Kristin Halvorsen
Kristin Halvorsen (born September 2 1960 in Horten, Vestfold) is a Norwegian Politician and the current Minister of Finance of Norway. Taking over as leader of Socialist Left Party in 1997, she has established an unprecedented level of consensus within the party. The last few years have been marked by high polling numbers, but at the 2005 election, the party landed on a dissapointing 8,8 percent, down almost 10 per cent from the best polls, and many defining themselves on the left-side of the party now is talking about Halvorsen stepping down. The Socialist Left, in coalition with the Labour Party and the Centre Party, won Norway's September 2005 parliamentary elections. The resulting Red-Green coalition government marked the first time that the Socialist Left Party had been included in the cabinet. Kristin Halvorsen took on the office of Minister of Finance, the 78th in Norwegian history, but the first woman to serve in that post.
Halvorsen's parents were Leif Georg Halvorsen, a CEO, and Marit Larsen, a teacher. She took some university courses in pedagogics and criminology, but never graduated with a bachelor degree. She worked for a while as a legal secretary. After serving as a vice representative since 1985, in 1989 she was elected member of Parliament, representing the county of Oslo, a seat she has held since. She has been a member of Parliament's Committee on Finance (1989-1997), Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs (1997-2001), and is presently a member of the Election Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee. She is also the Chairman of the Socialist Left Party parliamentary group.
Halvorsen was the first Norwegian party leader to launch a blog. It hasn't been very successful, however, as the updates are rare.
Kristin Halvorsen is married to Charlo Halvorsen, a producer at Norsk Rikskringkasting. Together they have two children.
Books
- Rett fra hjertet (Straight from the Heart), 2004
External links
- Parliament home page
- Party home page (in Norwegian)