The case in summary Knut Storberget has had a relationship with an employee in the office where he is the senior manager of the Ministry, which has personnel responsibility for Storberget, refuses to answer whether they were informed about the relationship. An anonymous whistleblower has sent a report of concern to the State Administrator in the Interior about the relationship, and expresses concern about Storberget’s understanding of the role and the imbalance in power and age. The ministry has carried out preliminary investigations into the case and is now obtaining external assistance for further investigations. The authority’s own arguments for why a relationship between Storberget and a subordinate may have been problematic include damage to trust and reputation, and the need for transparency to maintain public trust. Storberget has not answered questions about whether he has informed his employer about the relationship. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Two weeks ago it emerged that Knut Storberget has had a relationship with an employee in the office of which he is the top manager. The relationship is said to have started four years ago. news has several times asked the Ministry of Digitalisation and Administration, which has personnel responsibility for Storberget, whether they were informed about the relationship he was in. The ministry refuses to answer this. This spring, Storberget received renewed trust as state administrator in the interior for six new years. Report of concern news has obtained access to a report of concern sent to the State Administrator in the Interior from an anonymous whistleblower, as well as an internal memo. The background for the report of concern was the relationship Storberget had with the woman. Here it emerges that the whistleblower was concerned about Storberget’s “understanding of his role in this and the imbalance both in terms of power and age”. The whistleblower also claimed that the relationship, although it was described as secret, was not only known among several employees, but is also an expression of “uncultured and lack of judgment which creates insecurity in the organisation”. According to the whistleblower, the relationship must have lasted for four years. He has also confirmed to VG that he has had a long-term relationship with an employee. Knut Storberget has sat on the Hedmarksbench in the Storting for 16 years for the Labor Party. He was Minister of Justice in Jens Stoltenberg’s second government from 2005–2011. Photo: Stig Jaarvik / news Refuses to answer news has asked several questions about Storberget to the Ministry of Digitalization and Administration. They are the ones who have personnel responsibility for Knut Storberget. Communications adviser Ingvild Sahl asks news to quote head of expedition Jan Olav Pettersen as follows: “The department has no comments on this matter. We have previously confirmed that we have received an anonymous report of concern and that the ministry treats the report of concern as a notice in line with the rules of the Working Environment Act.” Pettersen is responsible for the state administration department in the ministry. These are some of the questions news does not get an answer to Did Knut Storberget inform his employer when he entered into the relationship, which should have started around four years ago? When, if any, was the employer informed that Storberget had a relationship with an employee? If the employer was informed, what was done with the information? If the employer was informed before Storberget received renewed trust as a state administrator, was the relationship a topic in the process towards the election of a new state administrator? In your ethical guidelines, it is stated that senior managers in the ministry and underlying businesses have a particular responsibility for following up on these, which is based on transparency, trust and reputation, both internally and externally. Have the ethical guidelines been a topic between the employer and Storberget during Storberget’s time as state administrator? If so, in what way? It is the Ministry of Digitalization and Public Administration that has employer responsibility for the state administrators. Pettersen also states that the ministry has carried out preliminary investigations into the matter, and is now seeking external assistance for further investigations. They do not answer questions about the results of the preliminary investigations, why they obtain external assistance and what the mandate for the investigation is. Can be problematic The State Administration’s own arguments put forward as to why a relationship between Storberget and a subordinate may have been problematic are: In the “Ethical guidelines for the civil service” it is stated that senior managers in the ministries and subordinate enterprises have a particular responsibility for following up the guidelines . Such behaviour, with a “secret relationship with a much younger employee over time”, could damage trust and reputation internally as well as externally. Transparency both externally and internally in one’s own business is necessary to maintain the public’s trust in the state service, and “counteracts reprehensible behavior and culture”. It was also pointed out that ethical norms, both externally in society and in accordance with the Working Environment Act, point out that the following criteria can be criticized and harmful to reputation externally and trust internally: unequal power relations, secrecy, duration over a long period of time and role significance. This is revealed in the internal memo that news has been given access to. Does not answer We have also asked the same questions to Knut Storberget, whether he has informed his employer about the relationship, without getting an answer. Storberget is currently on sick leave. Hello! Do you have tips, input or other feedback on this matter? Please feel free to contact me! Published 30.10.2024, at 16.32
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Refuses to answer whether they were aware of the state administrator’s relationship
