Trine Skei Grande

Trine Skei Grande
Minister of Culture and Gender Equality
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 January 2019
Prime Minister	Erna Solberg
Preceded by	Linda Cathrine Hofstad Helleland
Leader of the Liberal Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 April 2010
Deputy	Ola Elvestuen Terje Breivik
Preceded by	Lars Sponheim
Member of the Norwegian Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 October 2001
Constituency	Oslo
Minister of Culture
In office 17 January 2018 – 22 January 2019
Prime Minister	Erna Solberg
Preceded by	Linda Cathrine Hofstad Helleland
Personal details
Born	(1969-10-02) 2 October 1969 Overhalla, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway
Political party	Liberal Party
Alma mater	University of Oslo

Trine Skei Grande is a Norwegian politician and leader of the Liberal Party of Norway. She is currently the Minister of Culture and Gender Equality and a member of the Norwegian Parliament for Oslo.

Early life and education

Grande was born in Overhalla on 2 October 1969. She studied economics at introductory level at NTNU and later political science and history at introductory level at the University of Oslo. Prior to entering politics full-time she worked as a part-time journalist, a high school teacher and as a lecturer at Nord-Trøndelag University College.

Political career

The current Storting is her fourth consecutive term as a member, after first serving as deputy Member of Parliament from 2001 for Minister Odd Einar Dørum, and became Parliamentary Leader of the Liberal Party from 2001 until 2005. She was elected as Member of Parliament in the 2005 parliamentary election, and then re-elected in the 2009 and 2013 parliamentary elections.

Grande was a member of the Liberal Party central board in 1999–2000, and was deputy leader from 2000 until 2010. Grande was elected MP for Oslo in 2009 parliamentary election, although the Liberal Party suffered a severe blow; she and Borghild Tenden of Akershus were the only Liberal MPs to be elected.

Party leadership

Following the resignation of Lars Sponheim as party leader, she was elected leader of the Liberal Party at the General Assembly in 2010.

In 2013, under her leadership, the Liberal parliamentary group grew with seven more members of parliament. After January 2018, the Liberal Party entered government as a junior partner with the Conservative and Progress parties, taking three positions in the cabinet.

Standing committee membership

• 2013–2017 member of Foreign Affairs and Defence
• 2009–2013 member of Education, Research and Church Affairs
• 2009–2013 member of Enlarged Committee on Foreign Affairs
• 2009–2013 member of Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs
• 2009–2013 member of Election Committee
• 2005–2009 member of Family and Cultural Affairs
• 2005–2009 member of Election Committee
• 2001–2005 member of Enlarged Committee on Foreign Affairs
• 2001–2005 member of Enlarged Committee on Foreign Affairs
• 2001–2005 member of Election Committee