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Oslo:
A young Muslim woman has been named a culture minister for the
first time in the history of the Scandinavian country.
"We have made these changes to make room for new values, new force
and new ideas," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told reporters,
Reuters reported. "It is a combination of renewal and continuity",
he added.
Hadia Tajik, a 29-year-old Muslim,
was named Friday, September 22, a culture minister as part of a
cabinet reshuffle.
Hadia replaced Anniken Huitfeldt, who became the new Minister of
Labour and Social affairs.
Born to Pakistani parents, Tajik is a member of parliament for the
Labour Party.
Tajik, the youngest government minister in the Scandinavian
country, said culture diversity would top her ministry’s program
in the coming period.
Tajik had served as a political adviser to Minister of Justice
Knut Storberget from 2008 to 2009.
At the time, Tajik played an active role in a decision to allow
police women to wear hijab while in service.
The decision, however, caused a storm in the country, forcing the
minister to withdraw the decision.
The cabinet reshuffle also saw moving Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr
Stoere to the health ministry, a key position for a government
hoping to strengthen the extensive social safety net.
Defense Minister Espen Barth Eide was also moved to take the
foreign ministry portfolio.
The reshuffle is seen as a last big effort by Stoltenberg to shape
up the team that would campaign for Labor's third straight term.
Norwegian Muslims are estimated at 150,000 out of the country's
4.5 million population, mostly of Pakistan, Somali, Iraqi and
Moroccan backgrounds.
There are nearly 90 Muslim organizations and Islamic centers
across the northern European country.
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