As of 5 July 2002 the Department for Economic Affairs at the Office of the Prime Minister will be named the Department for Domestic Affairs. The reason for the shift is that the department’s field of responsibility has long been wider than just economic affairs. The department actually assists the Prime Minister in coordinating Government efforts in all domestic matters.

The Department for Economic Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office has since 1 March 2002 been headed by Director General Martin Skancke, an economist. His staff consists of economist Anders Buttedahl, political scientist Torill Bente Engseth and jurist Malin S. Nossum.

The field of economic affairs has been linked to one or more posts at the Prime Minister’s Office since the office re-emerged as a separate secretariat after the Second World War. First in the row was economist Gunnar Bøe, one of Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen’s two first secretaries in the summer of 1945. When the Prime Minister’s Office was formally established in the winter of 1956, one of the posts as director general was charged with the responsibility for economic affairs. Economist Arnfinn Guldvog was appointed to his post. He had then covered the same field since 1946, as secretary to the Prime Minister, with the exception of the period 1949-1951 when economist Arne Gunnar Haarr was in charge.

When Mr. Guldvog in 1983 retired and was succeeded as director general by political scientist Øystein Josefsen, the field of responsibility for economic affairs was somewhat changed. The reason was Prime Minister Kåre Willoch’s wish that government memos - – the ministerial documents for government meetings – should be more systematically scrutinised at the Prime Minister’s Office. This led to the growth of a separate department for this field from 1985 onwards. As the department head was the director general for economic affairs, the department was named the Department for Economic Affairs. In 1988-1992 the department’s head was political scientist Bjørn T. Grydeland, in 1992 political scientist Trond Fevolden and in 1992-2002 jurist Arne Spildo.

The permanent staff of the Prime Minister’s Office is headed by Government Secretary Nina Frisak and Deputy Government Secretary Arne Spildo. Apart from the Department for Domestic Affairs, the office consists of the Department for Administrative Affairs - headed by Director General Kristin Jahre Ramm, the Department for International Affairs – headed by Director General Bente Angell-Hansen, and the Press and Information Section – led by Head of Information Øivind Østang.