gunhilde, Gunhjild, Gunilda, Gunnhild, Gunnhildr, Gunnhildur) is a Germanic feminine given name composed of two words meaning "war" (gunn and hild/hildr). Notable people with these names include: * , al ...

has served for more than nine years, and was also the first female to hold the position; while

Gunnar Knudsen Gunnar Knudsen (19 September 1848 – 1 December 1928), born Aanon Gunerius Knudsen, was a Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party who served as the prime minister of Norway twice from 1908 to 1910 and from 1913 to 1920. He also inherited a s ...

held it for more than eight, both in the course of two terms.

Håkon Five Håkon Martin Henriksen Five (27 September 1880 – 15 January 1944) was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. He was Minister of Agriculture 1919–1920, 1921–1923, 1924–1926 and 1933–1935, and Minister of Provisioning 1919–1920 ...

has been appointed a record four times, serving for nearly five years.

Jens Hundseid Jens Valentinsen Hundseid (6 May 1883 – 2 April 1965) was a Norwegian politician from the Agrarian Party. He was a member of the Norwegian parliament from 1924 to 1940 and the prime minister of Norway from 1932 to 1933. Hundseid felt forced ...

served in the office while being Prime Minister. The current minister is

Nils Kristen Sandtrøen Nils Kristen Sandtrøen (born 2 February 1989) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. He served as a member of parliament, the Storting, from Hedmark, from 2017, and has been Minister of Agriculture and Food since February 2025. Pol ...

, who assumed the position in 2025.

Ministers

The following lists the minister, their party, date of assuming and leaving office, their tenure in years and days, and the cabinet they served in. Parties

Ministers

References

{{Ministers of Norway Agriculture in Norway

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...