Børge Brende

Børge Brende – Minister of Foreign Affairs

Børge Brende is Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway. He started his political career in 1985 as political adviser with the Young Conservatives. He has been Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party (1994–1998) and a member of the Storting (Norwegian parliament) for more than 10 years. From 2001 to 2004 he was Minister of the Environment. He was Minister of Trade and Industry from 2004 to 2005. In 2008, Mr Brende was appointed as Managing Director the World Economic Forum in Geneva. He was Secretary General of Red Cross Norway from 2009 to 2011, before returning to the World Economic Forum in 2011. Mr Brende was Chair of the UN Commission of Sustainable Development in 2003–2004 and member of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (advisory body to the Chinese Government) from 2005 to 2013. He has also been Chair of the Board in Mesta, Norway’s largest onshore contracting group, and Member of the Board in Statoil. Mr Brende has a degree in economics, law and history from NTNU in Trondheim.

 

Børge Brende's talk: ”Economic diplomacy in light of global change”