The spotlight on Anette Trettebergstuen's appointments led to her resignation as culture minister.
She delivered an impassioned apology speech, acknowledging that her blunders had caused others to doubt her abilities.
"Embarrassed, I’m sorry and I’m ashamed," Trettebergstuen said, standing on a stage and appearing contrite.
According to the (now-former) minister, "I have made serious mistakes related to competence." She went on to admit that she messed up several appointments. My deepest apologies; I have disobeyed the regulations. From what I can tell, my previous statements have not been very trusting. So, I've notified the prime minister that I'm resigning and will take responsibility for my actions.
It has come to light that Norway's Culture Minister, Anette Trettebergstuen, displayed an undue prejudice when she appointed two of her old coworkers to the board of Norsk Tipping.
Sylvia Brustad became Chairman of the Board in April 2023 and Thomas Breen became a member in April 2022.
Trettebergstuen was the Deputy Leader of the Norwegian constituency Hedmark Ap, where the three of them worked together for a while. While both Breen and Trettebergstuen were on the Board, Breen was appointed to be Trettebergstuen's deputy.
Moreover, it was discovered that Trettebergstuen had appointed a former colleague of Hedmark Ap to the position of Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Norwegian Rikstoto.
An aggravating factor, according to the claim, is that Trettebergstuen did not provide any other gaming roles to individuals from other places.
A competency assessment is now looking at Trettebergstuen's relationship with Breen.
The Ministry of Culture has addressed the allegations that Breen's appointment is motivated by his "personal relationship" with Trettebergstuen, denying that the two had a "close personal one" and instead stating that their interactions had been limited to "professional and political contexts, no closer than that."
Additionally, it was emphasised that adhering to the current standards of competence is crucial in order to eliminate any uncertainty regarding the presence of excessive ties in specific circumstances. That being the case, we have taken that action.
No one has really questioned Trettebergstuen's relationship with Brustad, and no competency evaluation has been conducted.
