Eirik Lae Solberg (born 3 April 1971) is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. He has served as the governing mayor of Oslo since 2023 and was previously the Oslo City Commissioner for Finance from 2014 to 2015. Lae Solberg has also been a deputy member of parliament for Oslo since 2021, having previously done so between 1993 and 1997 for Buskerud.
Eirik Lae Solberg | |
|---|---|
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| Governing Mayor of Oslo | |
| Assumed office 25 October 2023 | |
| Deputy | Hallstein Bjercke |
| Mayor | Anne Lindboe |
| Preceded by | Raymond Johansen |
| Oslo City Commissioner for Finance | |
| In office 4 April 2014 – 21 October 2015 | |
| Governing Mayor | Stian Berger Røsland |
| Preceded by | Torger Ødegaard |
| Succeeded by | Robert Steen |
| State Secretary for the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries | |
| In office 16 October 2013 – 4 April 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Erna Solberg |
| Minister | Monica Mæland |
| State Secretary for the Ministry of Modernisation | |
| In office 8 March 2004 – 17 October 2005 | |
| Prime Minister | Kjell Magne Bondevik |
| Minister | Morten Meyer |
| Deputy Member of the Storting | |
| Assumed office 1 October 2021 | |
| Member | Nikolai Astrup (2021) |
| Constituency | Oslo |
| In office 1 October 1993 – 30 September 1997 | |
| Constituency | Buskerud |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 April 1971 Drammen, Buskerud, Norway |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Hanna Rommerud |
| Children | 2 |
Education
editSolberg holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a master's degree in European history and politics from the University of Cambridge.
Political career
editLocal politics
editSolberg was elected to the Oslo City Council in 2007, and led the committee on finance and the Conservative group from 2009 to 2013.
In 2014, he was appointed city commissioner for finance, a post he held until the Conservative coalition lost the 2015 local elections.[1]
Lae Solberg was elected deputy leader of the Oslo Conservative Party in 2018 with Heidi Nordby Lunde as leader, and was re-elected in 2020.[2][3]
He was the Oslo Conservative Party's candidate for Governing Mayor in the 2019 local elections. He lost the election to incumbent Raymond Johansen, and resigned as the Conservatives' group leader. He did however retain his council seat.[4]
On 1 July 2022, he was again chosen as the Oslo Conservatives' candidate for Governing Mayor for the 2023 local elections.[5] The Conservative block won a majority in the following election, and the Conservatives initially sought to form a new city government with the Liberal Party, Christian Democrats and the Progress Party, but these negotiations collapsed and the Conservatives then sought to form a minority government with only the Liberal Party.[6] The Progress Party had also ruled out a cooperation agreement with a new city government, citing they would not support a government they weren't a part of. However, they later backtracked and agreed to negotiate a cooperation agreement with the Conservatives and Liberals.[7] The parties presented their platform on 24 October.[8]
Governing Mayor of Oslo
editCabinet
editLae Solberg and his city government succeeded the Johansen government on 25 October 2023.[9]
| Portfolio | Minister | Took office | Left office | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governing Mayor of Oslo | Eirik Lae Solberg | 25 October 2023 | Incumbent | Conservative | |
| Deputy Governing Mayor | Hallstein Bjercke | 25 October 2023 | Incumbent | Liberal | |
| City Commissioner for Finance | Hallstein Bjercke | 25 October 2023 | Incumbent | Liberal | |
| City Commissioner for Transport and the Environment | Marit Vea | 25 October 2023 | Incumbent | Liberal | |
| City Commissioner for Health | Saliba Andreas Korkunc | 25 October 2023 | Incumbent | Conservative | |
| City Commissioner for Education | Julie Remen Midgarden | 25 October 2023 | Incumbent | Conservative | |
| City Commissioner for Urban Development | James Stove Lorentzen | 25 October 2023 | Incumbent | Conservative | |
| City Commissioner for Social Services | Julianne Ferskaug | 25 October 2023 | Incumbent | Liberal | |
| City Commissioner for Culture and Industry | Anita Leirvik North | 25 October 2023 | Incumbent | Conservative | |
Tenure
editIn mid November, he called on the national government to assist the municipality with police staffing and combating violence and criminal gangs.[10]
With strong blizzards covering large parts of Eastern Norway in January 2024, Lae Solberg advised the public to work from home and not utilise vehicles more than necessary. While several counties in region had closed their schools, he stated he would restrain from doing so in Oslo, citing their importance and a high threshold to do so.[11]
He and finance commissioner Hallstein Bjercke presented Oslo's 2025 budget in September 2024, which notably included a proposed increase of 63% in water and sewage fees for the next four years. Finance minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum accused the Conservatives of breaking election promises of maintaining decreased fees in municipalities they secured power in. Lae Solberg however criticsed Vedum for taking away millions of NOK from Oslo municipality through the national government's new revenue system for municipalities.[12]
Parliament
editHe served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Buskerud from 1993 to 1997. He was re-elected as a deputy representative in the 2021 election, this time for Oslo. He met as permanent representative for Nikolai Astrup from 1 to 14 October 2021 at the end of the Solberg Cabinet's tenure.
Government
editDuring the second cabinet Bondevik, Solberg was political advisor in the Ministry of Trade and Industry from 2001 to March 2004, and State Secretary in the Ministry of Work Affairs and Administration (renamed Ministry of Modernization in June 2004) from March 2004 to 2005. In the elections that year, the second cabinet Bondevik fell, thus Solberg lost his position. He was appointed state secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries in 2013 and held the post until 2014.
Non-politics
editIn 2020, Lae Solberg was hired to work for Deloitte as a strategic consultant for the public sector.[13]
Personal life
editLae Solberg is married to Hanna Rommerud, with whom he has a son and a daughter.[14]
References
edit- ^ "Eirik Lae Solberg ny finansbyråd" (in Norwegian). Oslo Høyre. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "Ny ledelse i Oslo Høyre" (in Norwegian). Oslo Høyre. 27 January 2018. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ "Heidi Nordby Lunde gjenvalgt som leder av Oslo Høyre" (in Norwegian). Vårt Oslo. 25 January 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "Oslo Høyres frontfigur grublet i to uker. Nå forlater han politikken" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "Eirik Lae Solberg og Anne Lindboe innstilt på topp for Oslo Høyre" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "Lae Solberg: − Vi tar sikte på et byråd bestående av Høyre og Venstre" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- ^ "Oslo Frp snur - vil likevel forhandle med nytt byråd om samarbeid" (in Norwegian). NRK Oslo og Viken. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "Slik skal Høyre og Venstre styre Oslo" (in Norwegian). NRK Oslo og Viken. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ "Her er Oslos nye byråd" (in Norwegian). NRK Oslo og Viken. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Nyvalgt byrådsleder bønnfaller regjeringen: − Fare for at strikken ryker" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 12 November 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "Byrådet i Oslo oppfordrer til å ha hjemmekontor, men holder skolene åpne" (in Norwegian). NRK Stor-Oslo. 21 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ "Vedum refser Høyre: – Erna må si unnskyld" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Verdens Gang. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Eirik Lae Solberg begynner i Deloitte" (in Norwegian). NTB Kommunikasjon. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "Fars jobb viktigst" (in Norwegian). FriFagbevegelse. 17 December 2008. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
External links
edit- "Eirik Lae Solberg" (in Norwegian). Storting.