Marianne Sivertsen Næss | |
|---|---|
 Næss in June 2019 | |
| Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy | |
| Assumed office 19 April 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Jonas Gahr Støre |
| Preceded by | Cecilie Myrseth |
| Member of theStorting | |
| Assumed office 1 October 2021 | |
| Deputy | Sigurd Kvammen Rafaelsen Monica Nielsen |
| Constituency | Finnmark |
| Mayor ofHammerfest Municipality | |
| In office 10 October 2019 – 28 October 2021 | |
| Deputy | Terje Wikstrøm |
| Preceded by | Alf E. Jakobsen |
| Succeeded by | Terje Wikstrøm |
| Deputy Mayor of Hammerfest Municipality | |
| In office 10 October 2011 – 10 October 2019 | |
| Mayor | Alf E. Jakobsen |
| Preceded by | Kristine Jørstad Bock |
| Succeeded by | Terje Wikstrøm |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1974-03-28)28 March 1974 (age 51) Hammerfest, Finnmark, Norway |
| Political party | Labour |
| Children | 4 (1 deceased) |
| Occupation | School principal Politician |
Marianne Sivertsen Næss (born 28 March 1974) is a Norwegian school principal and politician for theLabour 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 ofHammerfest Municipality between 2019 and 2021, and deputy mayor between 2011 and 2019.
On the local level, she has been a member of the Municipal Council ofHammerfest Municipality since 2007 and served as deputy mayor of Hammerfest between 2011 and 2019, withAlf E. Jakobsen as mayor.[1]She succeeded him as mayor in 2019 after he didn't seek re-election, with Terje Wikstrøm as deputy.[2] She gained national attention for her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hammerfest, which was strongly affected by the outbreak.[3]
She resigned in 2021 in order to take her seat in parliament, and was succeeded by Wikstrøm.[4] He would go on to lose the2023 local elections to theConservative Party's Terje Rogde.[5]
She was elected as a representative to theStorting from the constituency ofFinnmark for the period 2021–2025. She was re-elected in2025.[6][7] In parliament, she was a member of theStanding 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 byIngvild Kjerkol.[8] While serving in government from 2024,Sigurd Kvammen Rafaelsen deputised in her place from 2024 to 2025. From 2025,Monica Nielsen has deputised in her place.[6]
Næss was appointed minister of fisheries and ocean policy on 19 April 2024 following the dismissal ofIngvild Kjerkol in the wake of a plagiarism scandal.[9]
In June, Norway signed a deal on mackerell fishing with theUnited Kingdom and theFaroe 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.[10]
Næss expressed concerns for illegal fishing tourism in July following revelations byNRK 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 theNorwegian 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.[11]
Conservative representativeErlend Svardal Bøe submitted a question to Næss in September regarding the harbour routines after a cargo ship that was docked inTromsø carrying dangerous explosive materials onboard. Næss responded that she would be tasking theNorwegian Coastal Administration and its subordinate agencies to investigate the matter and the routines to make necessary adjustments for interaction.[12]
Following negotiations that lasted between 21 and 31 October, the government announced that they had reached a new fishing agreement withRussia 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.[13][14]
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.[15]
Together with her French counterpart,Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Næss signed a new convention establishing a new centre for oceans while attending the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference inNice in June. She hailed the importance of sustainable development when it came to ocean and marine industry and the need for more research about oceans generally.[16]
As a part of the revelations about the government's 2026 budget misleading and contradictions, Næss defended their decision to scrap the plans for theStad Ship Tunnel, which was made several months before the budget was put forward. She argued that the plans for the tunnel should be viewed through "a bigger picture" as a budget case, which was why, according to her, why the govenremnt didn't reveal the plans to scrap the project before the budget was put forward. TheNorwegian Coastal Administration had also been instructed to halt the bidding process for the construction of the tunnel, supposedly because they had estimated that the tunnel couldn't be constructed within the allocated costs.[17]
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 theFinnmark 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.[18]
Næss is married to her husband Reidar, with whom she has three daughters.[19] Her eldest daughter died at an early age of childhood cancer.[20]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chair of theStanding Committee on Energy and the Environment 2022–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Mayor ofHammerfest Municipality 2019–2021 | Succeeded by Terje Wikstrøm |
| Preceded by Kristine Jørstad Bock | Deputy Mayor ofHammerfest Municipality 2011–2019 | |