Cecilie Myrseth

Cecilie Myrseth (born 27 July 1984) is a Norwegian psychologist and politician for the Labour Party. She is currently the minister of trade and industry since 2024. She also served as minister of fisheries between 2023 and 2024. She is also a member of the Storting for Troms since 2017, and previously chaired the Troms county cabinet from 2015 to 2017.

Early life
Myrseth was born in Harstad on 27 July 1984, and grew up in Lavangen, Troms. She is the daughter of Lavangen mayor Hege Myrseth Rollmoen, whose father and thereby Myrseth's grandfather, Thorleif Myrseth, also served as mayor on multiple occasions. She graduated as psychologist from the University of Tromsø in 2015.

Local politics
Myrseth became the chairwoman of the Troms county cabinet following the 2015 local elections. The Labour Party formed a coalition with the Centre Party, Liberal Party and the Christian Democrats; with the Centre Party's Ivar B. Prestbakmo as deputy chair and County Commissioner for Transport and the Environment. She resigned on 15 June 2017 to run in the 2017 parliamentary election and was replaced by Willy Ørnebakk, the County Commissioner for Health, Culture and Industry.

Parliament
She was elected member to the Storting for the period 2017–2021, and re-elected in 2021. In parliament, she sat on the Standing Committee on Business and Industry from 2017 to 2021. From 2021 to 2023, she sat on the Standing Committee on Health and Care Services, where she also served as first vice chair, concurrently with the Election Committee.

Minister of Fisheries
Myrseth was appointed minister of fisheries on 16 October 2023 following a cabinet reshuffle. With her appointment, she became the first Labour fisheries minister from Troms since Jan Henry T. Olsen in 1992.

2023
Early into her tenure, Myrseth oversaw the final negotiations with Russia about a new fishery agreement for 2024, which outlined a 20% lower cod quota and also ensuring long-term and sustainable management in the northern area.

In late November, she summoned fish farming companies and supervision agencies to discuss animal welfare after revelations of multiple rule violations had been uncovered the past year. Myrseth expressed that in order to achieve greater growth, an increased focus on climate and animal welfare should be at the forefront.

By early December, Myrseth had finalised negotiations with the European Union and the United Kingdom regarding a fishery agreement for 2024. The agreement with the EU was bilateral and outlined the North Sea, Skagerrak and the neighborhood agreement on fishing by Swedish vessels travelling in the Norwegian zone. The UK agreement served as a part of a three part agreement between them, Norway and the EU, which outlined a quota determination and management of the common stocks in the North Sea.

At the end of the month, she announced that the government would be demanding harsher requirements for fish health and a focus to lower emissions in addition for the industry to have a larger focus on climate, the environment and fish welfare.

2024
In January, she presented the government's new quota message in Tromsø, which notably outlined redistribution of the quota base between large and small vessels in the fishing fleet and would seek to abolish the co-fishing scheme by 2025. Furthermore, the government would seek to introduce ownership restrictions in the coastal fleet, which would see certain large fishing vessels having to sell parts of their quotas.

Myrseth expressed optimism about the government securing regulations for seafarers' salary during the course of the year. In mid-March she met with leaders of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, Norwegian Seafarers' Union and the Norwegian Maritime Officers' Union to discuss the proposal, with the latter expressing support for the government's quick plan to have the proposal sent to parliament for a six week hearing right after the Easter break.

Minister of Trade and Industry
Myrseth was appointed minister of trade and industry on 19 April 2024 following the dismissal of Ingvild Kjerkol in the wake of a plagiarism scandal.

2024
Between 22 and 26 April 2024, she accompanied prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre at the 2024 Hannover Messe. To the media two days in, she expressed that Norway is a good country to reside in, invest and innovate in, referring to Norwegian millionaires who have moved to Switzerland in the last few years.

Myrseth ordered the purchase of the last private property on Svalbard to be bought by the state in July, which came following concerns that China is considered a potential buyer of the property. Furthermore, she cited that the National Security Authority, Norwegian Police Security Service and the Norwegian Intelligence Service's advice that such a purchase could pose a threat to national security interests if the Norwegian state didn't intervene.