Green Party (Norway)

Norwegian green political party

Green Party

Miljøpartiet De Grønne

Abbreviation| MDG
Leader| Arild Hermstad
Deputy leader| Lan Marie Berg
Founded| 29 October 1988 (1988-10-29)
Headquarters| Oslo
Youth wing| Young Greens of Norway
Membership (2024)|  9,903[1]
Ideology| Green politics
Pro-Europeanism
Political position| Centre-left
European affiliation| European Green Party
International affiliation| Global Greens
Colours|   Green
Storting|

3 / 169

County Councils|

36 / 574

Municipal Councils|

157 / 9,344

Website
mdg.no

* Politics of Norway
* Political parties
* Elections

Part of a series on

Green politics

Core topics

* Climate change litigation
* Fossil fuels lobby
* Green party
* List of topics
* Politics of climate change

Four pillars

* Ecological wisdom
* Social justice
* Grassroots democracy
* Nonviolence

Perspectives

* Alter-globalization
* Bright green environmentalism
* Criticisms of globalization
* Deep ecology
* Degrowth
* Dirty hands
* Disinvestment
* Ecoauthoritarianism
* Eco-capitalism
* Ecocentrism
* Ecofascism
* Ecofeminism
* Eco-nationalism
* Eco-socialism
* Environmentalism
* Green anarchism
* Green conservatism
* Green left
* Green liberalism
* Green libertarianism
* Green Zionism
* Social ecology
* Queer ecology

Intellectuals

* Abbey
* Albert
* Anderson
* Bari
* Best
* Beuys
* Berry
* Bookchin
* Brown (Lester)
* Brower
* Carson
* Dodds
* d'Eaubonne
* Gandhi
* George
* Hawken
* Jackson
* Khosla
* Klein
* Kovel
* LaDuke
* Latouche
* Linkola
* Löwy
* Maathai
* Mason
* Næss
* Negri
* Nussbaum
* Porritt
* Raworth
* Rendueles
* Salleh
* Sassen
* Schumacher
* Scruton
* Shiva
* Singer
* Snyder
* Sukhdev
* Thoreau
* Zerzan

Politicians

* Bandt
* Bausch
* Benčić
* Bennett
* Betancourt
* Brélaz
* Brown (Bob)
* Camejo
* Cohn-Bendit
* Cuffe
* Emsis
* Fajardo
* Feinstein
* Fischer
* Frassoni
* Grodzka
* Habeck
* Halsema
* Harris
* Hourigan
* Joly
* Kelly
* Kogler
* Kretschmann
* Kuhn
* Lalonde
* Lipietz
* López
* Lucas
* Lunacek
* Martin
* Manning
* May
* Nader
* O'Gorman
* Roth
* Schmidt-Nielsen
* Silva
* Sirkis
* Stein
* Trittin
* Van der Bellen
* Vējonis
* Wall

Organizations

* Asia Pacific Greens Federation
* European Green Party
* Federation of Green Parties of Africa
* Federation of the Green Parties of the Americas
* Federation of Young European Greens
* Global Greens
* Global Young Greens
* World Ecological Parties

Related topics

* Carbon fee and dividend
* Carbon tax
* Circular economy
* Climate change mitigation
* Climate finance
* Climate justice
* Climate target
* Conservation movement
* Corporate political activism
* Eco-investing
* Ecological economics
* Ecological modernization
* Ecomodernism
* Eco-tariff
* Ecotax
* Eco-terrorism
* Environmental
* conflict
* effects of agriculture
* effects of aviation
* finance
* issues
* justice
* movement
* planning
* pricing reform
* racism
* technology
* Environmentalism
* opposition
* Environmental skepticism
* Stewardship
* in music
* Fossil fuel phase-out
* Green
* development
* economy
* growth
* grabbing
* greening
* imperialism
* industrial policy
* infrastructure
* job
* New Deal
* recovery
* retrofit
* state
* theory
* transport hierarchy
* vehicle
* washing
* Localism
* Low-carbon economy
* List of environmental incidents
* conflicts
* killings
* Political ecology
* Progressivism
* Renewable energy
* Sustainable
* design
* development
* energy
* engineering
* refurbishment
* transport
* War on coal
* Water conflict

Environment portal
Politics portal

* v
* t
* e

The Green Party (Bokmål: Miljøpartiet De Grønne, Nynorsk: Miljøpartiet Dei Grøne, lit. 'Environment Party The Greens', MDG; Northern Sami: Birasbellodat Ruonát) is a centre-left[2][3] green[4] political party in Norway. The party holds three seats in the Parliament of Norway (gaining 3.9% in the 2021 elections) and also has representation in municipal councils and county councils (gaining 4.1% in the 2023 elections).

Similar to its German role model Alliance 90/The Greens, MDG represents green politics with social liberal features. It has been described as centre-left by academics and voters.[5][6] The party has historical roots partly in the new left of the 1960s and 1970s, and partly in the broader environmental movement of the 1970s and 1980s, which itself was highly diverse and attracted support from both the new left and environmentally-oriented liberals and conservatives who rallied around environmental issues. Over time the party has moved in a more centrist and socially liberal direction. MDG stands in a progressive tradition and also defines itself as an intersectional feminist party.[7][8] The party claims distance from the two dominant right-wing and left-wing political blocks, jointly denominated as "the fossil block".[9] The party has gradually moved closer to liberal internationalism over time, allowing for the use of military force when it can promote peace and human rights. MDG supports Norwegian EU membership[10] and NATO membership, while also advocating for a focus on arms control and peaceful conflict resolution. The party's voters are among the most pro-EU, and MDG has been described as a party for "urban, liberal, moderately left-wing academics."[11]

The Green Party is a member of the European Green Party and the Global Greens, and was founded with the German Greens as its stated model.[12] It maintains close ties to other Green parties including the German Greens and the Swedish Greens. It is led by Arild Hermstad.[13]

## History

[edit]

The process of forming a new national green party in Norway was initiated in December 1984, with the official launch in 1988.[14] Among the pioneers were the late philosopher Arne Næss,[15] peace researcher Johan Galtung,[16] and the philosopher Sigmund Kvaløy Setreng.

In the local elections between 1991 and 2009, the Green Party had six to eight representatives elected each time. In the national elections the party never exceeded 0.5% support.

Since 2005, the Greens have seen a significant membership rise, with the new members coming from a wide variety of other parties, including the seven established parliamentary parties.[17]

In the municipal elections of 2011, the party saw its first local breakthrough, having garnered close to 22,000 votes on a national basis. Two years later, during the campaign for the 2013 general election, the party saw a significant rise in support in the opinion polls. The Greens were widely expected to gain parliamentary representation to some extent.[18] In the election, the Greens gathered over 79,000 votes, making them the eighth biggest party in the country. This vote count translates to 2.8 percent of the vote. Rasmus Hansson, the party's top candidate from Oslo was elected to parliament, becoming the first ever Green MP.[19]

In the local elections of 2015 the Green Party overtook the 4% nationally for the first time in its history and got the third place in Oslo.

The party have stated their refusal to form a government with any parties that will continue to drill for oil in the North Sea.[20]

## Ideology

[edit]

The Green Party is one of the global ecologist and environmentalist political parties and movements.[21] As a member of the pan-European European Green Party, the Norwegian Greens subscribe to social progressivism and social justice.[22][23] The main focus of the party is environmental protection and ecological sustainability. The party seeks to introduce a tax on wasteful consumption, and to reorganise the food industry. The Greens have also pledged support for a reform in the agrarian industry, increasing the production of organic crops and strengthening the eco-friendly agricultural sector.[24]

The Green party seeks to reduce the Norwegian petroleum extraction in order to counteract serious climate change. The proposal is to stop extraction by 2040.

## Leadership

[edit]

Arild Hermstad and Une Aina Bastholm, the party's last spokespeople, pictured in October 2018 The party's member of Parliament, Rasmus Hansson, being interviewed by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation on the 2013 election night Former national spokeswoman Hanna Marcussen, pictured in September 2013

### Spokespersons

[edit]

* Ove Braaten, 1989–1991
* Olav Benestad, 1991–1992
* Jan Bojer Vindheim, 1993–1996 /1997–2001
* Ane Aadland, 1995–1997
* Arne Gravanes, 1996–1997
* Birte Simonsen, 1998–1999
* Brynmor Evans, 1998–1999
* Gunter Schotz, 1999–2000
* Lisa Fröyland, 1999–2002
* Tove Funderud Johansen, 2000–2001
* Birte Simonsen, 2002–2004
* Brynmor Evans, 2004–2005
* Trude Malthe Thomassen, 2004–2007
* Gaute Busch, 2005–2006
* Mats Indrefjord Høllesli, 2006–2007
* Birte Simonsen, 2007–2008
* Sondre Båtstrand, 2008–2011
* Hanna Marcussen, 2008–2014
* Harald August Nissen, 2011–2014
* Hilde Opoku, 2014–2016
* Rasmus Hansson, 2016–2018
* Arild Hermstad, 2018–2020
* Une Aina Bastholm, 2016–2020

### Leaders

[edit]

* Une Aina Bastholm, 2020–22
* Arild Hermstad, 2022–

### Deputy leaders

[edit]

* Arild Hermstad, 2020–2022
* Kriss Rokkan Iversen, 2020–2022
* Ingrid Liland, 2022–
* Lan Marie Berg, 2022–

## Electoral performance

[edit]

### Storting

[edit]

Election  | Votes  | %  | Seats  | +/–  | Position  | Status

|
|
|
|
|
|

1989 | 10,136  | 0.4  |

0 / 165

| New |  9th  | No seats
1993 | 3,054  | 0.1  |

0 / 165

|  |  12th  | No seats
1997 | 5,884  | 0.2  |

0 / 165

|  |  11th  | No seats
2001 | 3,785  | 0.2  |

0 / 165

|  |  13th  | No seats
2005 | 3,652  | 0.1  |

0 / 169

|  |  12th  | No seats
2009 | 9,286  | 0.3  |

0 / 169

|  |  10th  | No seats
2013 | 79,152  | 2.8  |

1 / 169

|  1  |  8th  | Opposition
2017 | 94,427  | 3.2  |

1 / 169

|  |  8th  | Opposition
2021 | 117,647  | 3.9  |

3 / 169

|  2  |  8th  | Opposition

### Local elections

[edit]

Election  | Vote %  | Type

|
|

1991 | 0.3
0.4  | Municipal
County
1995 | 0.3
0.4  | Municipal
County
1999 | 0.3
0.4  | Municipal
County
2003 | 0.2
0.2  | Municipal
County
2007 | 0.3
0.6  | Municipal
County
2011 | 0.9
1.3  | Municipal
County
2015 | 4.2
5.0  | Municipal
County
2019 | 6.8
7.6  | Municipal
County

## See also

[edit]

* Green party
* List of environmental organizations

## Notes

[edit]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Jakobsen, Anna (2025-01-17). "Arbeiderpartiet mistet over 5000 medlemmer i fjor: – For dårlig". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2025-07-11.
2. ^ Jupskås, Anders Ravik (14 September 2011). "En mild grønn vind i norske byer: MDGs lokale gjennombrudd" (in Norwegian). UiO: Institutt for statsvitenskap (ISV): Det samfunnsvitenskapelige fakultet. "I mine undersøkelser av partienes landsmøtedelegater (de som vedtar partiets politikk) kommer det frem at partiet i all hovedsak plasserer seg på «venstresiden» i norsk politikk."
3. ^ Arnesen, Sveinung (9 March 2015). "Ligger Miljøpartiet De Grønne i sentrum eller til venstre?". Vox Publica (in Norwegian). "Data fra Norsk medborgerpanel viser at velgerne plasserer partiet til venstre for sentrum."
4. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2017). "Norway". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
5. ^ Jupskås, Anders Ravik (14 September 2011). "En mild grønn vind i norske byer: MDGs lokale gjennombrudd" (in Norwegian). UiO: Institutt for statsvitenskap (ISV): Det samfunnsvitenskapelige fakultet. "I mine undersøkelser av partienes landsmøtedelegater (de som vedtar partiets politikk) kommer det frem at partiet i all hovedsak plasserer seg på «venstresiden» i norsk politikk."
6. ^ Arnesen, Sveinung (9 March 2015). "Ligger Miljøpartiet De Grønne i sentrum eller til venstre?". Vox Publica (in Norwegian). "Data fra Norsk medborgerpanel viser at velgerne plasserer partiet til venstre for sentrum."
7. ^ Ordførerkandidat (MDG) jubler over «historisk» vedtak
8. ^ MDG har vedtatt at de er et interseksjonelt feministisk parti
9. ^ Av Miljøpartiet De Grønne (21 May 2013). "Verken rød eller blå, men grønn" (in Norwegian). Miljøpartiet De Grønne. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
10. ^ MDG vil forhandle om norsk EU-medlemskap – Vedum er bekymret
11. ^ Grønn og Gal ja til EU
12. ^ "De Grønne banker på - Preik". bt.no. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
13. ^ "Elected The Green's First Party Leader: Draws Inspiration from the Corona Crisis" (in Norwegian). 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
14. ^ "Miljøpartiet Dei Grøne" (in Norwegian). Allkunne. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
15. ^ Schwarz, Walter (15 January 2009). "Obituary: Arne Næss". The Guardian.
16. ^ "Nordlys : Johan Galtung mottok æresmedlemskap" (in Norwegian). Nordlyspuls.no. Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
17. ^ "De Grønnes historie - Siste nytt - innenriks, utenriks" (in Norwegian). Tv2.no. 2013-05-24. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
18. ^ Tom Hetland (2013-08-16). "Blir Dei Grøne årets sensasjon?" (in Norwegian). TV 2. Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
19. ^ MP.http://www.nettavisen.no/politikk/article3675551.ece
20. ^ Rognli, Trine; Tomter, Line (14 August 2021). "Halve Norge vil lete etter olje – Berg er ikke sjokkert" [Half of Norway wants to continue drilling for oil - Berg is unsurprised]. NRK Nyheter (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 15 August 2021.
21. ^ "Om oss" (in Norwegian). Miljøpartiet De Grønne. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
22. ^ "Velferd og arbeidsliv" (in Norwegian). Miljøpartiet De Grønne. Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
23. ^ "Utvikling og bistand" (in Norwegian). Miljøpartiet De Grønne. Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
24. ^ "Livskvalitet | Miljøpartiet De Grønne". Mdg.no. Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2013-11-21.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Miljøpartiet De Grønne.

* Official website (in Norwegian)

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Political parties in Norway

Bracketed numbers indicate current numbers of seats in parliament for the 2021-2025 term.

Storting|

* Labour (48)
* Conservative (36)
* Centre (28)
* Progress (21)
* Socialist Left (13)
* Red (8)
* Liberal (8)
* Green (3)
* Christian Democratic (3)
* Patient Focus (1)

Minor parties1|

* Norway Democrats
* Pensioners'
* Conservative
* Industry and Business
* Center
* Capitalist
* People's Party FNB
* Alliance
* Innovation and Technology
* Communist
* Feminist Initiative
* Coastal

Defunct|

* Democratic Socialists

* 1 registered national parties, by order of popular vote in most recent general election

* Portal:Politics
* List of political parties
* Politics of Norway

* v
* t
* e

Green parties by country

Africa|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Burkina Faso
* Ecologist Party
* Greens of Burkina
* Rally of the Ecologists
* Burundi
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Cameroon
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Egypt
* Gabon
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Madagascar
* Mali
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* The Greens
* Izigzawen
* Mozambique
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* Green Party
* Democratic Green Party
* South Africa
* Green Alliance
* Green Party
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Ecological Party
* Green Party
* Zambia

Americas|

* Argentina
* Green Initiative (defunct)
* Belize
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Colombia
* Costa Rica
* Dominican Republic
* Guatemala
* French Guiana
* Haiti
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Peru
* Puerto Rico
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* United States
* Uruguay
* Green
* Sol
* PERI
* PVA
* Venezuela

Asia-Pacific|

* Australia
* Bangladesh
* Fiji
* India
* India Greens Party
* Uttarakhand Parivartan Party (UKPP)
* Indonesia
* Atjeh Green Party
* Indonesian Green Party
* Sarekat Hijau Indonesia
* Iran
* Green Party of Iran
* Green Party
* Iraq
* Israel
* Ale Yarok
* The Greens
* Green Party
* Meretz
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Mongolia
* Nepal
* New Zealand
* Pakistan
* Palestinian Greens
* Philippines
* Solomon Islands
* South Korea
* Taiwan
* Thailand
* Uzbekistan

Europe

* (EGP
* FYEG)

* Albania
* Andorra
* Austria
* Armenia
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Flanders and Brussels
* Wallonia and Brussels
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Green Party
* The Greens
* Croatia
* Orah
* ZL
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Green Party
* Liberal-Environmental Party
* Denmark
* The Alternative
* Socialist People's Party
* The Greens
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* CAP21
* Génération Écologie
* Ecology at the Centre
* Europe Ecology – The Greens
* Mouvement Ecologiste Indépendant
* Ecologist Party
* Georgia
* Germany
* Alliance 90/The Greens
* Ecological Democratic Party
* Greece
* Ecologist Greens
* Greens – Solidarity
* Hungary
* Dialogue for Hungary
* Politics Can Be Different
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Green Europe
* Green Italia
* Isle of Man
* Kosovo
* Latvia
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Green Party
* Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Moldova
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* GroenLinks
* The Greens
* North Macedonia
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Earth Party
* The Greens
* LIVRE
* Romania
* Ecologist Party
* Green Party
* Russia
* Civil United Green Alternative
* Ecological Party "The Greens"
* Union of Greens
* Green Alliance
* Green Alternative
* Serbia
* Ecological Uprising
* Greens of Serbia
* Together
* Green–Left Front
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Greens
* Youth Party
* Spain
* Catalonia Greens
* Confederation of the Greens
* Equo
* The Greens–Green Group
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Green Party
* Green Liberal Party
* Turkey
* Greens' Party
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* England and Wales (Wales)
* Northern Ireland
* Scotland

* Italic links indicate non-members or observers of the Global Greens.
* See also: List of green political parties

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