Marianne Sivertsen Næss

Marianne Sivertsen Næss (born 28 March 1974) 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.

Marianne Sivertsen Næss
Næss in June 2019
Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy
Assumed office
19 April 2024
Prime MinisterJonas Gahr Støre
Preceded byCecilie Myrseth
Member of the Storting
Assumed office
1 October 2021
DeputySigurd Kvammen Rafaelsen
ConstituencyFinnmark
Mayor of Hammerfest Municipality
In office
10 October 2019 – 28 October 2021
DeputyTerje Wikstrøm
Preceded byAlf E. Jakobsen
Succeeded byTerje Wikstrøm
Deputy Mayor of Hammerfest Municipality
In office
10 October 2011 – 10 October 2019
MayorAlf E. Jakobsen
Preceded byKristine Jørstad Bock
Succeeded byTerje Wikstrøm
Personal details
Born (1974-03-28) 28 March 1974 (age 50)
Hammerfest, Finnmark, Norway
Political partyLabour
Children4 (1 deceased)
OccupationSchool principal
Politician

Political career

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Local politics

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On the local level, she has been a member of the Municipal Council of Hammerfest Municipality since 2007 and served as deputy mayor of Hammerfest between 2011 and 2019, with Alf E. Jakobsen as mayor.[1] She succeeded him as mayor in 2019 after he didn't seek re-election, with Terje Wikstrøm as deputy.[2] She gained national attention for her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hammerfest, which was strongly affected by the outbreak.[3]

She resigned in 2021 in order to take her seat in parliament, and was succeeded by Wikstrøm.[4] He would go on to lose the 2023 local elections to the Conservative Party's Terje Rogde.[5]

Parliament

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She was elected as a representative to the Storting from the constituency of Finnmark for the period 2021–2025.[6][7] In parliament, she was a member of the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment, to which she was elected chair of in 2022. She left the position upon her 2024 ministerial appointment, and was succeeded by Ingvild Kjerkol.[8] While serving in government from 2024, Sigurd Kvammen Rafaelsen deputises in her place.[6]

Minister of Fisheries

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Næss was appointed minister of fisheries and ocean policy on 19 April 2024 following the dismissal of Ingvild Kjerkol in the wake of a plagiarism scandal.[9]

2024

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In June, Norway signed a deal on mackerell fishing with the United Kingdom and the Faroe Islands, which would ensure management, distribution and access to fishing for mackerel in each other's waters. The deal is scheduled to last at least three years. Næss hailed the deal, noting that it would ensue "flexibility and predictability" in Norwegian vessels' fishing and that it was important for production planning in the agricultural industry.[10]

Næss expressed concerns for illegal fishing tourism in July following revelations by NRK of the matter in Western Finnmark. As a result she put down a commission which will look into the matter and the report will be presented by the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries on how fishing tourism can be regulated and controlled better. She also proposed measures such as fishing license for foreign fishing tourists, ban on filleting and freezing fish for tourists who are not registered at a tourist fishery, and inspections of the level of the export quota.[11]

Conservative representative Erlend Svardal Bøe submitted a question to Næss in September regarding the harbour routines after a cargo ship that was docked in Tromsø carrying dangerous explosive materials onboard. Næss responded that she would be tasking the Norwegian Coastal Administration and its subordinate agencies to investigate the matter and the routines to make necessary adjustments for interaction.[12]

Following negotiations that lasted between 21 and 31 October, the government announced that they had reached a new fishing agreement with Russia for 2025. Næss expressed gratitude for an agreement being reached, but noting that the circumstances weren't ideal. She also hailed the agreement to be long-term and would be sustainable for marine management in the northern regions. The agreement also notably saw a decrease of 25% in quotas for cod, ensuring it to be the lowest since 1991.[13][14]

Civic career

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Næss has an education in school management, project management and has a master's degree in special pedagogy and adapted education. She has been section leader at the Finnmark Hospital Trust and principal at Hammerfest upper secondary school. She has been on leave from her duties as principal since 2016 in order to focus on political work.[15]

Personal life

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Næss is married to her husband Reidar, with whom she has three daughters.[16] Her eldest daughter died at an early age of childhood cancer.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Kommunestyret" (PDF) (in Norwegian Bokmål). CustomPublish. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Historisk seremoni: Nå er Marianne Sivertsen Næss (Ap) den første ordføreren i den nye kommunen" (in Norwegian Bokmål). iFinnmark. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2024.(subscription required)
  3. ^ "Rektor fra Hammerfest er ny fiskeriminister" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Terje Wikstrøm (Ap) valgt til ny ordfører i Hammerfest" (in Norwegian Bokmål). iFinnmark. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2024.(subscription required)
  5. ^ "Terje Rogde er ordfører" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Troms og Finnmark. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Næss, Marianne Sivertsen (1974-)". stortinget.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  7. ^ Tvedt, Knut Are. "Stortingsrepresentantene 2021–2025". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Energi- og miljøkomiteen" (in Norwegian Bokmål). stortinget.no. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Dette er de nye statsrådene" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Aftenposten. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Ny makrellavtale med Storbritannia og Færøyene klar" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Nordland. 17 June 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Fiskeriministeren tar grep for å få kontroll på ulovlig turistfiske" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK. 7 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Må gjennomgå rutiner etter at «Ruby» fikk legge til kai i Tromsø" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Troms og Finnmark. 12 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Enighet om norsk-russisk fiskeriavtale for 2025" (in Norwegian Bokmål). government.no. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Enige om norsk-russisk fiskeriavtale" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Troms og Finnmark. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Varaordføreren - Hammerfest kommune". Hammerfest kommune. 28 February 2018. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Marianne Sivertsen Næss" (in Norwegian Bokmål). iFinnmark. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  17. ^ "Hun mistet det umistelige" (in Norwegian Bokmål). TV 2. 21 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
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Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy
2024–present
Incumbent
Preceded by Chair of the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment
2022–2024
Succeeded by
Preceded by Mayor of Hammerfest Municipality
2019–2021
Succeeded by
Terje Wikstrøm
Preceded by
Kristine Jørstad Bock
Deputy Mayor of Hammerfest Municipality
2011–2019
Succeeded by
Terje Wikstrøm