Tonje Brenna
Brenna was the General Secretary of the Workers' Youth League at the time of the 2011 Norway attacks on the island of Utøya, and responsible for the camp there. She was also responsible for taking cared of loved ones, victims and survivors during the aftermath of the attack. Brenna was a member of the county council of Akershus from 2007 to 2019, and from 2020 a member of the county council of Viken. She chaired the county cabinet of Viken from 2020 to 2021. She was a political advisor at the Office of the Prime Minister from 2012 to 2013. During this time, the 22 July commission was handed over. She was also a political advisor to minister of justice Grete Faremo from May to October 2013. She was elected deputy representative to the Storting from the constituency of Akershus for the periods 2017–2021 and 2021–2025, for the Labour Party. In 2021 she published a book related to the 2011 Utøya shootings, "22. juli – og alle dagene etterpå". On 14 October 2021, she was appointed minister of education in Støre's Cabinet. Brenna expressed that the Solberg Cabinet’s early re-instalment of school absence rules were wrong. She promised to be back with a better solution as soon as possible, saying that rules had to be understandable for both teachers and students and to be experienced as sensible. Following demands for the absence limit in upper secondary schools to be relaxed, Brenna announced that this change would become effective on 5 November and last throughout the school term. The primary cause for the demand had been that students shouldn’t be given absence remarks due to having COVID-19 and have the need to go into quarantine. She said she understood the dilemma for students, and noted that they would have to get an approved leave of absence, to for example go to a doctor’s appointment or similar. On 17 November, Brenna ordered the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training to halt the case process of private schools. Brenna said that the government wanted to strengthen public schools and wanted to stop the previous government’s privatisation of schools. The Conservative Party’s Margret Hagerup called it “a dark day” for Norwegian students, and that the government had focused on “ideology and structure” instead of “quality and diversity”. In early December, Brenna expressed that private schools earned to much from students taking private exams. She stressed that upper secondary schools should advise students better and to inform them of their choices when it comes to higher education. She did however add that private education isn’t necessarily bad, and serves as “a safety valve” for those who don’t have other options. On 13 December, at a government press conference with prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre and health minister Ingvild Kjerkol, it was announced that kindergartens, primary and lower secondary schools would be adjusted to yellow tier, while upper secondary schools to red. Brenna announced that municipalities should prioritise vaccinating kindergarten and school staff once the vaccination of a third vaccine dose commences. Following criticism of the government’s measure to give exceptions to teachers and kindergarten staff in regards to quarantine, Brenna defended the decision, citing it to be crucial for children’s ability to learn. She stated: “I understand the criticism, but I am keen to take the necessary steps to keep kindergartens and schools as open as possible. It is crucial for children and young people's learning and everyday life, but also for parents, society and working life”. On 11 February 2022, Brenna announced that exams for the 2021-22 school year would be cancelled, citing the pandemic. She did however stress that it wasn’t an indication for students to take it easy, and encouraged them to work hard going forward. On 2 April, she announced that changes would be made to the test system in Norwegian schools. Brenna clarified that tests still would be utilised, but needs to be viewed with “fresh eyes”, in addition to there being less tests. She stated: “Information about how students are doing is only useful if it is used in a good way. We have not sat down and looked holistically at how the tests work, and how we use them in development work, for many years”. At a press conference on 29 April, the government announced that temporary changes to laws in order to include Ukrainian refugees. In regards to her field of responsibility, Brenna talked about education offers and learning to/for Ukrainian children. This included a government proposal about learning and training which would expand the period from one to three months that was originally in the law. She stated: “This will make it possible for the municipalities to receive several refugees at once. The municipalities still have a duty to provide an offer as soon as possible. With this proposal, the municipalities will have more time to be able to acquire premises and employees and put in place a full-fledged training offer”. On 6 June, Brenna and culture minister Anette Trettebergstuen announced a plan to have more men work within the health sector, in collaboration with the University of Tromsø, to launch a pilot project. The aim for the pilot project is to encourage boys to apply for an education within the health service. Brenna stated: “The best mechanic can be a woman. The best nurse can be a man. The important thing is to find the profession that suits you best. Then we want everyone to choose regardless of which gender norms are associated with the professions. That’s freedom”.
Career
Tonje Brenna (born 21 October 1987) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She has served as Minister of Education since 2021.