Former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has decided to stay on as Norway’s finance minister, and won’t be taking over as head of the Munich Security Conference after all. He came home to Norway early last year to support his longtime political ally, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and now he doesn’t want to leave.
“For me, it’s more important to be finance minister in Norway than to be a leader in Munich,” Stoltenberg told newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) on Monday. “I love Norway, I care about Norwegian politics and have become even more motivated to take part in it.”
Stoltenberg, now age 67, had already agreed to take on the top job at the Munich Security Conference when his extended term as NATO’s popular chief finally ended in late 2024. The Munich Security Conference is a prestigious forum that hosts its conference in Munich every year, and where national leaders, diplomats and military experts gather to discuss challenges.
But in January 2025, Stoltenberg’s old friend and longtime colleague Støre dropped by his home in Oslo and asked him to become his new finance minister. Stoltenberg is educated as an economist and played a key role in the formation and operation of Norway’s own now huge sovereign wealth fund that’s fueled by the country’s oil revenues.
Støre was also in the midst of political challenges at the time and could benefit from having the popular and likeable Stoltenberg on his team. Even though Stoltenberg had been prime minister himself, he was intrigued by the finance minister’s post and also happy to be home again in Oslo. He accepted Støre’s offer and was able to put the Munich post on hold.
The board of the Munich Security Conference proved to be understanding and agreed to keep the job open for Stoltenberg to take on when he was ready to take it on. That didn’t happen and speculation was rising over when he would be, especially with the Norwegian Parliament due to re-open in less than a month. It wouldn’t be right for Stoltenberg to present a new state budget proposal and disappear shortly therafter.
On Monday, DN could confirm that won’t happen. At a meeting in Berlin on Monday, the security conference’s board decided to split its leadership in two, with Stoltenberg sharing the post with German diplomat Helga Maria Schmid. He won’t be the working leader, but rather co-chair and representing the Norwegian government. He’ll also have a key role at the conference in February, as he would have anyway as a board member.
“For me it’s important to be fully on the job as finance minister, and not have to think about whether I’ll be continuing in that role,” Stoltenberg told DN. “I’ll also avoid the question about when I would take over in Munich.”
Stoltenberg is also a dedicated, long-time member of the Norwegian Labour Party and clearly wants to nurture that role as well. “I feel I have been very much involved in Norwegian politics already,” he added, and he wants to continue working on various tax reform proposals and new rules for the huge state pension fund known as the Oil Fund.
He didn’t want to talk about his plans after Norway’s next national election in 2029. “Then I’ll be 70 years old, and I don’t plan that far in advance,” Stoltenberg told DN. “At some point it will be important for the country, for the party and for me to quit. Right now I don’t know when that will be.”
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
