Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet was the

Government of Norway The Council of State () is a formal body composed of the most senior government minister (government), ministers chosen by the Prime Minister of Norway, Prime Minister, and functions as the collective decision-making organ constituting the Go ...

from 17 October 2005 to 16 October 2013. It was a

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

between the Labour Party, the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party, known as the

Red–Green Coalition Red green or Red Green may refer to: Politics * Eco-socialism, an ideology merging aspects of Marxism, socialism, green politics, ecology and alter-globalization * Islamo-leftism, a political alliance of leftist (red) and Islamist (green) politic ...

. On 9 September 2013, the coalition was defeated in the 2013 election. The cabinet had ten members from the Labour Party, five from the Socialist Left Party and four from the Centre Party. It replaced

Bondevik's Second Cabinet Bondevik's Second Cabinet governed Norway between 19 October 2001 and 17 October 2005. It was led by Kjell Magne Bondevik and consisted of the Conservative Party of Norway, Conservative Party, the Christian Democratic Party (Norway), Christian De ...

following the 2005 parliamentary election where the three parties won a majority in

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 ...

. In the 2009 parliamentary election, the three parties retained their majority, and the coalition continued. The cabinet is the first time the Socialist Left Party has sat in government, and the second time, after the post-war interim

Gerhardsen's First Cabinet Gerhardsen's First Cabinet, often called the Unification Cabinet (), was a Norwegian government appointed to serve under Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen between 25 June and 5 November 1945, in the aftermath of the Second World War. The precedin ...

, where the Labour Party sits in a coalition government. It was the first cabinet to have had a majority of women, the first to have had a member with a non-Western heritage and the first to have had a member who was a Muslim.

Replacements

There have been several changes since Prime Minister

Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (; born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. Since 2025, he has been the Minister of Finance in the Støre Cabinet. He has previously been the prime minister of Norway and secretary general of NATO. ...

presented his first team in October 2005: * On 29 September 2006, Odd Eriksen resigned as Minister of Trade and Industry, and was succeeded by

Dag Terje Andersen Dag Terje Andersen (born 27 May 1957 in Frogn, Akershus) is a Norwegian politician for the Norwegian Labour Party. In addition to professional politics he has worked at a steel mill and as a lumberjack, something that has given him a reputation fo ...

. * On 21 September 2007,

Odd Roger Enoksen Odd Roger Enoksen (born 25 September 1954 in Å, Andøy) is a Norway, Norwegian politician representing the Norwegian Centre Party (Norway), Centre Party. He served as minister of defence from 2021 to 2022. He was also leader of the Centre Party f ...

resigned as Minister of Petroleum and Energy and was replaced by

Åslaug Haga Åslaug Marie Haga (born 21 October 1959) is a Norwegian diplomat, politician and international civil servant. She has been board chair for various organizations, including the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) and the Peace Resea ...

, who was succeeded as Minister of Local Government and Regional Development by

Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa (born 12 November 1948 in Fister, Norway) is a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. Kleppa is educated as a teacher at Kristiansand Teacher Training College in 1970. She worked as a teacher from 1967 to 1992. S ...

, thus making the first government in the history of Norway with more women than men. * On 18 October 2007, Helen Bjørnøy resigned as Minister of Environment and

Øystein Djupedal Øystein Kåre Djupedal (born 5 May 1960) is a Norwegian politician. Djupedal was born in Oslo, Norway, and is the son of the linguist Reidar Djupedal. He is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party (SV), and was a member of Stortin ...

as Minister of Education and Science. Fellow Socialist Left Party minister

Erik Solheim Erik Solheim (born 18 January 1955) is a Norwegian diplomat and former politician. He served in the Norwegian government from 2005 to 2012 as Minister of International Development and Minister of the Environment, and as Under-Secretary-General ...

became joint Minister of International Development and Environment (though the two roles were not merged, International Development is part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), while Djupedal was succeeded by Bård Vegard Solhjell as Minister of Education and Tora Aasland as Minister of Science.

Karita Bekkemellem Karita Bekkemellem (born 15 January 1965 in Lillehammer) is a Norwegian politician. She belongs to the Norwegian Labour Party, where she leads the women's network. Bekkemellem was the Minister of Children and Families in Jens Stoltenberg's sh ...

resigned as Minister of Children and Equality and was replaced by Norway's first minister with a minority background,

Manuela Ramin-Osmundsen Manuela Myriam Henri Ramin-Osmundsen (born 15 July 1963 in Antony, France) is a French-Norwegian politician and former Minister of Children and Equality (Norway), Minister of Children and Equality from the Norwegian Labour Party, Labour Party. In ...

. * On 15 February 2008, Ramin-Osmundsen was forced to resign following the strong criticism she faced after withholding information and lying to the Prime Minister on a possible conflict of interest in appointing a new children's

ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

Anniken Huitfeldt Anniken Scharning Huitfeldt (born 29 November 1969) is a Norwegian historian and politician for the Labour Party (Norway), Labour Party. She has served as the Norwegian Ambassador to the United States since 2024. She previously held several mini ...

was appointed new minister on 29 February 2008. * On 20 June 2008,

resigned as Minister of Petroleum and Energy citing health problems following press revelations about a building violations scandal. The resignation led to a major reshuffle. Haga was replaced as Minister of Petroleum and Energy by Terje Riis-Johansen, who was himself replaced as Minister of Agriculture and Food by member of parliament and fellow Centre Party politician

Lars Peder Brekk Lars Peder Brekk (born 8 October 1955) is a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. He was private secretary to the Minister of Fisheries 1985-1986, and himself Minister of Fisheries in 2000. He was elected to parliament in 2005 and served a ...

. Among the Labour Party ministers,

moved to the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion and was replaced as Minister of Industry and Trade by

Sylvia Brustad Sylvia Brustad (born 19 December 1966, in Elverum) is a former Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. Education Brustad graduated from high school in 1983, and attended the media courses at the folk high school in Ringsaker Municipality unt ...

. Her former Ministry of Health and Care Services was taken by

Bjarne Håkon Hanssen Bjarne Håkon Hanssen (born 1 November 1962) is a Norwegian politician of the Labour Party who served Minister of Health and Social Care Services from 2008 to 2009, Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion from 2005 to 2008 and Minister of Agric ...

. * On 2 October 2009,

resigned as Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion to become

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

and Helga Pedersen as Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs to become parliamentary leader for the Labour party in the Storting. * Following the re-election of the Government, the Prime Minister on 20 October 2009 presented a new cabinet with several changes. The election strengthened the Labour party, while weakening the Socialist Left party, and the latter thus handed over one ministry to the former. They also gave up the Ministry of Finance for the Ministry of Children, Equality and Social inclusion. Another change in the composition of the government was the promotion of

Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen (born 3 October 1959 in Vardø) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He is currently the Auditor General of Norway since 2022. He was a parliamentary representative for Finnmark from 1985 to 2009. He serve ...

from state secretary to Minister at the Office of the Prime Minister, thus adding to the number of ministers. In the Labour party, Minister of Health and Care Services

and Minister of Trade and Industry

, both resigned from politics. The health portfolio was given to

Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen Anne-Grete Hjelle Strøm-Erichsen (born 21 October 1949 in Bergen) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She served as minister of defence from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2012 to 2013. She also served as minister of health and care s ...

, who was succeeded as Minister of Defence by

Grete Faremo Grete Faremo (born 16 June 1955) is a Norwegian politician, lawyer and business leader. From August 2014 to May 2022, she held the post of Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). ...

. The Trade and Industry portfolio was given to

Trond Giske Trond Giske (born 7 November 1966) is a Norwegian politician who served as deputy leader of the Labour Party from 2015 until his resignation in 2018 after accusations of widespread sexual harassment and sexual assault against multiple women. Af ...

, who was succeeded as Minister of Culture by

(while the church portfolio was moved to the Ministry of Government Administration and Reform). Her former Ministry of Children of Equality was handed to the new Socialist Left party chairman

Audun Lysbakken Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken (born 30 September 1977) is a Norwegian politician who served as the leader of the Norwegian Socialist Left Party (Norway), Socialist Left Party from 2012 to 2023. His career in national politics began when he was elected ...

, who also took the portfolio of social inclusion. The former Socialist Left party chairman

Kristin Halvorsen Kristin Halvorsen (born 2 September 1960) is a Norwegian politician of the Socialist Left Party. She served as Minister of Finance from 2005 to 2009 and as Minister of Education from 2009 to 2013. She also served as the party's leader from 19 ...

left the Ministry of Finance to become new Minister of Education, while the incumbent of that ministry,

Bård Vegar Solhjell Bård Vegar Solhjell (born 22 December 1971) is a former Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party. He served as Minister of Education from 2007 to 2009, and as Minister of the Environment from 2012 to 2013, both in Stoltenberg's Sec ...

, resigned from the government to become parliamentary leader for the Socialist Left party in the Storting.

Sigbjørn Johnsen Sigbjørn Johnsen (born 1 October 1950) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party and was Norwegian Minister of Finance in the periods 1990–1996 and 2009–2013. He is a former member of parliament and served as County Governor of Hed ...

became new Minister of Finance for the Labour party. The Ministry of Government Administration and Reform received the church portfolio, and Labour party MP

Rigmor Aasrud Rigmor Aasrud (born 26 June 1960) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She has served as member of parliament for Oppland since 2009, having previously been a deputy member between 1993 and 2005. She also served as the party's parliame ...

was appointed minister. The outgoing Socialist Left party minister,

Heidi Grande Røys Heidi Grande Røys (born 6 May 1967) is a Norway, Norwegian politician for the Sosialistisk Venstreparti, Socialist Left Party. She became Minister of Modernisation in 2005, renamed to Minister of Government Administration and Reform since 2006 in ...

, resigned from politics. To fill the vacancies left by the post-election (2 October) resignations of

Andersen Andersen () is a Danish- Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Anders" (itself derived from the Greek name " Ανδρέας/Andreas", cf. English Andrew). It is the fifth most common surname in Denmark, shared by about 3.2% of the populati ...

as Minister of Labour, and

Pedersen Pedersen () is a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname, literally meaning "son of Peder". It is the fifth most common surname in Denmark, shared by about 3.4% of the population, and the sixth most common in Norway. It is of similar origin as the ...

as Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs, new Labour party ministers were Lisbeth Berg-Hansen and

Hanne Bjurstrøm Hanne Bjurstrøm (born 20 September 1960) is a Norwegian lawyer and politician representing the Labour Party, who served as Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud from 2016 to 2022. She previously served as Minister of Labour and Social In ...

. The Centre party kept their ministers, but there was a switch of ministries. Party leader

Liv Signe Navarsete Liv Signe Navarsete (born 23 October 1958 in Sogndal Municipality) is a Norwegian politician from the Centre Party. She has served as county governor of Vestland county since 2022. She previously served as Minister of Local Government from 2009 ...

became Minister for Local Government and Regional Development, while

took Navarsete's former Ministry of Transport and Communications. * On 4 March 2011, Terje Riis-Johansen resigned as Minister of Petroleum and Energy and was replaced by

Ola Borten Moe Ola Borten Moe (born 6 June 1976) is a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. He was an MP for Sør-Trøndelag from 2005 to 2013, and was re-elected in 2021. From 2021 to 2023, he served as Minister of Research and Higher Education. He also ...

. * On 11 November 2011,

Knut Storberget Knut Storberget (born 6 October 1964) is a Norwegian lawyer and politician for the Labour Party. He is currently serving as the county governor of Innlandet since 2019. He previously served as Minister of Justice under Jens Stoltenberg from 200 ...

resigned as Minister of Justice, stating he wanted to spend more time with his children after troubling months following 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 ...

. He was replaced by

, who was succeeded as Minister of Defence by

Espen Barth Eide Espen Barth Eide (born 1 May 1964) is a Norwegian politician and political scientist. He is currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Jonas Gahr Støre's government, having previously done so under Jens Stoltenberg. He has been ...

. * On 5 March 2012,

left the government as Minister of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion and was replaced by

until further notice * On 23 March 2012,

and Tora Aasland retired. Both education portfolios were put under the responsibility of Halvorsen.

Inga Marte Thorkildsen Inga Marte Thorkildsen (born 2 July 1976) is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party (SV). She served as Minister of Children and Equality from 2012 to 2013. Career Growing up in Stokke, she was elected to the Norwegian Parliament ...

was appointed Minister of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion;

Heikki Holmås Heikki Eidsvoll Holmås (born 28 June 1972 in Voss) is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party (Norway), Socialist Left Party (SV). He served as Minister of International Development (Norway), Minister of International Development fro ...

was appointed Minister of International Development; and Solhjell was appointed Minister of the Environment. * On 18 June 2012,

and

resigned. Kleppa was succeeded as Minister of Transportation and Communication by

Marit Arnstad Marit Arnstad (born 4 May 1962) is a Norwegian lawyer and politician for the Centre Party. She is currently the party's parliamentary leader since 2014, having previously held the office from 2003 to 2005. Arnstad was the Norwegian Minister of T ...

, while Brekk was succeeded as Minister of Agriculture and Food by

Trygve Slagsvold Vedum Trygve Magnus Slagsvold Vedum (born 1 December 1978) is a Norwegian politician and farmer who served as Minister of Finance (Norway), Minister of Finance between 2021 and 2025. A member of the Centre Party (Norway), Centre Party, which he has led ...

. * On 21 September 2012,

resigned, and was replaced as Minister of Labour by

. Her former Ministry of Culture was handed to

Hadia Tajik Hadia Tajik (born 18 July 1983) is a Pakistani-Norwegian jurist, journalist and politician from the Labour Party. She served as Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion from 2021 to 2022, where after several tax evasions and misuse of appointe ...

, who thus became Norway's first Muslim member of government. At the same time

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 ...

was appointed Minister of Health and Care Services, replacing

who was re-appointed as Minister of Defence (the position she held between 2005 and 2009). The Minister of Defence,

, succeeded Gahr Støre as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Change in ministry structure

From 1 January 2010 there was a change in the Ministry structure, following the September 2009 election and re-formation of the government. The Social Inclusion division of the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion was split between the Ministry of Children and Equality and the Ministry of Justice and Police. The Church Affairs division of the Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs was moved to the Ministry of Government Administration and Reform. From 1 January 2012 the Ministry of Justice and Police was renamed as the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Planning

Cabinet members

State Secretaries

References

Jens Stoltenberg's Second Government. 17 October 2005 –present
– Government.no

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoltenberg 2 Cabinet of Norway Cabinets involving the Labour Party (Norway) Cabinets involving the Centre Party (Norway) Cabinets involving the Socialist Left Party (Norway) 2005 establishments in Norway Cabinets established in 2005