Biography

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Erna Solberg served as Prime Minister of Norway from 2013 to 2021. She was elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2017, thus making her the second female to hold the position. 

Erna Solberg was born and educated in Bergen. In 1986, she graduated with her cand. mag. degree (equivalent to master's degree) in sociology, political science, statistics and economics from the University of Bergen.

Solberg was a deputy member of Bergen city council in the periods 1979–1983 and 1987–1989, the last period on the executive committee. She chaired local and municipal chapters of the Young Conservatives and the Conservative Party. She was first elected to the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) from Hordaland in 1989 and has been re-elected five times. She was also the leader of the national Conservative Women's Association, from 1994 to 1998.

From 2001 to 2005 Solberg served as the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development.

From 2016 the former Prime Minister has co-chaired the UN Secretary General’s Advocacy group for the Sustainable Development goals. Among the goals, she takes a particular interest in access to quality education for all, in particular girls and children in conflict areas. In 2022, Solberg became a board member of Global Citizen.