Knut Arild Hareide

Knut Arild Hareide (born 23 November 1972) is a Norwegian politician who served as a member of parliament from Hordaland and as the leader of the Christian Democratic Party from 2011 to 2019.

On the local level of politics he was a member of Bømlo municipality council from 1991 to 1995.

He started his higher education in 1992, the same year he graduated from upper secondary school.

His involvement included terms as a member of the student parliament at the University of Bergen, as the leader of the Student Union of the Norwegian School of Economics 1994–1995, and as a board member of the national student union 1993–1994.

During the period in student politics, Hareide held a Christian democratic middle ground between radical (such as later socialist politician Aslak Sira Myhre) and conservative representatives, an experience he has described as educational.

During his time at NHH, he also minored in sociology (1995) at the University of Bergen.

Hareide was active in student politics.

Enrolled at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), he graduated in 1997 with a siv.øk. degree.

His career in the company started with the position of trainee in 1997.

Outside politics, his only paid full-time appointments have been in Schibsted.

He still works behind the scenes for his party, occasionally commenting on issues in the national media.

He worked as a political advisor in the Ministry of Church Affairs, Education and Research from 1998 to 2000, during the first cabinet Bondevik.

Hareide was active in the Youth of the Christian People's Party, being a member of the national board 1999–2001 before joining the national board of the Christian Democratic Party.

He later became State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance from 2001 to 2003 during the second cabinet Bondevik.

He was also second deputy leader of his party from 2003 to 2007, having come through the ranks of the party's youth organization.

Outside politics Hareide is an economist by education and he has worked for the media conglomerate Schibsted.

Hareide was born in the village Rubbestadneset in Bømlo, Hordaland.

In 2003 he became second deputy leader of the Christian Democratic Party nationwide.

He then joined the cabinet during a 2004 reshuffle, serving as the Norwegian Minister of the Environment from summer 2004 to fall 2005.

He was the youngest ever cabinet member from the Christian Democratic Party, and the first Christian Democratic to hold the post.

The second cabinet Bondevik did not survive the 2005 elections, and as such Hareide had to step down from office that year.

His successor was Helen Bjørnøy.

The Christian Democratic Party formerly held a seat in this county, but lost it in 2005.

Hareide has never lived in Akershus.

Party leader Dagfinn Høybråten hails from Akershus, but he runs on the Rogaland ticket to secure a safe seat.

In 2007, he announced he would step down from the national political scene for the time being, but he returned when he was nominated as the top candidate for the Christian Democratic Party ticket in Akershus in the 2009 election where he won the county's leveling seat.

In 2007 Hareide announced that he had left politics for the time being to pursue a career in the national media conglomerate Schibsted, as an organizational director.

He did not rule out a return to national politics in the future, and in late 2008 he was selected by his party as the top candidate on the party's ticket in Akershus county.

Until 2009, Hareide had never been elected to the Norwegian Parliament, but served as a deputy representative during the terms 1997–2001, 2001–2005 and 2005–2009.

Prior to the 2009 election, Hareide announced that he would leave national politics if he failed to win a parliament seat.

Although the Christian Democrats suffered nationwide setbacks in 2009, Hareide managed to win Akershus' levelling seat after a close race against Dagfinn Sundsbø of the Centre Party.

In parliament, Hareide became the chair of the Standing Committee on Transport and Communications.

After Høybråten announced that he would not seek reelection as party leader of KrF, Hareide quickly emerged as the leading candidate to succeed Høybråten, after the two other apparent candidates, Dagrun Eriksen and Hans Olav Syversen, announced they would not run.

Hareide is considered to belong to the socially liberal wing of the party, and conservative members of the party have demanded that at least one of the deputy leaders be from the party's conservative wing if they are to support Hareide.

Hareide supported the efforts to eliminate the rule which requires Christian Democratic party representatives to declare a Christian faith, and a vote gave a clear majority to abolish that rule two years later.

After Dagfinn Høybråten stepped down as party leader, Hareide was unanimously elected to take his place at the 2011 party convention.

Hareide was unanimously voted in as new party leader at the 2011 convention on 30 April 2011.

In the 2013 election, Hareide was reelected to parliament, this time from his home county of Hordaland.

Before his tenure as government minister, Hareide had sat through one term in the municipal council of his native Bømlo, served as a deputy representative to the national parliament as well as working two years as a State Secretary.

He served as Minister of Transport and Communications from 2020 to 2021, and as Minister of the Environment from 2004 to 2005 in the second Bondevik cabinet.