Dagfinn Høybråten – Summary CV

Dagfinn Høybråten
Photographer
Lars Lauritzen
Mr. Dagfinn Høybråten was the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers between 2013 and 2019. Before entering this position Mr. Dagfinn Høybråten has held various positions in Norway at almost every level from the local administration to different governmental ministries, at the top civil servant level and as Minister.

Short bio: Dagfinn Høybråten

Mr. Høybråten has been a Minister in both of Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondeviks Governments from 1997-2000 and 2001-2005. As Minister of Health he pioneered the law banning smoking in public places, making Norway the second country in Europe to act based on the available knowledge on the risk of smoking.

Furthermore Mr. Høybråten has been a member of the Norwegian parliament from 2005 to 2013. As a Member of Parliament Mr. Høybråten was a member of the Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs 2006-2013. In the year 2007 Mr. Høybråten was President for the Nordic Council. In 2011-2013 Mr. Høybråten was a Vice-President for the Norwegian Parliament. Mr. Høybråten has held different key positions in the Christian Democratic Party of Norway since 1979. In 2004 he was elected leader of the Party and held this position until 2011. In his career as a civil servant included Chief Executive of the municipality of Oppgård and Director General of the National Social Security Administration.

Mr. Høybråten has a track record as a proactive reformer in the Norwegian public and political administration, and he is now engaging in a reform and development process on a Nordic scale. Modernizing and developing the Nordic cooperation and the Nordic Council of Ministers is one of the main tasks for Mr. Høybråten as Secretary General for the Nordic Council of Ministers. Internationally from 2011-2015 Mr. Dagfinn Høybråten has served as active Chairman of the Board of GAVI, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, a public – private global health partnership committed to increase the access to immunization in poor countries. Since its inauguration in 2000 Gavi has immunized 500 million children and prevented 7 million child deaths. 

Mr. Høybråten is married and has 4 children. He has a Master in Political Science from University of Oslo and he has authored three books.

Personal

Born 02/12/1957 in Oslo

Married, 4 children

Education

Master of Political Science 1984, University of Oslo

Governmental experience

Personal Secretary to the Minister of Education and Church Affairs, 01.01.1983  - 01.01.1985

Political Advisor to the Minister of Education and Church Affairs, 01.01.1985 – 01.01.1986

State Secretary, Ministry of Finance, 16.10.1989 – 03.11.1990

Minister of Health, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, 17.10.1997 – 17.03.2000

Acting Minister, Ministry of Justice and the Police, 19.02.1999 – 15.03.1999

Minister of Health, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, 19.10.2001 – 31.12.2001

Minister of Health, 01.01.2002 – 18.06.2004

Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, 18.06.2004 – 17.10.2005

Parliamentary experience

Member of Parliament 2005-2013

Leader of the Christian Democratic Party, KrF, 19.10.2005 –16.06.2011

Fifth Vice-President, Norwegian Parliament, Stortinget, from 01.10.2011 – 03.03.2013

Member, Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs, 19.10.2005 – 11.09.2006

Member, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, 11.09.2006 – 30.09.2009

Member, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, 20.10.2009 – 03.03.2013

Professional experience

Special consultant to the Norwegian Association of Local Authorities, 1986 – 1988

Chief of Staff, Norwegian Association of Local Authorities, 1988 - 1989

Director of the Norwegian Association of Local Authorities, 1990 – 1993

Chief Administrative Officer, Oppegård Municipality, 1994 – 1996

Director General of Tryg, the National Insurance Administration, 1997-2004

Nordic experience

Member of the Nordic Council of Ministers (SOS) 1997–2000 and 2001-2005

Member of the Norwegian Delegation to the Nordic Council, 20.10.2005 – 31.12.2010

Member of the Presidium of the Nordic Council, 2005 – 2009

President of the Nordic Council, 2007

Leader of the Norwegian Delegation to the Nordic Council, 01.01.2010 – 31.12.2010

Deputy Leader of the Norwegian Delegation to the Nordic Council, 22.10.2009 – 31.12.2009

Ordinary member, Norwegian Delegation to the Nordic Council, 01.01.2011 – 03.03.2013

Party career

1st Vice-President, KrFU's national board, 1979-1979, Chairman 1979 – 1982

Member KrF's central board, 1979 – 1997

Member KrF's executive committee, 1979 – 1982

Party leader KrF 2004 - 2011

Other profession

Chairman of the Board of Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI Alliance) 2011 – 2015

Literature

Mydske, Peter Kristen and Dagfinn Høybråten: Organisering av lokalt styre: Mot et Paradigmeskifte? Kommunal Organisering, Tano Oslo 1989

Høybråten, Dagfinn: Pengene eller livet – Livskvalitet for alle, Avenir, Oslo 2009

Høybråten, Dagfinn: Drivkraft, Cappelen Damm, Oslo 2012