Kjell-Børge Freiberg

Kjell-Børge Freiberg
Minister of Petroleum and Energy
In office
31 August 2018 – 18 December 2019
Prime MinisterErna Solberg
Preceded byTerje Søviknes
Succeeded bySylvi Listhaug
Member of the Norwegian Parliament
In office
1 October 2017 – 30 September 2021
DeputyDagfinn Olsen
ConstituencyNordland
State Secretary for the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy
In office
23 October 2015[1] – 21 June 2017
Prime MinisterErna Solberg
MinisterTord Lien
Terje Søviknes
Preceded byKåre Fostervold
Succeeded byEinar Remi Holmen
Mayor of Hadsel
Assumed office
19 October 2023
DeputyRenathe Marie Eriksen
Preceded byLena Arntzen
In office
17 October 2007 – 21 October 2015
DeputyMarion Celius
Inger Hope
Preceded byReidar Johnsen
Succeeded bySiv Dagny Aasvik
Personal details
Born (1971-04-27) 27 April 1971 (age 53)
Hadsel, Nordland, Norway
Political partyConservative
Progress (formerly)
OccupationPolitician

Kjell-Børge Freiberg (born 27 April 1971) is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party, formerly for the Progress Party who served as Minister of Petroleum and Energy from 2018 to 2019. He was also an MP for Nordland from 2017 to 2021. He currently serves as mayor of Hadsel since 2023, having done so previously from 2007 to 2015.

Political career[edit]

Parliament[edit]

Following the 2017 election, he was elected as a representative to the Storting from Nordland.[2]

Freiberg sought re-election for the 2021 election, but lost the nomination to Dagfinn Olsen in February 2021.[3]

On 5 November 2021, Freiberg was excluded from his party after having allegedly leaked an internal document to Dagens Næringsliv. The document is said to have contained information of an investigation into Nordland Progress Party leader Dagfinn Olsen for having allegedly breached party guidelines. Freiberg didn't protest the exclusion and thanked for the journey he had in the party.[4]

Local politics[edit]

Freiberg served as the mayor of Hadsel from 2007 to 2015. During his tenure, Marion Celius of the Hadsel joint list was deputy mayor from 2007 to 2011, and then Inger Hope of the Conservative Party, from 2011 to 2015.[5][6]

In January 2023, he joined the Conservative Party and stood to become the Hadsel Conservatives' mayoral candidate in the 2023 local elections.[7] Following the election, the Hadsel Conservatives formed a coalition with the Liberal Party and Melbu Cooperation list, with Freiberg as mayor.[8] He was formally elected mayor on 19 October.[9]

State Secretary[edit]

Shortly after the end of his term as mayor, he was appointed as a State Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. He held the position from October 2015 to June 2017, when he was replaced in a state Secretary reshuffle.

Minister of Petroleum and Energy[edit]

Freiberg was appointed minister of petroleum and energy on 31 August 2018 following a minor reshuffle after Terje Søviknes and Ketil Solvik-Olsen resigned.[10]

In September 2018, after nearly a month in office, Freiberg wrote a debate post in iTromsø, where he expressed that he wanted the country to think long term when it came to the petroleum industry. He also stressed that the government would follow the Paris agreement closely and strengthen the competitive industry.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Freiberg, Kjell-Børge". dn.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Freiberg, Kjell-Børge". stortinget.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Freiberg tapte førsteplassen" (in Norwegian). vol.no. 12 February 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Eksminister ekskludert fra Frp" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 25 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Freiberg i tenkeboksen" (in Norwegian). Bladet Vesterålen. 24 August 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Slik skal Hadsel styres" (in Norwegian). Bladet Vesterålen. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Tidligere Frp-statsråd bytter parti: Går over til Høyre" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Enige i natt: Han blir ordfører igjen" (in Norwegian). Bladet Vesterålen. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Nå er han valgt" (in Norwegian). vol.no. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Solvik-Olsen ut av regjeringen - Dale blir ny samferdselsminister" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  11. ^ Kjell-Børge Freiberg (21 September 2018). "Ingen ringvirkninger uten aktivitet" (in Norwegian). iTromsø. Retrieved 6 July 2021.