Terje Aasland appointed new Minister of Petroleum and Energy
Press release | Date: 08/03/2022 | Ministry of Energy
Terje Aasland from Skien is the new Minister of Petroleum and Energy after Marte Mjøs Persen. He is a certified powerline worker, has been a parliament representative for 16 years and has been the leader of the of the parliament's Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment since last autumn.
Aasland was appointed Minister of Petroleum and Energy in an extraordinary cabinet meeting on Monday 7 March 2022. He succeeds Marte Mjøs Persen, who will be the new Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion after Hadia Tajik.
— It is a great honor to become Minister of Petroleum and Energy and I look forward to the tasks ahead. We have a demanding situation with the war in Ukraine which has led to record high gas and electricity prices. I can assure people that we will work hard to make it work for households in this situation, says Aasland.
Terje Aasland was born in 1965 and grew up in Skien. He has been a parliamentary representative for the Telemark constituency since 2005 and has been a member and chair of the Energy and Environment Committee and the Business Committee until he was appointed Minister of Petroleum and Energy on 7 March 2022.
— The tasks in the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy are very relevant at a time when it is important to develop more power, develop the oil and gas industry, facilitate the creation of new jobs in the industry and cut emissions, says Aasland.
Aasland is a certified powerline worker (1986) and worked in several power companies in the Telemark region before being elected to the Norwegian parliament in 2005.
His political background include positions as a city council member in Skien for the Labour Party, leader of the Labour Party in Telemark and central board member of the Labour Party since 2011.