The Norwegian Minister of Defence is the head of the Norwegian Ministry of Defence. The position has existed since 1814. The incumbent minister since 4 February 2025 is Tore O. Sandvik of the Labour Party.
Between 1819 and 1885 the Ministry was split into two different ministries, the Ministry of the Navy and the Army Ministry.
| Norwegian defence ministers after 1945 | |
 | |
Christian Democratic Party
Conservative Party
Centre Party
Coalition Party
Labour Party
Liberal Party
Free-minded Liberal Party
Independent
| Photo | Name | Party | Took office | Left office | Tenure | Cabinet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Johan Sverdrup | Liberal | 1 September 1885 | 13 July 1889 | 3 years, 315 days | Sverdrup |
 | Edvard Hans Hoff | Conservative | 13 July 1889 | 6 March 1891 | 1 year, 236 days | Stang I |
 | Peter T. Holst | Liberal | 6 March 1891 | 2 May 1893 | 2 years, 57 days | Steen I |
 | Wilhelm Olssøn | Conservative | 2 May 1893 | 15 July 1894 | 1 year, 74 days | Stang II |
 | Johannes Harbitz | Conservative | 15 July 1894 | 27 April 1895 | 286 days | Stang II |
| | Wilhelm Olssøn | Conservative | 27 April 1895 | 17 February 1898 | 2 years, 296 days | Stang II Hagerup I |
| | Peter T. Holst | Liberal | 17 February 1898 | 6 November 1900 | 2 years, 262 days | Steen II |
 | Georg Stang | Liberal | 6 November 1900 | 9 June 1903 | 2 years, 215 days | Steen II Blehr I |
 | Thomas Heftye | Liberal | 9 June 1903 | 22 October 1903 | 135 days | Blehr I |
 | Oscar Strugstad | Coalition | 22 October 1903 | 11 March 1905 | 1 year, 140 days | Hagerup II |
| | Wilhelm Olssøn | Conservative | 11 March 1905 | 25 May 1907 | 2 years, 75 days | Michelsen |
 | Karl Friedrich Griffin Dawes | Liberal | 23 October 1907 | 19 March 1908 | 148 days | Løvland |
| | Thomas Heftye | Liberal | 19 March 1908 | 11 April 1908 | 23 days | Knudsen I |
 | Haakon D. Lowzow | Liberal | 11 April 1908 | 20 August 1909 | 1 year, 131 days | Knudsen I |
 | August Spørck | Liberal | 20 August 1909 | 2 February 1910 | 166 days | Knudsen I |
 | Karl Bull | Conservative | 2 February 1910 | 20 February 1912 | 2 years, 18 days | Konow |
 | Jens Bratlie | Conservative | 20 February 1912 | 31 January 1913 | 346 days | Bratlie |
| | Hans Vilhelm Keilhau | Liberal | 31 January 1913 | 8 August 1914 | 1 year, 189 days | Knudsen II |
 | Christian T. Holtfodt | Liberal | 8 August 1914 | 20 February 1919 | 4 years, 196 days | Knudsen II |
| | Rudolf Peersen | Liberal | 20 February 1919 | 17 June 1919 | 117 days | Knudsen II |
 | Ivar Aavatsmark | Liberal | 17 June 1919 | 21 June 1920 | 1 year, 4 days | Knudsen II |
 | Karl Wilhelm Wefring | Free-minded Liberal | 21 June 1920 | 22 June 1921 | 1 year, 1 day | Bahr Halvorsen I |
| | Ivar Aavatsmark | Liberal | 22 June 1921 | 6 March 1923 | 1 year, 257 days | Blehr II |
| | Karl Wilhelm Wefring | Free-minded Liberal | 6 March 1923 | 25 July 1924 | 1 year, 141 days | Bahr Halvorsen II Berge |
| | Rolf Jacobsen | Liberal | 25 July 1924 | 5 March 1926 | 1 year, 223 days | Mowinckel I |
| | Karl Wilhelm Wefring | Free-minded Liberal | 5 March 1926 | 26 July 1926 | 143 days | Lykke |
 | Ingolf Elster Christensen | Conservative | 26 July 1926 | 28 January 1928 | 1 year, 186 days | Lykke |
 | Fredrik Monsen | Labour | 28 January 1928 | 15 February 1928 | 18 days | Hornsrud |
| | Torgeir Anderssen-Rysst | Liberal | 28 January 1928 | 12 May 1931 | 3 years, 104 days | Mowinckel II |
 | Vidkun Quisling | Independent | 12 May 1931 | 3 March 1933 | 1 year, 295 days | Kolstad Hundseid |
| | Jens Isak Kobro | Liberal | 3 March 1933 | 20 March 1935 | 2 years, 17 days | Mowinckel III |
| | Fredrik Monsen | Labour | 20 March 1935 | 22 December 1939 | 4 years, 277 days | Nygaardsvold |
 | Birger Ljungberg | Conservative | 22 December 1939 | 20 March 1942 | 2 years, 88 days | Nygaardsvold |
 | Oscar Torp | Labour | 20 March 1942 | 5 November 1945 | 3 years, 230 days | Nygaardsvold Gerhardsen I |
 | Jens Christian Hauge | Labour | 5 November 1945 | 5 January 1952 | 6 years, 61 days | Gerhardsen II Torp |
 | Nils Langhelle | Labour | 5 January 1952 | 15 June 1954 | 2 years, 161 days | Torp |
| | Kai Birger Knudsen | Labour | 15 June 1954 | 22 January 1955 | 221 days | Torp |
| | Nils Handal | Labour | 22 January 1955 | 18 February 1961 | 6 years, 27 days | Gerhardsen III |
| | Gudmund Harlem | Labour | 18 February 1961 | 28 August 1963 | 2 years, 191 days | Gerhardsen III |
 | Håkon Kyllingmark | Conservative | 28 August 1963 | 25 September 1963 | 28 days | Lyng |
| | Gudmund Harlem | Labour | 25 September 1963 | 12 October 1965 | 2 years, 17 days | Gerhardsen IV |
 | Otto Grieg Tidemand | Conservative | 12 October 1965 | 5 June 1970 | 4 years, 236 days | Borten |
| | Gunnar Hellesen | Conservative | 5 June 1970 | 17 March 1971 | 285 days | Borten |
 | Alv Jakob Fostervoll | Labour | 17 March 1971 | 18 October 1972 | 1 year, 215 days | Bratteli I |
| | Johan Kleppe | Liberal | 18 October 1972 | 16 October 1973 | 363 days | Korvald |
| | Alv Jakob Fostervoll | Labour | 16 October 1973 | 15 January 1976 | 2 years, 91 days | Bratteli II |
| | Rolf Arthur Hansen | Labour | 15 January 1976 | 8 October 1979 | 3 years, 266 days | Nordli |
 | Thorvald Stoltenberg | Labour | 8 October 1979 | 14 October 1981 | 2 years, 6 days | Nordli Brundtland I |
| | Anders C. Sjaastad | Conservative | 14 October 1981 | 25 April 1986 | 4 years, 193 days | Willoch I-II |
| | Rolf Presthus | Conservative | 25 April 1986 | 9 May 1986 | 14 days | Willoch II |
 | Johan Jørgen Holst | Labour | 9 May 1986 | 16 October 1989 | 3 years, 160 days | Brundtland II |
 | Per Ditlev-Simonsen | Conservative | 16 October 1989 | 3 November 1990 | 1 year, 18 days | Syse |
| | Johan Jørgen Holst | Labour | 3 November 1990 | 2 April 1993 | 2 years, 150 days | Brundtland III |
 | Jørgen Kosmo | Labour | 2 April 1993 | 17 October 1997 | 4 years, 198 days | Brundtland III Jagland |
| | Dag Jostein Fjærvoll | Christian Democratic | 17 October 1997 | 15 March 1999 | 1 year, 149 days | Bondevik I |
 | Eldbjørg Løwer | Liberal | 15 March 1999 | 17 March 2000 | 1 year, 2 days | Bondevik I |
 | Bjørn Tore Godal | Labour | 17 March 2000 | 19 October 2001 | 1 year, 216 days | Stoltenberg I |
 | Kristin Krohn Devold | Conservative | 19 October 2001 | 17 October 2005 | 3 years, 363 days | Bondevik II |
 | Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen | Labour | 17 October 2005 | 20 October 2009 | 4 years, 3 days | Stoltenberg II |
 | Grete Faremo | Labour | 20 October 2009 | 11 November 2011 | 2 years, 22 days | Stoltenberg II |
 | Espen Barth Eide | Labour | 11 November 2011 | 21 September 2012 | 315 days | Stoltenberg II |
| | Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen | Labour | 21 September 2012 | 16 October 2013 | 1 year, 25 days | Stoltenberg II |
 | Ine Eriksen Søreide | Conservative | 16 October 2013 | 20 October 2017 | 4 years, 4 days | Solberg |
 | Frank Bakke-Jensen | Conservative | 20 October 2017 | 14 October 2021 | 3 years, 359 days | Solberg |
 | Odd Roger Enoksen | Centre | 14 October 2021 | 12 April 2022 | 180 days | Støre |
 | Bjørn Arild Gram | Centre | 12 April 2022 | 4 February 2025 | 2 years, 298 days | Støre |
 | Tore O. Sandvik | Labour | 4 February 2025 | present | 0 days | Støre |
The politics of Norway take place in the framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the Council of State, the cabinet, led by the prime minister of Norway. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the legislature, the Storting, elected within a multi-party system. The judiciary is independent of the executive branch and the legislature.
The Ministerfor Defence is the minister of state of the Commonwealth of Australia charged with overseeing the organisation, implementation, and formulation of strategic policy in defence and military matters as the head of the Department of Defence. The Minister for Defence is responsible for the Australian Defence Organisation and the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The current Defence minister is Richard Marles, who is also concurrently serving as deputy prime minister of Australia, having been selected by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in May 2022 following the 2022 Australian federal election.
This article gives an overview of liberalism in Norway. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having been represented in the Norwegian Parliament, Stortinget.
Neville Chamberlain formed the Chamberlain war ministry in 1939 after declaring war on Germany. Chamberlain led the country for the first eight months of the Second World War, until the Norway Debate in Parliament led Chamberlain to resign and Winston Churchill to form a new ministry.
Hans Christian Petersen was a Norwegian politician and served as the de facto prime minister of Norway during the personal union of Sweden-Norway from 1858 to 1861.
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.
Birger Kildal was a Norwegian attorney and businessman. He served as politician with the Liberal Party and was appointed District Governor in Romsdal.
The Minister of Finance is a councilor of state and chief of the Ministry of Finance. The position is since February 2025 held by Jens Stoltenberg of the Labour Party (Norway) who is a member of Støre's Cabinet. In coalition governments, the leader of the largest junior party is usually made Minister of Finance, and may serve, de jure or de facto, as Deputy Prime Minister.
Olav Meisdalshagen was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party best known for serving as the Norwegian Minister of Finance from December 1947 to November 1951 and as the Norwegian Minister of Agriculture from January 1955 to May 1956. He was also a Member of Parliament for a long time, being elected for the first time in parliamentary election of 1936 and serving until his death, except for the period between 1940 and 1945 when the Parliament of Norway was de facto defunct due to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. His death in 1959 came halfway through his fifth term in Parliament, and shortly after a parliamentary speech.
Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet was the Government of Norway from 17 October 2005 to 16 October 2013. It was a coalition between the Labour Party, the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party, known as the Red–Green Coalition. On 9 September 2013, the coalition was defeated in the 2013 election.
The Minister of Transport is a Councillor of State and Chief of the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. The post has been held by Jon-Ivar Nygård of the Labour Party since 2021. The ministry is responsible for policy and public operations within postal services, telecommunications, civil aviation, public roads, rail transport, and public transport, including ferry services that are part of national roads and coastal transport infrastructure. The ministry has seven agencies and four limited companies, including the airport operator Avinor, railway operator Vy, the Norwegian National Rail Administration, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, and Norway Post. There are also inspectorates and authorities related to accident investigation, civil aviation, and railways.
The Royal Ministry of Education and Research is a Norwegian government ministry responsible for education, research, kindergartens and integration. The ministry was established in 1814 as the Royal Ministry of Church and Education Affairs.
Marit Nybakk is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party, a former First Vice-president of the Norwegian Parliament, the Storting, and a former President of the Nordic Council. From 2016 to 2018 she was President of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights, the preeminent women's and girls' rights organisation in Norway.
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Pay and Prices was a Norwegian ministry that existed from 1955 to 1972.
In Norway, a state secretary is a partisan political position within the executive branch of government. Contrary to the position secretary of state in many other countries, a Norwegian state secretary does not head the ministry, rather, they are second in rank to a minister. Resembling a de facto vice minister, the state secretary, however, cannot attend a Council of State, and does not act as a temporary minister in case of illness or other leave of absence.
The Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion is the head of the Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion. The position has existed since 1 January 1846, when the Ministry of the Interior was created. Several different names have been used since then, with three name changes after 2000. The incumbent minister is Tonje Brenna of the Labour Party since 2023. From 1992 to 2001 there was also a Minister of Health position in the ministry.
The McMahon government was the period of federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister William McMahon of the Liberal Party. It was made up of members of a coalition between the Liberal Party and the Country Party, led by Doug Anthony as Deputy Prime Minister. The McMahon government lasted from March 1971 to December 1972, being defeated at the 1972 federal election. Writing for the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Julian Leeser describes McMahon's prime ministership as "a blend of cautious innovation and fundamental orthodoxy".
The Minister of Education is a councilor of state in the Ministry of Education and Research. The incumbent minister is Kari Nessa Nordtun of the Labour Party who has served since October 2023.