Relationship with 18 year old
Norwegian minister resigns over affair
04/09/2022, 2:20 p.m
Years ago, the Norwegian defense minister began a secret relationship with a schoolgirl. A newspaper made the case public. The then 18-year-old woman spoke of fear and feelings of guilt. As a consequence, the politician now resigns.
Norway’s Defense Minister Odd Roger Enoksen is resigning from his post after having had a sexual affair with a much younger woman several years ago. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said at a press conference in Oslo that the minister’s resignation was the right decision and necessary after what had become known in the case. He could not comment on details. Støre made it clear that he would never have appointed Enoksen as minister if he had known about the relationship when the government was formed in October 2021.
Enoksen, now 67, had previously confirmed to the newspaper “Verdens Gang” that he had had a relationship with a young woman and regretted this relationship. He met the student at a meeting in northern Norway in 2005 before she met him again later on a school trip to the Norwegian Parliament. Enoksen was 50 at the time, the politically interested woman was only 18. After this trip, the two reportedly began a sexual relationship.
Enoksen told the “VG” that ministers could also have a private life and an extramarital relationship. He did not have a position of power over her. The woman said the relationship had shaped her life for 15 years, and that she felt shame, guilt and fear that she would not be believed. Enoksen was a member of parliament for his peasant Center Party in 2005 and was appointed oil and energy minister at the end of the year. He has been Minister of Defense under Støre since the end of 2021.