Trettebergstuen resigned as Minister of Culture earlier this year as a result of a breach of the competence regulations related to the appointment of friends Bård Nylund and Renate Larsen. In a letter to the Storting’s control and constitution committee, the former Labor minister tells of a practice in the Ministry of Culture, where she could propose names without actually making the appointment herself, if there were problems with competence. Such a practice is contrary to the competence regulations. – Neither I nor anyone else in political leadership has been warned against this, writes Trettebergstuen in its response to the Storting. Thus, she – as Dagens Næringsliv first mentioned yesterday – distances herself from the description that Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre gave during his press conference following Trettebergstuen’s departure in June. – This has also happened after warnings from the ministry, said Støre. “Wasn’t warned” Trettebergstuen, who is now back as a representative of the Storting, acknowledges in the letter that she had an incorrect understanding of the eligibility rules, but maintains that she was never warned about this from the Ministry of Culture. – Given that, through various cases in the media, it has appeared as if I have been warned that this understanding is wrong, and that I have been warned against suggesting names I am incompetent to, I also want to clarify that this is not the case, writes Trettebergstuen. – I myself am fully responsible for familiarizing myself with the regulations well enough, and for following a practice that is in line with the regulations, I have not done that, and therefore I have also taken the consequences of these mistakes and resigned, she continues . Trettebergstuen has declined an interview request from news and says she will not give interviews until after the hearing in the Storting’s Control and Constitution Committee on 7 November. Facts about the integrity cases Education Minister Tonje Brenna (Ap) admitted on 20 June to having broken the government’s integrity rules by appointing a friend to a board position in the Wergeland Centre, a foundation which is largely financed by the Ministry of Education. Culture and Equality Minister Anette Trettebergstuen (Ap) resigned from Støre’s government on 23 June after admitting to having broken the rules of competence by appointing friends to important positions. As Minister for Research and Higher Education, Ola Borten Moe (Sp) admitted on 21 July to having broken the government’s integrity rules by purchasing shares in the arms and technology group Kongsberg Gruppen. He resigned both as a minister and SP deputy leader. Former Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt’s (Ap) husband has bought and sold shares, including in the arms manufacturer Kongsberg Gruppen, while she has been a minister. Huitfeldt has not fulfilled her duty according to the rules of competence to obtain information about her husband’s financial activities, according to the legal department in the Ministry of Justice. Former prime minister Erna Solberg’s (H) husband Sindre Finnes has admitted to having bought and sold shares on a large scale while Solberg was prime minister. She herself claims that she was unaware of the extent, but acknowledges that the rules of competence have been broken in several cases. (Sources: NTB/news) – I have read this a bit superficially, I have not had time to read it, I do not want to comment on it, but it is wrong, said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) to TV 2 about DN’s case Monday. – We are concerned with bringing out the realities of this case, what it was about, and why it was necessary to draw the conclusion that was. I have no other interest than to go after it, he said. Minister Kristin Berge in the Ministry of Culture has responded to Trettebergstuen’s claims in an email to Dagens Næringsliv: – It has not been common practice to consider names for board appointments where the civil service knows that the minister is incompetent. If names should come up where the minister expresses doubts about his competence, this will be assessed by the civil service in consultation with political leadership. If you go ahead with such a name, the minister will have to step out of the process and not participate in further assessments, writes Berge. Doubts about whether she was incompetent In the letter to the Storting, Trettebergstuen explains the appointment of his friend Bård Nylund in two roles as well as the appointment of Renate Larsen to the board of Den Norske Opera og ballet. Trettebergstuen writes that she has always known that she was incompetent towards Bård Nylund, whom she describes as a close friend. Among other things, he is godfather to her children and they have published a book together. Anette Trettebergstuen and Bård Nylund are good friends and have, among other things, published a book together. Photo: Pitch Forlag/Facebook – Unfortunately, we chose processes that still allowed him to be appointed. This was done in good faith. There are thus no deliberate violations of the rules of competence, writes the former culture minister. But in the case relating to Renate Larsen, Trettebergstuen writes that she still has doubts as to whether she was really incompetent towards her. That is, whether she has the “sufficient proximity”, which the rules of competence require. “Five tight, currently wearing bathing caps,” Anette Trettebergstuen wrote about this photo on Facebook. From left: Cecilie Terese Myrseth, Renate Larsen, Anne Marit Bjørnflaten, Anette Trettebergstuen and Kristin Røymo. She writes that after Tonje Brenna’s competence case appeared, “a quick competence assessment” was carried out by a lawyer in the Ministry of Culture, who came to the conclusion that Trettebergstuen was incompetent vis-à-vis Larsen. – In retrospect, I have reflected and come to the conclusion that such a competency assessment should have been done by the legal department in the Ministry of Justice, she writes.
ttn-69
I was not warned – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
