Marte Mjøs Persen (born 24 April 1975) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. She served as minister of labour and social inclusion from 2022 to 2023, and minister of petroleum and energy from 2021 to 2022. She served as the mayor of Bergen from 2015 until being elected to the Storting in 2021.
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Political career
Local politics
Persen is a former member of the Red Electoral Alliance, and served as deputy chairman from 2003 to 2007, when the alliance merged to form the Red Party. She left the Red Party in 2008 after internal disagreements. She has been elected member of the city council in Bergen since 2003, first representing the Red Electoral Alliance, and from 2008 the Labour Party. During this period, for seven years, she served as secretary of the Norwegian Humanist Association until the Bergen mayoral election. In 2015 she was elected mayor in Bergen, and reelected in 2019.
In 2018, she was elected leader of the Hordaland Labour Party. She was re-elected in 2023 as leader of the now rebranded Vestland Labour Party, with Helge Robert Midtbø and Torgeir Toppe as deputy leaders. She announced in January 2025 that she wouldn't seek re-election at the next county party convention.
Parliament
She was elected representative to the Storting from the constituency of Hordaland for the period 2021–2025, for the Labour Party. While being part of the Støre Cabinet from 2021, Lubna Jaffery met in the Storting in her place, and in 2023 Benjamin Jakobsen met. Upon returning to parliament, she became a member of the Standing Committee on Transport and Communications and the Election Committee.
At her local chapter's nomination convention in November 2024, ahead of the 2025 election, Persen announced that she wouldn't seek re-election and endorsed Jaffery for the top position, which was later approved.
In 2020 she was one of the signatories of the "Call for Inclusive Feminism," a document which led to the establishment of the Initiative for Inclusive Feminism.
Minister of Petroleum and Energy
On 14 October 2021, Mjøs Persen was appointed minister of petroleum and energy in Støre's Cabinet.
As the new minister of energy Persen faced a delicate problem. The wind farms of Storheia (80 mills) and Roan (71 mills) are situated within Fosen Reindeer District (Norwegian: Fosen reinbeitedistrikt), and they are built in spite of loud protests from the Sami People. A recent ruling in the Supreme Court ruled that the windmills were set up in violation of the rights of the indigenous people, thus illegally, and the license granted by the ministry in 2013 was illegal.
Regarding the electricity price crisis, Persen promised measures to give people a lower price. She stated that the government would take a look at both short- and long-term solutions.
In the Storting question time on 27 October, Persen acknowledged that electrification of the Norwegian shelf would require an increased use of power on land in the short term up until 2030.
Person met the lawyers representing the Sami people in the issue of the wind farms within the Fosen area, on 2 November. She didn't offer a solution to the matter as the issue stood, but emphasised that she prioritised the state's duty for the people and for the Sami population. She also said she would be meeting the Sami people affected face to face, as soon as possible.
In December, she and fellow ministers Anniken Huitfeldt and Jan Christian Vestre, and Crown Prince Haakon visited the United States to promote Norwegian interests notably regarding "War, the Arctic, offshore wind, contemporary art and Christmas trees". Persen notably cited that they were going to visit Equinor's recently opened Brooklyn office in relation to the ongoing offshore wind projects outside of New York. Persen decided to travel home after only a day out of the four scheduled days to spend in the U. S, citing to compensate for a state secretary with a child who had to be home due to a COVID-19 closed kindergarten. Her chief of communication, Arvid Samland, denied that her return home was due to Progress Party leader Sylvi Listhaug's criticism of Persen's visit.
Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion
Following Hadia Tajik's resignation after controversy regarding the use of a government apartment and fringe benefit; Persen was appointed her successor on 7 March 2022.
Shortly after assuming office, Persen announced that the government would make an amendment to the Working Environment Act, defining sexual harassment more clearly and making it illegal. She expressed hope for the amendment to make it easier for vulnerable people to report harassment, and add contribution to sanctions where sexual harassment is occurring. The amendment was sent out on a hearing in the Storting on 8 March.
At a press conference on 29 April, the government announced that temporary changes to laws in order to include Ukrainian refugees. Mjøs Persen stated: "We must ensure that Ukrainian refugees have a safe and predictable everyday life as possible. At the same time, we know that the situation can be demanding for the municipalities, which already have many statutory tasks. Therefore, it is important that our bills address both of these considerations. The government is also proposing a temporary legal basis that allows for this. Among other things, it may be relevant to expand the target group for training in reception if the waiting time before settlement becomes long. All changes must be temporary and repealed no later than 1 July 2023. If there is a need to continue certain proposals, this will be considered and consulted again".
With the AAP scheme having been temporarily abolished since 1 February, Mjøs Persen suggested on 11 May that the scheme should be permanently abolished. The background being that the scheme would not take effect before a waiting period of a year had a person not yet been cleared. This has been in effect since 2018. Mjøs Persen stated: "We want to end the anti-social waiting year. No one gets healed from being thrown out of a scheme".
On 17 June, Mjøs Persen announced that the government would be focusing on giving full time workers a priority in working life with new legislation that full time should be the "main rule". She stated: "It is important to make the best possible use of the opportunities in the workforce, especially now that so many Norwegian companies are reporting a shortage of qualified labour. If many of those who work part-time can work more, it will make a significant contribution".
Civic career
In January 2026, it was announced that she would be joining Rud Pedersen Public Affairs as an associate director.
Personal life
Persen was born in Bergen on 24 April 1975, a daughter of Svein Persen and Eli Hedvig Mjøs, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Culture and Social Studies from the University of Bergen. She lives with her partner, Nils-Olav Nøss and has four children, notably triplets and one adult son.