Kristin Halvorsen

Kristin Halvorsen (born September 2, 1960 in Horten, Vestfold) is a Norwegian socialist politician and has been the Minister of Finance since October 17, 2005 in the second Stoltenberg cabinet.

Taking over as leader of the Socialist Left Party in 1997, she established an unprecedented level of consensus within the party. The last few years have been marked by high polling numbers, but at the 2005 election, the party received a disappointing 8.8 percent, down almost 10 percent from the best polls. Many who describe themselves as being on the left side of the party have suggested that Halvorsen step down.

The Socialist Left, in coalition with the Labour Party and the Centre Party, won Norway's September 2005 parliamentary elections. The resulting Red-Green coalition government marked the first time that the Socialist Left Party was included in the cabinet. Kristin Halvorsen took office as the 78th Minister of Finance in Norwegian history and the first woman ever to serve in that post.

After taking some university courses in pedagogy (1,5 years) and criminology (1 year) without receiving a degree, Halvorsen worked for a while as a legal secretary. She served as a vice member to the Parliament from 1985, and was elected member of Parliament in 1989, representing the county of Oslo, a seat she has held since. She has been a member of the parliamentary standing Committee on Finance (1989-1997) and the Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs (1997-2001). She is presently a member of the Election Committee and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Chairman of the Socialist Left Party's parliamentary group, but is on leave from these positions while sitting in government.

Halvorsen was the first Norwegian party leader to launch a blog. On January 5, 2006 she caused a controversy by stating in an interview that she and her party supported a boycott of Israeli products due to Israel's treatment of Palestinians. The government and the other parties in the coalition distanced themselves from these remarks, and Halvorsen later apologized.

Kristin Halvorsen's parents were Leif Georg Halvorsen, a civil engineer, and Marit Larsen, a teacher. Kristin is married to Charlo Halvorsen, a producer at Norsk Rikskringkasting.

Controversy
During the 2005 election Halvorsen announced that she would leave politics if she was unable to provide all citizens with kindergarten for their children by the end of 2007. As of the beginning of 2008 this was not completed.

Books

 * Rett fra hjertet (Straight from the Heart), 2004