Erna Solberg

Erna Solberg (Norwegian: [ˈæ̀ːɳɑ ˈsûːlbærɡ]; born 24 February 1961) is a Norwegian politician and was the Leader of the Opposition from 2021 to 2025. She served as the prime minister of Norway from 2013 to 2021, and as the leader of the Conservative Party from 2004 to 2026.

Solberg was first elected to the Storting in 1989, and served as Minister of Local Government and Regional Development in Bondevik's Second Cabinet from 2001 to 2005. During her tenure, she oversaw the tightening of immigration policy and the preparation of a proposed reform of the administrative divisions of Norway. After the 2005 election, she chaired the Conservative Party parliamentary group until 2013. Solberg has emphasized the social and ideological basis of Conservative policies, though the party also has become visibly more pragmatic.

After winning the 2013 parliamentary election, Solberg became Norway's second female prime minister, after Gro Harlem Brundtland. She led a minority coalition government of the Conservative and Progress parties, known as the "Blue-Blue Cabinet," with support from the Liberal and Christian Democratic parties. Her government was re-elected in 2017 and later expanded to formally include the Liberal Party in 2018 and the Christian Democratic Party in 2019, securing a parliamentary majority. Solberg became the longest-serving Conservative prime minister in Norwegian history in 2018. Following the 2021 election, her government lost its majority, and she resigned, returning to the role of Leader of the Opposition. In 2025, after the Conservative Party was defeated in the general election, Solberg announced she would step down as party leader in 2026.