- Jens Stoltenberg was born on March 16, 1959, in Oslo into a family of politicians. His father, Thorvald Stoltenberg, was a prominent member of the Labor party and served as ambassador, defense minister and foreign minister. His mother, Karin Stoltenberg, served as state secretary in several governments.
- Stoltenberg is an economist by training. The title of his thesis was "Macroeconomic planning under uncertainty. An empirical analysis."
- As a politician, Stoltenberg has gained a reputation of an avid advocate of stronger Atlantic ties. But as a young man, he was an opponent of NATO and the European Union. In the 1970s, he took part in protest rallies against the Vietnam War, throwing stones at the US Embassy in Oslo.
- While serving as prime minister, Stoltenberg in 2009 formed a government, comprising 10 men and 10 women.
- Stoltenberg is an avid outdoorsman. He likes riding his bike and during the winter season he is an active cross-country skier. In December 2011, he traveled to Antarctica to mark 100 years since Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole on skis.
- In 2016, he authored his autobiography book, "My Story," in which, among other things, he admitted to maintaining close contacts with Soviet Embassy personnel in Norway since the late 1970s. Stoltenberg claimed that the cultural attaché he contacted at the Soviet Embassy in Oslo was a KGB agent.
- In August 2013, Stoltenberg said on his Facebook page that he had spent an afternoon working incognito as a taxi driver in Oslo. He said he had wanted to "hear from real Norwegian voters" and that "taxis were one of the few places where people shared their true views."
Seven Things You May Not Know About NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
15:55 GMT 12.12.2017 (Updated: 16:04 GMT 12.12.2017)
© AP Photo / Virginia Mayo
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Former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has been reappointed as NATO’s chief until 2020. Sputnik gives you a few interesting facts about him.
