The Socialist Left Party is a democratic socialist political party in Norway. Positioned on the left-wing of the political spectrum, it is opposed to European Union and the European Economic Area membership. SV supports a strong public sector, stronger social welfare programs, environmentalism, and republicanism. As of 2018, the party had 11,385 members; the number has steadily increased since a low point in 2015. The party leader is Kirsti Bergstø, who was elected on 18 March 2023
The red–green coalition was a centre-left coalition of parties in Norway, constituting the Labour Party (Ap), the Socialist Left Party (SV), and the Centre Party (Sp). Unlike many other Red-Green coalitions, the "green" here was the colour of a centrist eurosceptic Nordic agrarian party rather than an actual green political movement. It governed from 2005 until Labour Party leader Jens Stoltenberg resigned his cabinet on 16 October 2013 following the coalition's defeat in the 2013 elections.
Helga Pedersen is a Norwegian politician, former Minister, and member of the Storting, who served as the deputy leader for the Labour Party from 2007 to 2015. A native of Sør-Varanger Municipality, she served between 2003 and 2005 as the County Mayor of the northernmost Finnmark county. From 2005 to 2009 she served as Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs, becoming the youngest member of the Labour-led Red-Green Coalition headed by Jens Stoltenberg.
Olav Gunnar Ballo is a Norwegian former politician for the Socialist Left Party (SV). Ballo changed party to Arbeiderpartiet in 2011. Ballo was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Finnmark in 1997. He studied medicine at University of Würzburg, and has worked as a medical doctor. Ballo represented SV in Alta municipality council from 1991 to 1997. Ballo was the leader of the National Forensics Institute in Norway between 2009 and 2010/2011.
Heikki Eidsvoll Holmås is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party (SV). He served as Minister of International Development from 2012 to 2013 being the last to serve in the position until Nikolai Astrup in 2018.
Trygve Magnus Slagsvold Vedum is a Norwegian politician who has served as Minister of Finance since 2021. A member of the Centre Party, which he has led since 2014, he has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Hedmark since 2005. Vedum also served as Minister of Agriculture and Food from 2012 to 2013.
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway on 10 September 2007, with some areas polling on 9 September as well. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently. In addition, several municipalities held direct mayoral elections.
Bård Vegar Solhjell 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 Second Cabinet. Starting in March 2018, he is the Secretary General of WWF Norway.
Kirsti Bergstø is a Norwegian politician serving as the leader of the Socialist Left Party since March 2023. She previously served as one of the party's deputy leaders from 2017 to 2023.
Per-Willy Trudvang Amundsen is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party who served as Minister of Justice from December 2016 to January 2018. He previously served as state secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development from 2013, and represented Troms in the Norwegian parliament from 2005 until 2013. He was re-elected in 2017.
Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken is a Norwegian politician who served as the leader of the Norwegian Socialist Left Party from 2012 to 2023. His career in national politics began when he was elected to the Norwegian parliament in 2001. In 2006, he became deputy leader of the Socialist Left Party. He held the post as Minister of Children and Equality in Jens Stoltenberg's second government from October 2009 to March 2012, when he resigned due to a conflict of interest. Under his leadership, the Socialist Left Party had strong gains in its vote share in Parliamentary elections and membership.
Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 13 and 14 September 2009. Elections in Norway are held on a Monday in September, usually the second or third Monday, as determined by the king. Early voting was possible between 10 August and 11 September 2009, while some municipalities also held open voting on 13 September. Voters elected 169 members for the Storting, each for a four-year term. Voter turn-out in the 2009 general elections was 76.4%.
Frank Bakke-Jensen is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. He served as minister of defence from 2017 to 2021, and minister of European affairs from 2016 to 2017. He was mayor of Båtsfjord Municipality from 2007 until his election to the Storting from Finnmark in 2009. Bakke-Jensen formerly worked as a ship's electrician between Hammerfest and Tromsø, and has also worked as a teacher and self-employed pilot at Båtsfjord Airport. He has also performed military service in the UN Lebanon conflict.
Ingrid Fiskaa is a Norwegian activist and politician for the Socialist Left Party.
The Socialist Left Party of Norway was founded in 1975. Its history shows a long-term rise in political influence, resulting in part from its emergence from older left-wing parties, especially the Socialist People's Party. After initial political setbacks in the 1970s, the party reorganized and regained support, particularly under Theo Koritzinsky (1983–87) and Erik Solheim (1987–97). Support dropped in the 1997 parliamentary election but rose again by the 21st Century, thanks to the party's position as the only sizeable party to the left of the Norwegian Labour Party. Labour's move further to the right under Jens Stoltenberg also helped the party's rise. By 2005, the Socialist Left Party had joined the Labour and Centre parties in Norway's governing Red-Green Coalition. The party has been led by Audun Lysbakken since 11 March 2012.
Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party. He has been one of the party's deputy leaders since 2019 and a member of parliament for Troms since 2013.
Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 13 September 2021. All 169 seats in the Norwegian legislature, the Storting, were up for election.
Kari Elisabeth Kaski is a Norwegian politician. A member of the Socialist Left Party, she has been an MP for Oslo since 2017, and the second vice chair of the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs since 2021.
Ragnhild Vassvik Kalstad is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She is currently serving as the mayor of Gamvik Municipality since 2023. Previously she served as county mayor of Finnmark between 2017 and 2019 and deputy county mayor from 2015 to 2017.
Marianne Sivertsen Næss is a Norwegian school principal and politician for the Labour Party. She is currently minister of fisheries and ocean policy since 2024 and a member of parliament for Finnmark since 2021. She previously served as mayor of Hammerfest Municipality between 2019 and 2021, and deputy mayor between 2011 and 2019.
