THE Norwegian Labour Party chairman, Mr Thorbjorn Jagland, was appointed prime minister yesterday and immediately presented a 19 member cabinet including eight new faces.
Among the new ministers is Mr Terje Rod Larsen, the senior UN official who played a crucial role in the Israeli PLO peace process by laying the ground for the 1993 Oslo accords.
The UN Secretary General, Dr Boutros Boutros Ghali, congratulated Mr Larsen, saying "Norway's gain is our loss".
His spokeswoman said Dr Boutros Ghali was in contact with the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government to find a successor for Mr Larsen as UN co ordinator.
Mr Jagland (45) is a party apparatchik and the choice of the outgoing prime minister, Ms Gro Harlem Brundtland, who announced her resignation on Wednesday.
The new government is a mix of renewal and experience the average age of the cabinet is 45, with the youngest aged 9 and the eldest 61. Eight ministers are women, a standard set by Ms Brundtland.
Mr Larsen, who has been the UN co ordinator for the Palestinian territories, will become the head of a newly created Ministry of National Planning and Public Administration Reform.
The decision to bring Mr Larsen home from the Middle East to take over a domestic portfolio surprised many, as it would have seemed more natural to give him a ministry with more international assignments.
"Norway still has an important role to play in the Middle East peace process. There has been a lot of very challenging work during 2 1/2 years, it's gone from one crises to another," Mr Larsen said, adding that he was "happy to be part of Jagland's team".
Ms Brundtland was visibly moved as she left the palace following her official dismissal by King Harald V.