Norway's Prime Minister to Appoint Oslo Councilor Kamzy Gunaratnam as Transport Minister despite lacking a licence

Jonas Gahr Støre is set to announce a reshuffle of his cabinet on Friday, with Labour MP Kamzy Gunaratnam slated to replace Jon Ivar Nygård as Norway's transport minister. Gunaratnam, who has served fourteen years on Oslo's city council and six as deputy mayor, does not have a driver's licence, a detail she confirmed in a 2025 interview and that the national road authority’s register corroborates. The appointment has drawn criticism from Mathias Fischer of the think-tank Initativ Vest, who claims the choice reflects an increasingly Oslo-focused government and questions her suitability for overseeing national transport policy, including projects like the Rikstunnelen.

The move follows earlier media reports that Støre intends to make several ministerial changes. Gunaratnam would become the first transport minister without a licence since Odd Einar Dørum in 1997.