Stranger Roger Enoksen had a sexual relationship with a much younger woman several years earlier. He was 50 at the time and she was 18.
Norwegian Defense Minister Odd Roger Enoksen is resigning from his post after having had a sexual relationship with a much younger woman several years ago. The minister’s resignation is the right and necessary decision after what has become known in the case, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told a news conference in Oslo on Saturday.
He could not comment on details. Støre made it clear that he would never have appointed Enoksen as a minister had he known of the relationship when the government was formed in October 2021.
Confirmed relationship – and regretted
Enoksen, now 67, had already confirmed to the newspaper “Verdens Gang” that he had a relationship with a young woman and regretted that relationship. He met the student at a meeting in northern Norway in 2005, before she met him again later on a school trip to the Norwegian Parliament. Enoksen was 50 at the time, the politically interested woman only 18. After this trip, the two reportedly began a sexual relationship.
Enoksen told VG that ministers can also have a private life and an extramarital relationship. He didn’t have a position of power over her. The woman said the relationship shaped her life for 15 years, and that she felt shame, guilt and fear of not being believed. Enoksen was a member of parliament for his Peasant Center Party in 2005 and was appointed Minister of Oil and Energy later in the year. He has been Defense Minister under Støre since late 2021.
(APA/dpa)