New Minister of Education Iselin Nybø talks Instagram, knitting, and #MeToo

«I am going to meet the King, that’s why I’m dressed like this.»

Wearing a black skirt, blazer, and with a silk scarf around her neck, Iselin Nybø is sitting on one of the many beige sofas at the Ministry of Education and Research. She sits up straight, with one foot behind the other. She looks every bit the part of a politician about the meet the King. We have 25 minutes for the interview before she has to go, so it’s not surprising that the newly appointed Minister of Education and Research talks fast.

«It’s so hectic that I don’t even dread it in advance. You don’t get so much time to be nervous,» she says.

It’s Friday evening, and Nybø has been a minister for a week so far. The Wednesday before, she was standing at the Palace Square, with loads of flowers, along with the nine others in the nation’s new coalition government consisting of the Conservative (Høyre), Progress (Frp), and Liberal (Venstre) parties.

«I almost cried. It was so touching that so many came with flowers.»

Two days earlier, the 36-year-old was sitting on the floor in her apartment in Stavanger, with her mobile safely connected to a charger. The call she was waiting for was important. Very important. The battery was low. She was afraid her mobile might die in the middle of the call. Finally, the phone rang. She took the phone and heard the familiar voice of the Liberal Party’s leader, Trine Skei Grande, on the other end. She was going to be a minister.

On Tuesday, Nybø went to the law firm she was working for, got a leave of absence, went back home, and packed in a hurry before she rushed to the airport. On Wednesday, she grinned at the barrage of camera flashes. Was she ready for all this?

«To become a minister? No, not at all,» she says.

«Both my partner and I found it slightly surreal.»

«It just snowballed»

We rewind back to 1999. The phone rings at the Nybø residence. This time, it is the local chapter of the Liberal party in Randaberg, a municipality near Stavanger. Would Nybø like to be on their list of candidates? 18-year-old Nybø has known she would become a lawyer since she was 12. She is, however, interested in politics too.

«So I thought, ‘Do I want to be a political candidate? For the Liberal party in Randaberg?’.»

The answer to both questions was yes.

«It just snowballed from there.»

The year after, Nybø started studying law at the University of Bergen. During those days, she would read for eight hours in reading rooms and be the leader of the Young Liberals in Bergen for two hours a day. Nybø had a number of positions in the Liberal party in Randaberg, and then with the city council in Stavanger, where she also became the vice-chairperson for the municipal committee for childcare and education. In 2010, she was elected vice-chairperson at the Rogaland regional branch of the Liberal party. A couple years later, she became a member of the central board of the party. For most of this period, she was also working full time as a lawyer.

«You spend all of your free time on politics. But politics is my hobby,» she says. «I have been occupied with taking the opportunities that presented themselves. You can’t really plan your career in a party like the Liberal party, can you?»

The annual regional convention in 2012

On Sunday morning at the Rogaland Liberals annual convention in 2012, Nybø woke up to dramatic news. Helge Solum Larsen, then-incumbent vice-chairperson of the Liberal Party, was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl during the course of night. Nybø was the one who confronted Solum Larsen.

«It was a lot to handle, for me, for the party, for him and for the girl. We tried to protect both of them. There was a media pressure that was indescribable for anyone who hasn’t experienced it for themselves,» Nybø explains.

«I wouldn’t wish it on anyone to be on the either side of a case like that.»

After a while, Solum Larsen was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. The case was later dropped. Until he died of an acute brain haemorrhage in 2015, Nybø often visited him.

«Obviously he was one of my best friends before that happened. When something like that happens, it gets quite difficult to continue the friendship. But he was one of my best friends until he passed away,» she says.

The revelations that took place in Norwegian political parties this winter led to many questions being directed at Nybø about her experiences in 2012.

«Many of the cases that have been brought up are similar cases,» she comments, and adds she doesn’t know if they were reported to the police or not.

«I can’t say that I know how they are dealing with the cases, but I know one or two things about what it is like to be involved in a case like that.»

Restless knitting

In 2013, the Liberal party climbed above the threshold of 4 percent in the election, and Nybø won a seat in the Norwegian Parliament. She was the primary vice-chairperson in the Church, Education, and Research Committee for four years. However, in autumn 2017, she lost her parliamentary seat and had to pack her bags and go back to Stavanger. After just under four months she returned to being a full-time lawyer at the firm Simonsen Vogt Wiig.

Does Nybø do anything other than law and politics? Facebook shows another side of her, one that ends most of her words with the dialect-revealing ‘å’. She hikes mountain tops and bakes buns. Nybø also loves to sew and knit.

«Is it ever tempting for you to take a step back from the hectic life and just….»

«Just knit? Yes, I knit to relax,» Nybø says. «When I was pulled out of the Parliament, I soon realised I am not the kind of person who can sit around at home. I somehow have to do something. I get bored quickly.»

«Can’t you just pour some Coke in it?»

Universitas called Nybø’s father to hear about the young Iselin. He says that Iselin liked biking. These days they’ve exchanged the bike for a motorcycle. Every summer they go on a ride together, her father Olav in front and Iselin behind. With Iselin as the guide, they drive for a week around Norway or Europe, usually with one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a destination.

Nybø calls herself «the world’s most boring person.» When she was a teenager, she skipped the rebellious period, and instead conducted a gospel choir. She stuck to her plan to become a lawyer, went to parties, and called her parents on her way home. She tried alcohol but didn’t like the taste.

«In a way, I missed my opportunity to like alcohol when I didn’t drink with my peers during my teens. When you become an adult, you can’t drink for the sake of drinking. You drink because you like it. When you don’t, there is no point,» she says.

The fact that she doesn’t drink doesn’t make her any less popular, especially not at government dinners. Nybø asks the waiter for a Coke Zero (two if she’s feeling «crazy») and lets her dinner companions fight over her wine. There is just one thing that bothers her about abstaining from alcohol at parties.

«If waiters begin to move thing around and take away all these wine glasses, leaving behind a milk glass with cola in, I can’t help but to wonder ‘Do you have to make such big deal out of it? Can’t you just pour some Coke in it?’»

To follow in the footsteps of giants

Nybø must go. The King awaits, after all. There won’t be much down time for her in the coming days. So far, the Liberal party has been involved in a lot of the policies under the Conservative-led government. Nybø claims that the changes will be noticeable now that the Liberals are poised to take the steering wheel. What kind of Minister of Education and Research can Norwegian students expect?

«I hope I can be viewed as someone who not only works hard and takes the tasks seriously, but also does the work with enthusiasm and determination», she replies.

«Torbjørn Røe Isaksen has been very well-liked in this sector. But I am not him. I must do things my way, not his way, right?»

Will she try to compete with Isaksen’s infamous Instagram account?

«Well, I should get an account first! But it is a bit like following in the footsteps of giants, at least when it comes to Instagram.»