# Marianne Sivertsen Næss

Marianne Sivertsen Næss (born 28 March 1974) is a Norwegian school principal and politician for the Labour Party. She is currently minister of fisheries and ocean policy since 2024 and a member of parliament for Finnmark since 2021. She previously served as mayor of Hammerfest Municipality between 2019 and 2021, and deputy mayor between 2011 and 2019.

## Political career
### Local politics

On the local level, she has been a member of the Municipal Council of Hammerfest Municipality since 2007 and served as deputy mayor of Hammerfest between 2011 and 2019, with Alf E. Jakobsen as mayor. She succeeded him as mayor in 2019 after he didn't seek re-election, with Terje Wikstrøm as deputy. She gained national attention for her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hammerfest, which was strongly affected by the outbreak.
She resigned in 2021 in order to take her seat in parliament, and was succeeded by Wikstrøm. He would go on to lose the 2023 local elections to the Conservative Party's Terje Rogde.

### Parliament

She was elected as a representative to the Storting from the constituency of Finnmark for the period 2021–2025. In parliament, she was a member of the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment, to which she was elected chair of in 2022. She left the position upon her 2024 ministerial appointment, and was succeeded by Ingvild Kjerkol. While serving in government from 2024, Sigurd Kvammen Rafaelsen deputises in her place.

### Minister of Fisheries

Næss was appointed minister of fisheries and ocean policy on 19 April 2024 following the dismissal of Ingvild Kjerkol in the wake of a plagiarism scandal.

#### 2024

In June, Norway signed a deal on mackerell fishing with the United Kingdom and the Faroe Islands, which would ensure management, distribution and access to fishing for mackerel in each other's waters. The deal is scheduled to last at least three years. Næss hailed the deal, noting that it would ensue "flexibility and predictability" in Norwegian vessels' fishing and that it was important for production planning in the agricultural industry.
Næss expressed concerns for illegal fishing tourism in July following revelations by NRK of the matter in Western Finnmark. As a result she put down a commission which will look into the matter and the report will be presented by the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries on how fishing tourism can be regulated and controlled better. She also proposed measures such as fishing license for foreign fishing tourists, ban on filleting and freezing fish for tourists who are not registered at a tourist fishery, and inspections of the level of the export quota.
Conservative representative Erlend Svardal Bøe submitted a question to Næss in September regarding the harbour routines after a cargo ship that was docked in Tromsø carrying dangerous explosive materials onboard. Næss responded that she would be tasking the Norwegian Coastal Administration and its subordinate agencies to investigate the matter and the routines to make necessary adjustments for interaction.
Following negotiations that lasted between 21 and 31 October, the government announced that they had reached a new fishing agreement with Russia for 2025. Næss expressed gratitude for an agreement being reached, but noting that the circumstances weren't ideal. She also hailed the agreement to be long-term and would be sustainable for marine management in the northern regions. The agreement also notably saw a decrease of 25% in quotas for cod, ensuring it to be the lowest since 1991.

#### 2025

On behalf of the government, she signed a new corporation deal in March with different companies in the fisheries industry that would seek to strengthen equality and would notably focus on improved recruitment, safer work environment and a more inclusive workplace. The deal is also a follow up to the government's equality strategy for the sector from 2023.

## Civic career

Næss has an education in school management, project management and has a master's degree in special pedagogy and adapted education. She has been section leader at the Finnmark Hospital Trust and principal at Hammerfest upper secondary school. She has been on leave from her duties as principal since 2016 in order to focus on political work.

## Personal life

Næss is married to her husband Reidar, with whom she has three daughters. Her eldest daughter died at an early age of childhood cancer.