Torbjørn Giæver Eriksen is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party.

He graduated with the cand.mag.

Cand.mag.

Candidatus magisterii , Candidata magisterii , i.e. Latin Candidate of Arts, abbreviated cand.mag., is an academic degree used in Denmark, and formerly in Norway and Iceland, roughly corresponding to an American Master of Arts and officially translated as such...

 degree in political science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 from the University of Oslo

University 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...

 in 1995, and started his political career as a secretary for the Labour Party in Oslo. He remained here from 1996 to 1998, and was then a secretary for the parliamentary group from 1998 to 1999. He was a central board member of JEF Norway

JEF Norway

JEF Norway is the Norwegian chapter of Young European Federalists. It has 1,300 members, and consists of the national board , the executive board , regional chapters and local chapters....

 from 1993 to 1994.

When Stoltenberg's First Cabinet assumed office in 2000, he was appointed political advisor in the Ministry of Finance

Norwegian Ministry of Finance

The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Finance is a Norwegian ministry established in 1814. The ministry is responsible for state finance, including the state budget, taxation and economic policy in Norway. It is led by Sigbjørn Johnsen...

. He lost this job when the cabinet fell following the 2001 election

Norwegian parliamentary election, 2001

A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on September 10, 2001. The Labour Party won a plurality of votes and seats, closely followed by the Conservative Party...

. From 2002 to 2005 he worked as an information advisor for 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....

. When the Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet assumed office following the 2005 election, Eriksen 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 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...

. He resigned in June 2011.