Frank Bakke-Jensen

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Frank Bakke-Jensen

MP
Frank Bakke-Jensen (2017-03-12 bilde02).jpg
Minister of Defence
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 October 2017
Prime MinisterErna Solberg
Preceded byIne Marie Eriksen Søreide
Minister of European Affairs
In office
20 December 2016 – 20 October 2017
Prime MinisterErna Solberg
Preceded byElisabeth Aspaker
Succeeded byMarit Berger Røsland
Minister of Nordic Cooperation
In office
20 December 2016 – 17 January 2018
Prime MinisterErna Solberg
Preceded byElisabeth Aspaker
Succeeded byJan Tore Sanner
Member of the Norwegian Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 October 2009
ConstituencyFinnmark
Mayor of Båtsfjord
In office
24 October 2007 – 15 October 2009
Preceded byGeir Knutsen
Succeeded byGunn Marit Nilsen
Personal details
Born (1965-03-08) 8 March 1965 (age 56)
Båtsfjord, Finnmark, Norway
NationalityNorwegian
Political partyConservative

Frank Bakke-Jensen (born 8 March 1965 in Båtsfjord) is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. He became the Norwegian Defence Minister on 20 October 2017.[1] He was minister of EEC- and EU affairs from 2016 to 2017. He was mayor of Båtsfjord from 2007 until his election to the Stortinget from Finnmark in 2009. Bakke-Jensen formerly worked as a ship's electrician between Hammerfest and Tromsø, and has also worked as a teacher and self-employed pilot at Båtsfjord Airport. He has also performed military service in the UN Lebanon conflict.

Career[]

Mayor of Båtsfjord[]

Bakke-Jensen was elected mayor in 2007, despite the Labour Party winning 54.7 percent of the vote, and nine of the fifteen representatives in the municipality. After the elections for mayor saw many the Labour Party split from the party, and when the elections saw two of the breakaway groups elected. One of the breakaway groups did not attend the nomination meeting, and the other did not vote with his party. Therefore, Bakke-Jensen was elected with the Conservative’s four votes, Progress Party's two representatives deciding not to support the Labour Party. As mayor, Bakke-Jensen notably decided that Båtsfjord should have its own high school within the municipality.

Minister of European Affairs[]

Bakke-Jensen entered the Solberg cabinet following a reshuffle in December 2016, when he was appointed Minister of European Affairs and Minister of Nordic Cooperation.

In early January 2017, Bakke-Jensen issued an apology for a piece criticising the EU and EEA, which later turned out not to be written by him, but by Progress Party politician Jan Henrik Fredriksen. Bakke-Jensen further explained that Finnmark Dagblad had made a mistake, and that they had been sent the article by Fredriksen, but had mistakingly added Bakke-Jensen’s name and picture.[2]

In May 2017, Centre Party leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum asked Bakke-Jensen in a parliamentary session, if he supported Erna Solberg’s former statement that they would want to install the Euro in Norway. Bakke-Jensen said that there currently was no debate on EU membership and that it didn’t have a first priority.[3]

In early September 2017, Bakke-Jensen expressed that Norway has to keep in mind that any future deals with the United Kingdom in a subsequent exit from the European Union, would be worse for Norwegians.[4]

Minister of Defence[]

Following the Solberg cabinet’s re-election in 2017, he was appointed Minister of Defence when then minister Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Following the loss of the KNM Helge Ingstad on 8 November 2018, Bakke-Jensen remained at odds with the media, criticising them for “colouring, twisting and turning” the case. He later expressed that they had to understand that he wanted to wait for the investigation to figure out the timeline of events before he would make any further comments on the matter. NRK noted it wasn’t the first time Bakke-Jensen had thrown a tantrum and listed at least four other instances he did.[5]

In a parliamentary session on 5 February 2019, Bakke-Jensen announced that the raising of the KNM Helge Ingstad would begin that coming Thursday. In addition to citing the impact the accident had on the Armed Forces and Navy’s operative ability, he added that there could be a possibility of buying new submarines and surveillance aircraft.[6]

In March 2019, he was allowed to see the inside of the wreck of the KNM Helge Ingstad. After viewing the inside, he stated that it looks “worse then I had thought”.[7]

In April 2020, he announced that he didn’t want to seek re-election to Parliament,[8] and in September he was nominated to become the new director of the Directorate of Fisheries.[9] He got the job (Director of Fisheries), and he is expected to start at work when his tenure as cabinet member ends at an undetermined date. Bakke-Jensen claimed that he did not call the Minister of Fisheries, Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen, about the job; however, Ingebrigtsen told media that he had been phoned by Bakke-Jensen in regard to the job position.[10] Some MPs expected the government to explain in parliament how the matter was handled.[11]

In August 2021, at the height of the escalation of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, Bakke-Jensen attended a Conservative election campaign stand in Alta. He received criticism for the timing of the attendance, prompting similarities with his Danish counterpart Trine Bramsen who attended a concert with prime minister Mette Frederiksen at the same time. Bakke-Jensen didn’t elaborate any further explanation, other then an email, where he stated that “I adapt the travel activity to the situation, and the technology has given us tools that enable good contact with both the ministry and the Armed Forces”.[12]

Military service[]

From 30 August 1990 to 29 November 1991, he was in Lebanon as a soldier for United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon(UNIFIL) in contingents 26 and 27, where he was a radio operator in Tibnin in southern Lebanon.

Later, he spent several years in the Homeguard, where he took a squad leader and later a platoon commander course. He has also taken the elite course at the .[13]

Storting committees[]

References[]

  1. ^ Ask, Alf Ole (2017-10-20). "Tre bytter i Regjeringen – Ine Eriksen Søreide første kvinnelige utenriksminister". Aftenposten. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  2. ^ "Beklaget kritisk EU-kronikk han ikke har skrevet" (in Norwegian). NRK. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Europaminister Bakke-Jensen vil ikke si om Høyre fortsatt vil ha euro i Norge" (in Norwegian). ABC Nyheter. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Europaministeren om Brexit-forhandlingene: – Jeg har ingen illusjoner" (in Norwegian). VG. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Frank Bakke-Jensen: Løs kanon eller bare «godt båtsfjordsk»?" (in Norwegian). NRK. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Forsvarsministeren: Hevingen av KNM Helge Ingstad starter torsdag" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Forsvarsministeren om KNM «Helge Ingstad»: – Ser verre ut enn jeg hadde trodd" (in Norwegian). VG. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Bakke-Jensen does not seek Storting re-election" (in Norwegian). ABC Nyheter. 11 April 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen will become new Fisheries Director" (in Norwegian). E24. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  10. ^ SLIK FIKK HAN FATT I JOBBEN (14 October 2020)
  11. ^ "Opposisjonen ber om redegjørelse om ansettelsen av Bakke-Jensen som fiskeridirektør".
  12. ^ "Mens nordmenn i Kabul ble omringet av Taliban, drev forsvarsministeren valgkamp i Finnmark" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Norges nye forsvarsminister er FN-veteran".

External links[]


Preceded by
Ine Eriksen Søreide 		Minister of Defence
2017– 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Elisabeth Aspaker 		Minister of European Affairs
2016–2017 		Succeeded by
Marit Berger Røsland
Preceded by
Geir Knutsen 		Mayor of Båtsfjord
2007–2009 		Succeeded by
Gunn Marit Nilsen
Retrieved from ""