Norway's new government gives energy job to former religion minister

By the OGJ Online Staff
LONDON, Oct. 22 -- The new Norwegian government formed Friday by the Conservative Party, the Christian Democratic Party, and the Liberals appointed Einar Steensnæs to be Minister of Petroleum and Energy

Steensnæs, 59, was Minister of Church Affairs and Education from October 1989 till January 1990, and Minister of Education and Research from January till November 1990.

Steensnæs has been a member of Parliament since 1993. During this period he has been a member of different committees, including the Standing Committee on Finance and the Election Committee. He has chaired the Enlarged Foreign Affairs Committee and the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Steensnæs was a professor before he was elected to the Storting. He has held a number of political positions and honorary posts both locally and nationally.