Norway's health minister accused of plagiarism in latest ethics scandal to rock the government

An academic probe said on Thursday that Norways Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol plagiarised parts of her masters degree thesis three years ago, the second such case this year in the Norwegian government and the latest allegation of unethical behaviour to rock the centre-left government.The investigation by Nord University in Bodoe, northern Norway, found Kjerkols 2021 thesis contained far more serious errors than sloppiness, Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported.

An academic probe said on Thursday that Norway's Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol plagiarised parts of her masters' degree thesis three years ago, the second such case this year in the Norwegian government and the latest allegation of unethical behaviour to rock the centre-left government.

The investigation by Nord University in Bodoe, northern Norway, found Kjerkol's 2021 thesis contained “far more serious errors than sloppiness'', Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported. The broadcaster said the probe's conclusion was to deprive Kjerkol of her master's degree in health management.

The 48-year-old Kjerkol did not comment on Thursday. But she has previously rejected the allegations, saying she and a co-author did not copy to parts of another student's thesis from 2015.

Kjerkol has been in office since October 2021 when Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store presented a coalition government of his own Labor party and the junior Centre Party.

The conclusion of Thursday's probe immediately prompted the opposition to urge Gahr Store to say whether he has trust in Kjerkol.

Jan Tore Sanner, a senior member of Norway's main opposition party, Hoeyre, told Norwegian news agency NTB, that the prime minister must address “the matter of confidence” in Kjerkol.

Sylvi Listhaug, the leader of the anti-immigrant Progress Party, also called on Gahr Store to “assess whether he has confidence in her''.

Kjerkol is the second government member to be entangled in academic plagiarism allegations this year. In January, Sandra Borch stepped down as minister for research and higher education after a student discovered that parts of Borch's master's thesis, including spelling mistakes, were copied without attribution from a different author.

Gahr Store's coalition has seen the departure of several ministers in recent months over other wrongdoings. In September, it was revealed that the husband of then Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt had been trading in stocks for years behind her back and that could potentially enrich her.

The ruling social democratic Labour party was defeated in September in local elections by the Hoeyre for the first time since 1924. The party, which for decades was Norway's largest party in local elections, came in second in the September 11 elections for local councils in Norway's 356 municipalities and 11 counties.

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