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Tore O. Sandvik
Norwegian politician (born 1969) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Tore Onshuus Sandvik (born 31 August 1969) is a Norwegian politician. Between 2003 and 2023, he served as the Chairman of the County Council of Sør-Trøndelag until 2018, and Trøndelag until 2023.[1] Since 2025, he has served as Norway's Minister of Defence.
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Political career
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Youth league
As a young adult, Sandvik served as the County Youth Secretary in the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions and later Vice President of ETUC Youth.
State Secretary
In 2001 he was appointed State Secretary of the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry. He was re-appointed in November 2023 following his departure as chairman of the county council.[2]
Chairman of the Trøndelag County Council
Before he was elected County Mayor in 2003[3][4] he also worked as a project director for Extend. He was reelected in the 2007, 2011 and 2015[5][6] elections. When Nord and Sør-Trøndelag merged in 2018, he continued as county mayor for the new county before winning another term in the 2019 local elections.[7][8][9] In 2022, Sandvik announced that he would not seek re-election in the 2023 local elections. The Trøndelag Labour Party chose Per Olav Skurdal Hopsø as their candidate for county mayor.[10]
After the 2023 local elections, Labour's coalition partner the Centre Party joined the conservative block in order to get the county mayor position, thereby putting an end to Sandvik's term.[11] He was succeeded by Tomas Iver Hallem on 18 October 2023.[12]
Acting Minister of Climate and the Environment
Between 23 August and 31 December 2024, he served as acting minister of climate and the environment when Andreas Bjelland Eriksen went on paternal leave.[13]
Tenure
In early October, the government announced that they wouldn't be able to hand in their planned climate goals for 2035 by January 2025 to the United Nations as originally planned. Sandvik stated that they were looking for inputs on what the new goals should be.[14]
On 22 October, it was announced that Sandvik would be tasked with leading the negotiations regarding financing of the biodiversity framework at the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia.[15]
Sandvik was part of the Norwegian delegation at COP29 in Baku and led negotiations at the conference concerning emissions cuts together with his South African counterpart, Dion George.[16][17] By the end of the conference, he expressed that the countries had reached a solution and explained that Norway would be contributing with 3000 billion NOK in annual funding until 2035. He also remarked that the 1.5 degree target could have had a better outcome.[18]
Minister of Defence
Following the Centre Party's withdrawal from government, he was appointed minister of defence on 4 February 2025.[19]
Tenure
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A week after his appointment, Sandvik attended a NATO summit in Brussels where he met with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and attended a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group alongside representatives of the 31 other NATO member states and 25 other countries. Sandvik further reiterated Norway's support for Ukraine.[20]
After being criticised for not informing about the delays of a maritime army project in Ramsund in Southern Troms, Sandvik acknowledged in mid May that the government hadn't properly informed parliament about the recent delay of the project until 2026.[21]
During a NATO defence ministers' summit in early June, Sandvik signed a defence deal with his Danish counterpart Troels Lund Poulsen, which aims to strengthen the two countries' strategic and operative cooperation when it comes to training of personnel, operations and maintenance.[22][23]
Sandvik visited Ukraine for the first time in late June and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sign a cooperation agreement which sought for Norwegian weapons manufacturer Kongsberg Gruppen to establish offices in the country. He also made a visit to a memorial of fallen soldiers at the Freedom Square.[24]
In August, the government announced that they would be purchasing new British made BAE Systems frigates to be used by the Norwegian Navy. The move was criticised by the Red and Socialist Left parties due to Israeli made components, while Sandvik responded saying that the government would not ask for the components to be replaced and they will be bought as is. He further said that the government was purchasing the frigates and not individual components.[25][26]
Upon revelations that the Norwegian Army had continued to deny conscription for youth of minority backgrounds from high security risk countries in September, Sandvik faced criticism from Ine Eriksen Søreide, the chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, for inaction on the matter despite previous pledges by his predecessor to tackle the issue. In response, Sandvik said that he was monitoring the situation closely and that he had asked the Army to provide him with a status update on the matter. He also emphasised the importance of a robust conscription system and supported his predecessor's testimony from January with the Intelligence Oversight Committee. Army interest groups on the hand called for the matter to be brought up in the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs.[27]
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Personal life
Sandvik grew up in the borough of Kolstad in Trondheim. He is married to Trine Brænden and has four children, two of whom are from a previous relationship.[28]
References
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