Jens Stoltenberg, the former head of NATO, will be appointed finance minister of Norway

The administration is reorganizing, and Jens Stoltenberg, the former head of NATO, will take over as Norway’s finance minister.

A government reshuffle is set to name former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as Norway’s next finance minister on Tuesday, according to Norwegian media and television NRK, which cited unidentified sources.

Former Labor Party veteran Stoltenberg was prime minister of Norway twice, from 2005 to 2013 and from 2000 to 2001. From 1996 to 1997, he served as finance minister and is a trained economist. The 65-year-old has a lengthy tradition in both domestic and foreign politics and is well-known for his pragmatic centrist stance. As the head of NATO for ten years, he was known as the “Trump-whisperer” because he was credited with convincing former US President Donald Trump to stay there.

His comeback to domestic politics coincides with the recent exit of the Norwegian Centre Party from the cabinet amid differences over energy policy of the European Union. The Labor Party is now in power alone, with just eight months to go until the next election.

When Stoltenberg was first appointed prime minister, he instituted Norway’s sovereign wealth fund expenditure regulation, which initially set a spending cap of 4% of the fund’s entire assets. Later, this cap was lowered to 3% as the fund expanded. His reappointment to the finance ministry is anticipated to strengthen Norway’s established economic management strategy.