Jens Stoltenberg had been listed as a candidate for the new central bank governor before the announcement of the position was completed.

Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp) has black on new questions from the Storting Constitutional and Control Committee regarding the appointment of Stoltenberg as the new Governor.

– We want to know if this is a previously clarified process. The first answer we received from the government did not make us any wiser, committee chairman Peter Frølich told VG when the question was sent.

– It remains unclear who launched Stoltenberg and pushed for his candidacy, Frølich said at the time.

Theme before the announcement is over

The committee asked, among other things, whether the Minister of Finance could confirm that Stoltenberg’s name had been recorded for the ministry and headhunting firm BackerSkeie before the latter made a proposal for a text call to the ministry.

– As stated in the answer to question 2 and my letter dated February 15, 2022, the Ministry conducted interviews with people who have good insight into the activities of the Norges Bank. The aim was to get input on qualification requirements and possible candidates before a draft call text was made, Vedum wrote and continued:

– Both Ida Wolden Bache and Jens Stoltenberg are among those mentioned in the above conversation.

Both were mentioned earlier

He also wrote that both Stoltenberg and Wolden Bache were mentioned in conversations between the finance minister and several heads of operations at the ministry shortly after ystein Olsen announced his resignation at the end of August 2021. Vedum took office on October 14, 2021.

Financial Advisor Hans Henrik Scheel is the most powerful bureaucrat in the Ministry of Finance.

The following week, Vedum learned more about the recruitment process.

– Among other things, I was informed that ystein Olsen had been given his resignation and that the Ministry of Finance had signed an agreement with a recruitment agency that would assist in the process, wrote Vedum.

– I was further informed that the Ministry will conduct interviews with people who have a good insight into the activities of the central bank and the tasks and challenges that the central bank will face in the future, to get input on qualification requirements and possible candidates. The agency also told me about some of the possible candidates for the position, including Ida Wolden Bache and Jens Stoltenberg.

Vedum further wrote that his feedback was that “the principle of qualification should be used as a basis and that they are free to encourage candidates whom they consider, based on the requirements for the position deemed most relevant, to apply”.

Inside the secret process: Decided early on for Stoltenberg