Stoltenberg Jens

Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, was born in Oslo on 16 March 1959.

He spent his youth abroad with his diplomat father, his mother and his two sisters. Mr Stoltenberg holds a degree in Economics from the University of Oslo. After graduating in Economics from the University of Oslo in 1987, he began working at Statistics Norway (the Norwegian National Statistical Institute).

His political and institutional career began in the early 1990s: between 1990 and 1991, he served as State Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment. From 1991 to 2014, he was a member of the Norwegian Parliament, whilst between 1993 and 1996 he headed the Ministry of Industry and Energy. Subsequently, from 1996 to 1997, he served as Minister of Finance.
In 2000, he became Prime Minister of Norway for the first time, holding the post until 2001. From 2002 to 2014, he was Leader of the Norwegian Labour Party, and in 2005, he began his second term as Prime Minister, remaining in office until 2013.
During his terms in office, Norway significantly increased its defence spending, becoming one of the NATO Allies with the highest per capita expenditure in the sector; the Norwegian armed forces were also modernised, strengthening their operational capability and participation in NATO missions, whilst repeatedly drawing the organisation’s attention to security issues affecting the territories of the Allies.

A staunch advocate of transatlantic cooperation, including better burden-sharing across the Atlantic, he views NATO and the EU as complementary organisations dedicated to ensuring peace and development in Europe and beyond.
He has held numerous international posts, including chairing the UN High-Level Panel on System Coherence and the High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing.

He is married to Ingrid Schulerud. Together they have two children.

Source: http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/