In an extraordinary session of the Council of State this afternoon, the Crown Prince Regent has appointed Mr. Morten Andreas Meyer (44), director, Hamar, as Minister of Labour and Government Administration as of today at 4 pm. At the same time Mr. Victor D. Norman has been honourably discharged from the same office.

In today’s extraordinary session of the Council of State Mr. Eirik Lae Solberg (33), political advisor, Oslo, and Ms. Elbjørg Torsøe (31), municipal political advisor, Oslo, have been appointed as state secretaries in the Ministry of Labour and Government Administration as of today at 4 pm. At the same time state secretaries Lars Arne Ryssdal and Osmund Kaldheim have been honourably discharged from their offices in the same ministry.

Mr. Morten Andreas Meyer was state secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development from 26 October 2001 until 27 October 2003. He now comes from a post as director at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has broad experience from business posts. Mr. Meyer has been proposed member of the national board of the Conservative Party from May 2004, is a member of the Conservative Party’s programme committee, and has earlier held elected posts on Norway’s Young Conservatives and with the Conservative Party in Hamar and in the County of Hedmark.

Mr. Eirik Lae Solberg comes from the post as political advisor at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, a post he has held since 19 October 2001. He is M. Phil. in European history and politics from the University of Cambridge 1997, and B. Sc. in economy from the London School of Economics 1996. He has also been political advisor to the Conservative Party’s parliamentary group. Mr. Solberg has held elected posts on Norway’s Young Conservatives and he has represented the Conservative Party on the city council of Drammen.

Ms. Elbjørg Torsøe comes from the post as political advisor at Oslo City Government’s department on business development and urban planning. She is Cand. Polit. in comparative politics from the University of Bergen 1999. Ms. Torsøe has earlier worked at the central office of the Conservative Party, and has been research assistant at the Norwegian School of Management (BI).