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Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen (born 8 October 1964) is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. He is currently the mayor of Bodø since 2023 and previously served as the Minister of Fisheries from 2020 to 2021.

Personal life

He is married to Grete Bang Ingebrigtsen, with whom he has at least one son, who is a member of the Labour Party.

Political career

Youth wing

From 1986 to 1988 he was the secretary general of the Young Conservatives (Unge Høyre), the youth wing of the Conservative Party.

Local politics

On the local level he was a member of Bodø city council from 1988 to 2007, and chaired the local party chapter from 1985 to 1987. He also chaired the local chapter in an acting capacity between July and October 1991.

On 29 June 2022, he was announced as the Bodø Conservatives' mayoral candidate in the upcoming 2023 local elections. Following negotiations after the election, the Conservatives formed a majority with the Progress Party and Liberal Party, with Ingebrigtsen as mayor and the Liberals' Ida Gudding Johnsen as deputy mayor.

Mayor of Bodø

He and Gudding Johnsen were confirmed as mayor and deputy mayor by the municipal council on 5 October and took their respective roles the same day.

During the opening ceremony of Bodø as a Cultural Capital for 2024, Ingebrigtsen called on support and unity for Sami people after criticism was levelled against Sami artist and activist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen for showing a banner with "This is Sami land" during the ceremony.

His coalition came under fire for going in to close several kindergartens and schools due to budget constraints. The action led to mass protests in the affected neighbourhoods and opposition parties, mostly the Labour and Red parties, called the move unconstitutional. The case was however dismissed by the county governor, who cited that the move violated the Norwegian constitution's 104th section's second paragraph about children's rights to humane consideration. The municipality reversed their decision and asked school children for inputs. This was further criticised for not utilising simple language for young children to understand. In mid November, the majority parties in the city council decided to maintain two of the schools from closure.

Parliament

He served as a deputy representative to the Storting from Nordland from 1989 to 1993.

Minister of Fisheries

On 13 March 2020, he was appointed minister of fisheries following the resignation of Geir-Inge Sivertsen.

In December, he encouraged Norwegians who no longer had a job to take part in the winter fishing season, saying: "It will be fatal to stop production and operations in the middle of such a peak season. We hope that some of the need for labor can be solved by unemployed Norwegians getting jobs in Lofoten and Vesterålen now in the peak season".

In February 2021, Ingebrigtsen denied that young people would face difficult challenges in becoming fishers. He compared the challenges to the same ones faced when they're looking for a place to live, and asserted that it wasn't a given right to become a fisher. He also praised the young people for their engagement on the issue. His response came following criticism given by twenty year old young fisher who stated that one had to have a lot of money in to become a fisher.

In July, he asserted that Norway would respond harshly if the European Union would go against the salmon quotas established in the area around Svalbard. He also stated that it would be irrelevant for the EU or any other country to determine the said quotas.

Shortly before his departure, Ingebrigtsen sent a letter out to shipowners urging them to take action against sexual harassment on board fishing vessels. He also encouraged his successor to follow up on the issue. He also expressed that it appeared that the fisheries branch would be facing its own MeToo, saying: "It is important that we now have the floodlight on, so that the troll appears in the light and eventually cracks. It may seem that the fishing industry here may get its own "meeto"".

On 14 October, he was succeeded by Bjørnar Skjæran after the Solberg government was defeated at the previous month's election.

References

1. ^ "Guri Melby (V) ny kunnskapsminister og Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen ny fiskerminister" (in Norwegian). NRK. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
2. "Bråk om ektepar på toppen" (in Norwegian). Avisa Nordland. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
3. "Bekjennelse fra en Høyre-ordførers Ap-sønn" (in Norwegian). Dagsavisen. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
4. "Tidligere statsråd vil bli ordfører i Bodø" (in Norwegian). ABC Nyheter. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
5. "Odd Emil får med seg Ida som varaordfører: –⁠ Vi vil prioritere hardt" (in Norwegian). Bodø Nu. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
6. "Her blir Odd Emil offisielt ordfører: –⁠ Tusen takk, Ida" (in Norwegian). Bodø Nu. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
7. "Forsvarer Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen etter samisk-strid i nord" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
8. "Vil legge ned skole og flere barnehager: – Vi har havnet i luksusfellen" (in Norwegian). NRK Nordland. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
9. "Skolesjefen ba seksåringer om hjelp til å løse økonomisk nøtt: – Helt absurd" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Nordland. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
10. "Bodø-politikerne redder Østbyen og Alstad barneskole fra kutt" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Nordland. 12 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
11. "Arbeidsledig? Da vil fiskeriministeren at du melder deg til vinterfisket" (in Norwegian). NRK Nordland. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
12. "Sander (20) slår et slag for unge fiskere: – Må være jævlig rik for å klare det" (in Norwegian). NRK Nordland. 27 February 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
13. "EU truer Norge med sanksjoner over fiskekvoter: – En diplomatisk skandale" (in Norwegian). NRK Nordland. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
14. "Mener næringen kan stå overfor sitt "metoo": – Sjokkert over hva jeg hører" (in Norwegian). NRK Troms og Finnmark. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
15. Kolberg, Marit (14 October 2021). "Norge har fått ny regjering". NRK (in Norwegian). Retrieved 14 October 2021.

External links

• "Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen" (in Norwegian). Storting.
• Norwegian Misplaced Pages

• 1964 births
• Living people
• Deputy members of the Storting
• Conservative Party (Norway) politicians
• Nordland politicians
• Politicians from Bodø
• Mayors of places in Nordland
• Government ministers of Norway