Kristian Norheim

Kristian Norheim (born 19 April 1976) is a Norwegian politician who has been a member of the Stortinget as an alternate for State Secretary Bård Hoksrud. He is a member of the Progress Party and an expert on international relations. He is the son of Helge Kristian Norheim. He received a Cand. Polit. degree in Political Science from the University of Oslo and an M.A. in Southeast European Studies from the National & Karpostrain University of Athens. He was leader of the Youth of the Progress Party in Telemark from 1993 to 1994,

Career From 1995 to 1999, he sat in the municipal council in Siljan for the Conservative Party. He is a member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence.

In a 2010 article about the Progress Party, Jay Nordlinger of National Review wrote that Norheim’s office “must be the most politically incorrect room in Scandinavia. There are three posters of Churchill. There’s Reagan, of course: 'Viva the Reagan Revolution!' There’s Barry Goldwater: 'In your heart you know he’s right.' There’s a George Washington doll, and a George W. Bush doll. There’s a picture of the Stealth bomber. There’s a hat from the New York Fire Department. There’s an Israeli flag, a GOP flag (with elephant), a Gadsden flag ('Don’t Tread on Me'). And that’s only a fraction of the inventory.”

Before and after the 2013 elections, Norheim has frequently been identified in the media as the Progress Party's foreign-policy spokesman. In September 2013, when the Progress Party held a major press conference for international journalists to dispel any myths about its political orientation. Norheim told a reporter that the purpose of the event is to explain “who we are, and definitely who we are not,” adding that it “was very important we did this because of the distorted picture many foreign media have painted of Progress.” He described the party as “a pragmatic and classical Liberal Party” that is “generally more akin to those such as Denmark’s Liberal Party, Britain’s Conservative Party, the Czech Republic’s Civic Democratic Party (ODF), Iceland’s Independence Party, and the United States’ Republicans.”

Issues Norheim has referred to the Progress Party as Norway's “new Labor Party.” He argues that the Labor Party has become less a party of workers and more a party of public employees.

Social democracy At the 2012 national Progress Party convention, Norheim gave a speech in which he criticized the social-democratic welfare state: “Welfare has become one of the leading businesses in this country.” He also complained about the size of the public sector: “Norway is the country in the world with the most public employees.”

Islam Norheim has expressed concern about antisemitism in Norway and, in particular, about antisemitic statements made by leaders of Norway's largest mosque, and about the inability of the Islamic Council of Norway to respond at once when asked if they support the death penalty for gays.

Norway's Christian heritage Norheim has written that “Norway will and should be a secular state” but added that “this does not mean we are also obliged to clear away everything that reminds us of the more than thousand-year-old Christian heritage.”

United States Norheim told Morgenbladet in October 2013 that the Progress Party has a good relationship with the Republican Party in the U.S. and is rhetorically close to its Reaganite wing. He admitted that the then U.S. Ambassador to Norway, Barry White, was correct when he quipped that “all Norwegian parties are Democrats.” In response to the question of whether the Progress Party views the U.S. as a model, Norheim stated that the U.S. is worth examining closely. He expressed admiration for American economist Milton Friedman, for the American free-market ideology, and for the fact that private capital is not viewed negatively in America.

Tsunis nomination After businessman George James Tsunis, U.S. President Barack Obama's nominee for Ambassador to Norway, made international headlines with uninformed and incendiary comments about the Progress Party during a Senate committee hearing in January 2014, Norheim said he has "been in dialogue" with the U.S. Embassy about Tsunis's remarks, which he described as problematic.

Personal life Norheim and Tone Kåsastul Norheim live in Skien and have one son, Henrik Leander, born 24 June 2011.