Terje Søviknes
| Terje Søviknes | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Minister of Petroleum and Energy | |
|
Assumed office 20 December 2016 |
|
| Prime Minister | Erna Solberg |
| Preceded by | Tord Lien |
| Mayor of Os | |
|
In office 1999 – 20 December 2016 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
28 February 1969 Os, Hordaland, Norway |
| Nationality | Norwegian |
| Political party | Progress Party |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater |
Bergen University College Norwegian School of Economics |
Terje Søviknes (born 28 February 1969) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party who has served as the Minister of Petroleum and Energy since December 2016.
Søviknes was the first politician of his party to become mayor of a Norwegian municipality, namely Os, Hordaland in 1999, and one of the longest-serving, retaining the position for five consecutive elections until his 2016 government appointment.
Søviknes was born in Os, Norway to metalworker and fisherman Eirik Søviknes (born 1939) and store clerk Gunn Drange (born 1942). He grew up on Søvikneset in Lysefjorden. He attended Os Senior high school from 1985 to 1988. He earned a degree in marine engineering from Bergen College of Engineering in 1992, and later studied at the Norwegian School of Economics.
From 1999 to 2001, Søviknes was the vice chairman of the Progress Party together with Siv Jensen, and was considered as a possible successor to Carl I. Hagen as chairman of the party. He however became controversial after an incident at a party congress in 2001 where he had committed adultery with a 16-year-old intoxicated member of the Youth of the Progress Party. Søviknes retained his position as mayor of Os (since 1999) and did not lose his local support after the incident.
After first being elected mayor following the 1999 local elections, his local party's support subsequently surged from 36.6 to 45.7% (the highest share of votes for the party in a municipality for the election) in the 2003 local elections. The success was repeated in the 2007 local elections when he was reelected by a landslide. The candidate from the Conservative Party who came in second, jokingly commented that "You don't challenge Terje Søviknes in Os." He was yet again reelected in the 2011 local elections, this time however by a far lesser margin. This led to speculation that he could be ousted from power by a coalition of the other parties. Søviknes remained in power with the support of the Conservative party.
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