Born on 25 August 1960, he began his career with naval officer training at the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy in Bergen, which he completed in 1981. He then studied political science, specialising in history and social economics, at the Institut d’études politiques de Paris in France, graduating in 1985.
In 1989, he joined the Office of the Prime Minister as a Special Adviser. In 1995, he was appointed Director General of its Department of International Affairs. From 1998 to 2000, he served as Chief of Staff to Gro Harlem Brundtland at the World Health Organization (WHO).
He subsequently held a number of senior positions in government and humanitarian organisations. From 2000 to 2001, he served as State Secretary and Chief of Staff at the Office of the Prime Minister, followed by his tenure as Secretary General of the Norwegian Red Cross from 2003 to 2005.
He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in Jens Stoltenberg’s second government from 2005 to 2012, and subsequently as Minister of Health and Care Services until the change of government in 2013.
In 2014, he became Leader of the Labour Party. He has been a Member of the Storting representing Oslo since 2009 and has served on the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, and the Enlarged Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence.
He became Prime Minister of Norway on 14 October 2021.
He is married to Marit Slagsvold, and they have three children.