page_title: Erna Solberg
section_title: Prime Minister
hierarchical_section_title: Erna Solberg / Political career / Prime Minister
caption_attribution_description: English: Today, it was my great honor to welcome Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway to the @WhiteHouse - a great friend and ally of the United States! Joint press conference
context_page_description: Erna Solberg is a Norwegian politician serving as Prime Minister of Norway since 2013 and Leader of the Conservative Party since May 2004. She has been given the nickname "Iron Erna"; this was inspired by Margaret Thatcher being termed the "Iron Lady".
  Solberg was first elected to be a member of the Storting in 1989, and served as Minister of Local Government and Regional Development in Bondevik's Second Cabinet from 2001 to 2005. During her tenure she oversaw the tightening of immigration policy and the preparation of a proposed reform of the administrative divisions of Norway. After the 2005 election, she chaired the Conservative Party parliamentary group until 2013. Solberg has emphasized the social and ideological basis of Conservative policies, although the party also has become visibly more pragmatic.
  After winning the September 2013 election, she became the 28th Prime Minister of Norway and the second female to hold the position after Gro Harlem Brundtland. Solberg's Cabinet, often referred to informally as the "Blue-Blue Cabinet", was initially a two-party minority government consisting of the Conservative and Progress parties.
context_section_description: Solberg became the head of government after winning the general election on 9 September 2013 and was appointed Prime Minister on 16 October 2013. Solberg is Norway's second female Prime Minister after Gro Harlem Brundtland.
  The Government was re-elected in 2017, making Solberg the country's first conservative leader to win re-election since the 1980s. The centre-right parties were also able to maintain the majority in the Storting.
  Erna Solberg has combined numerous national positions as Minister, Parliamentarian and regional politician with a strong commitment to global solutions for development, growth and conflict resolution. 
  She also negotiated with the Liberals to join the government in 2018.  The Liberals officially joined the Solberg Cabinet on 17 January 2018. After the Christian Democrats alliance conflict that lasted from September to November 2018, they eventually negotiated to join the Solberg Cabinet on the grounds of a minor change in the abortion law, something that caused harsh backlash from the public and critics alike. The Christian Democrats officially joined the Cabinet on 22 January 2019.
caption: Solberg and U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018
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