NATO Chief Stoltenberg Named Head of Norges Bank
Posted on 02/04/2022
Jens Stoltenberg is a Norwegian politician who has served as the 13th Secretary General of NATO since 2014. A member of the Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th Prime Minister of Norway from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2005 until 2013. Jens Stoltenberg will become head of Norges Bank. Stoltenberg has said he would first serve out his term at NATO, which runs until September 30, 2022. Norges Bank separately said it expects the new governor to take over on or around December 1, 2022.
The political opposition worries that the appointment of the former prime minister could weaken Norges Bank’s independence.
Ida Wolden Bache, Deputy Chief of Norges Bank and Stoltenberg’s main rival for the job, will be the acting governor until Stoltenberg takes over, the government said.
“I’ve been concerned with identifying the best central bank governor for Norway, and I’m convinced that this is Jens Stoltenberg,” Norway’s Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said in a statement.
