Norway wants answers: An independent commission is to be established to investigate the connections of several high-ranking representatives of the country to sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. The appointment of the body is a task for the Norwegian Parliament, said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Arbeiderpartiet) on Monday.
Several parties have already expressed the demand for a thorough investigation in the past few days. Because that recently released Epstein investigation files caused quite a stir in Norway.
Not only is the overly familiar exchange between Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Jeffrey Epstein, now visible to everyone, suddenly shaking the foundations of the monarchy. According to surveys, half of the people in the country believe that they can no longer become queen. That her eldest son, the non-royal one Marius Borg Høibyat the same time being on trial for rape allegations, among other things, deepens the crisis.
But that’s not all – there were also connections to Epstein in Norway’s top political and diplomatic ranks. The biggest internationally known name is Thorbjørn Jagland. The former leader of the Social Democratic Workers’ Party, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Norway headed the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 2009 to 2015. If moral integrity is expected from any institution, it is this one.
Chatty tone between Jagland and Epstein
In this role, too, for a total of eight years, Jagland was in active contact with Epstein, as the file analysis by the Norwegian media now shows. Years ago he denied any contact, later admitted a meeting and admitted more again at the end of 2025 – but that was far from everything, as we now know.
The tone between the Norwegian and Epstein was informal. Jagland mentioned his travel dates abroad – and, as an aside, the “extraordinary girls” in Tirana. He also asked Epstein to secure a home loan for him. On Thursday, Norway’s economic crime agency announced that it was opening an investigation against Jagland on suspicion of corruption.
One of the last dates Epstein was said to have planned before his arrest in 2019 was a dinner at his Paris apartment with Jagland and Terje Rød-Larsen, another former Norwegian minister and diplomat, according to Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
Rød-Larsen withdrew from his New York think tank International Peace Institute (IPI) in 2020 after his connection to Epstein and his financial support for IPI became known. The extent to which he and his family were connected to Epstein only now became clear. Rød-Larsen’s wife is the top Norwegian diplomat Mona Juul. According to Norwegian media, the couple’s two children were listed in Epstein’s will, which he signed two days before his death, to inherit five million dollars each.
Juul suspended over allegations
Juul was suspended from her duties as ambassador to Jordan and Iraq a week ago. Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide spoke of a failure of judgment and announced investigations. Now she has 66-year-old resigned from office.
Børge Brende, former foreign minister for the conservative Høyre and president of the World Economic Forum (WEF) since 2017, is also criticized for his Epstein contacts. An investigation was also launched at the WEF – according to Brende, on his own initiative.
The findings of the last few days are scratching Norway’s self-image. Have we not worked together to create one of the most progressive, fairest and least corrupt societies in the world? The involuntary look into the abyss may be particularly hard.