Morten Wetland
Encyclopedia
Morten Wetland is a Norwegian jurist, diplomat and politician for the Labour Party
. He is a former State Secretary
and Ambassador, and is the current Permanent Representative of Norway
to the United Nations
in New York.
with the cand.jur. degree in 1976. He was hired in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
the same year, but left to work as a deputy judge in Grimstad
from 1978 to 1979. From 1983 to 1983 he worked as a secretary at the Norwegian embassy in West Germany.
He then returned to Norway to work as a civil servant. He worked in the Norwegian Office of the Prime Minister
from 1985 to 1990, except for a period between 1989 and 1990 when he worked as director of the legal department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1991 he was promoted to deputy under-secretary of State in the Office of the Prime Minister. In 1992 Wetland was responsible for coining the phrase , which translates to "It is typical for Norwegians to be clever". The phrase was used in a New Year's speech by then-Prime Minister
Gro Harlem Brundtland, and quickly became famous in Norway.
In 1994 Wetland moved from the administrative to the partisan political stratum in the Office of the Prime Minister, as he was appointed State Secretary
in the third cabinet Brundtland
. He lost this job when Gro Harlem Brundtland resigned in 1996. In the new cabinet Jagland
, he was appointed State Secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, but only lasted for less than two months, from 1 November to 18 December 1996.
He worked briefly for the publishing house Gyldendal
in 1997, before spending the next year as campaign leader for Gro Harlem Brundtland, who ran for the position as Director-General of the World Health Organization
. This was successful as Brundtland was appointed in May 1998.
During this period, he notably fell out with Bjarne Lindstrøm
, who, being permanent under-secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was the highest ranking bureaucrat in the Ministry. Wetland resigned, reportedly due to the tension, and worked two years as a director in Statkraft
.
However, Bjarne Lindstrøm was himself a controversial person. In 2005 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs came under scrutiny for the handling of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
, a natural disaster that gravely affected Norwegian citizens abroad. An ad-hoc commission was set up, with Jan Reinås
as the leader and Wetland as a member. Its final report contained strong criticism of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Lindstrøm lost his position as permanent under-secretary, although he became Norway's Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Wetland was publicly accused, by anonymous sources, of having a personal vendetta against Lindstrøm; however no sanctions were taken against this.
assumed office, Wetland returned to politics as State Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister. At the time of the appointment, it was noted that Wetland was a member of the so-called Kristiania Forum, an informal group consisting of perceived right-wing elite members of the Labour Party.
He left on 1 January 2008, having handed in his resignation in late 2007.
, who was the deputy leader of the Norwegian delegation to the United Nations at that time. Instead, Wetland was appointed.
Already in December 2007, when it became known that Wetland had applied for the position, the question was raised whether Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
or Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre
had a conflict of interest in the process. Both were given the green light by law experts in the Ministry of Justice
. Nonetheless, Stoltenberg, whose wife
was a friend of Juul, chose to back out of the process in order to act "cautious". He was not present when the Council of State
discussed the case. Jonas Gahr Støre chose to participate in the Council of State meeting. It surfaced, however, that Støre and Wetland had a long history of acquaintance, having attended each other's fortieth birthday parties in 1990 and 1991 respectively. Støre was specifically criticized for this by the political opposition. He replied that Wetland was more of a colleague than a personal friend, that a friendship does not entail a conflict of interest in the juridical sense, and that he had not only worked with Wetland, but rather "three or four" of the applicants.
Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
. He is a former State Secretary
State Secretary (Norway)
In Norway, a State Secretary is a partisan political position within the executive branch of government. Contrary to the position Secretary of State in many other countries, the Norwegian State Secretary does not head his or her Ministry, rather, they are second in rank to a Minister...
and Ambassador, and is the current Permanent Representative of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in New York.
1976–1998
Wetland graduated from the University of OsloUniversity of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
with the cand.jur. degree in 1976. He was hired in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the foreign ministry of the Kingdom of Norway...
the same year, but left to work as a deputy judge in Grimstad
Grimstad
is a town and municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Grimstad. Other notable places in Grimstad include Eide, Fevik, Fjære, Landvik, Prestegårdskogen, Reddal, and Roresanden.It is...
from 1978 to 1979. From 1983 to 1983 he worked as a secretary at the Norwegian embassy in West Germany.
He then returned to Norway to work as a civil servant. He worked in the Norwegian Office of the Prime Minister
Norwegian Office of the Prime Minister
The Norwegian Office of the Prime Minister is a political and bureaucratic office that assists the Cabinet of Norway and the Prime Minister of Norway in the leadership of the Cabinet and Government. It has since 2005 been led by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg . Minister and Chief of Staff is Karl...
from 1985 to 1990, except for a period between 1989 and 1990 when he worked as director of the legal department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1991 he was promoted to deputy under-secretary of State in the Office of the Prime Minister. In 1992 Wetland was responsible for coining the phrase , which translates to "It is typical for Norwegians to be clever". The phrase was used in a New Year's speech by then-Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Norway
The Prime Minister of Norway is the political leader of Norway and the Head of His Majesty's Government. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Stortinget , to their political party, and ultimately the...
Gro Harlem Brundtland, and quickly became famous in Norway.
In 1994 Wetland moved from the administrative to the partisan political stratum in the Office of the Prime Minister, as he was appointed State Secretary
State Secretary (Norway)
In Norway, a State Secretary is a partisan political position within the executive branch of government. Contrary to the position Secretary of State in many other countries, the Norwegian State Secretary does not head his or her Ministry, rather, they are second in rank to a Minister...
in the third cabinet Brundtland
Third cabinet Brundtland
Brundtland's Third Cabinet was a minority, Labour Government of Norway. It succeeded the Conservative/Centre/Christian Democrat Cabinet Syse, and sat between 3 November 1990 and 24 October 1996. It was replaced by the Labour Cabinet Jagland. The cabinet was active during two parliaments, both...
. He lost this job when Gro Harlem Brundtland resigned in 1996. In the new cabinet Jagland
Cabinet Jagland
Jagland's Cabinet governed Norway between October 25, 1996 and October 17, 1997. It had the following composition:-Cabinet members:-References:* - Regjeringen.no...
, he was appointed State Secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, but only lasted for less than two months, from 1 November to 18 December 1996.
He worked briefly for the publishing house Gyldendal
Gyldendal
Gyldendal may refer to:*Gyldendal, a Danish publishing house*Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, a Norwegian publishing house founded as a demerger from the Danish one*Søren Gyldendal, the founder of the Danish publishing house...
in 1997, before spending the next year as campaign leader for Gro Harlem Brundtland, who ran for the position as Director-General of the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
. This was successful as Brundtland was appointed in May 1998.
1998–2005
In 1998 Wetland was proclaimed Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, for his work as a civil servant. The same year be became the Norway's Ambassador to Germany, serving until 2003.During this period, he notably fell out with Bjarne Lindstrøm
Bjarne Lindstrøm
Bjarne Lindstrøm is a Norwegian diplomat.He started working for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1962. He was the consul-general in Cape Town, South Africa from 1986 to 1990, deputy under-secretary of state in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1996, permanent under-secretary...
, who, being permanent under-secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was the highest ranking bureaucrat in the Ministry. Wetland resigned, reportedly due to the tension, and worked two years as a director in Statkraft
Statkraft
Statkraft is a Norwegian state owned electricity company. With a total energy production of 44.9 TWh in 2007, the Statkraft Group is the third largest energy producer in the Nordic region, as well as the largest energy producer based on renewable energy sources in Europe,consisting of 40% of the...
.
However, Bjarne Lindstrøm was himself a controversial person. In 2005 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs came under scrutiny for the handling of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
, a natural disaster that gravely affected Norwegian citizens abroad. An ad-hoc commission was set up, with Jan Reinås
Jan Reinås
Jan Audun Reinås was a Norwegian businessperson.-Early career:Reinås was educated in business administration through the Norwegian State Railways. He first worked for the bus and ferry company Fosen Trafikklag, before taking over as chief financial officer of Trondheim Trafikkselskap , the bus and...
as the leader and Wetland as a member. Its final report contained strong criticism of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Lindstrøm lost his position as permanent under-secretary, although he became Norway's Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Wetland was publicly accused, by anonymous sources, of having a personal vendetta against Lindstrøm; however no sanctions were taken against this.
2005–2008
In the autumn of 2005, when the second cabinet StoltenbergSecond cabinet Stoltenberg
Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet is the current government of Norway. Appointed on 17 October 2005, it is a coalition between the Labour Party, the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party, known as the Red–Green Coalition. The cabinet has ten members from the Labour Party, five from the Socialist...
assumed office, Wetland returned to politics as State Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister. At the time of the appointment, it was noted that Wetland was a member of the so-called Kristiania Forum, an informal group consisting of perceived right-wing elite members of the Labour Party.
He left on 1 January 2008, having handed in his resignation in late 2007.
2008–present
In late February 2008 he was appointed as Norway's new Permanent Representative to the United Nations. This was not uncontroversial. The foreign affairs administration had originally singled out another candidate, peace process veteran Mona JuulMona Juul
Mona Juul is an official in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former politician for the Labour Party.She hailed from Sparbu, and was educated in political science. Along with her husband Terje Rød-Larsen she played a key role in the Oslo Accords...
, who was the deputy leader of the Norwegian delegation to the United Nations at that time. Instead, Wetland was appointed.
Already in December 2007, when it became known that Wetland had applied for the position, the question was raised whether Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
Jens Stoltenberg
is a Norwegian politician, leader of the Norwegian Labour Party and the current Prime Minister of Norway. Having assumed office on 17 October 2005, Stoltenberg previously served as Prime Minister from 2000 to 2001....
or Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre
Jonas Gahr Støre
Jonas Gahr Støre is the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, having been appointed to Jens Stoltenberg's second cabinet on 17 October 2005. He represents the Norwegian Labour Party.-Personal life:...
had a conflict of interest in the process. Both were given the green light by law experts in the Ministry of Justice
Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police is a Norwegian government ministry in charge of justice, police and domestic intelligence. The main purpose of the Ministry is to provide for the maintenance and development of the basic guarantees of the rule of law...
. Nonetheless, Stoltenberg, whose wife
Ingrid Schulerud
Ingrid Schulerud is a Norwegian diplomat. She is the Deputy Director General for Central Europe and EEA-financing in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She is also the wife of Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg....
was a friend of Juul, chose to back out of the process in order to act "cautious". He was not present when the Council of State
Norwegian Council of State
The Norwegian Council of State consists, according to the constitution of the prime minister and at least seven other ministers, the majority of which must belong to the state church. The current number of ministers is 20.-External links:*...
discussed the case. Jonas Gahr Støre chose to participate in the Council of State meeting. It surfaced, however, that Støre and Wetland had a long history of acquaintance, having attended each other's fortieth birthday parties in 1990 and 1991 respectively. Støre was specifically criticized for this by the political opposition. He replied that Wetland was more of a colleague than a personal friend, that a friendship does not entail a conflict of interest in the juridical sense, and that he had not only worked with Wetland, but rather "three or four" of the applicants.