Norwegian Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol resigned on Friday following allegations of plagiarism in her master’s thesis.
This comes after a probe by Nord University concluded that there was a significant amount of plagiarism in her work.
Norway’s Prime Minister, Jonas Støre, announced Kjerkol’s resignation at a press conference, stating that the university’s investigation found the plagiarism intentional.
Despite her assertion that she and a co-author did not intend to plagiarise “people’s assignments,” Kjerkol accepted the probe’s decision.
“Although it hurts not to be believed, we have to deal with the fact that (the university) is of a different opinion,” she said during a joint press conference with Støre.
Kjerkol, who assumed office in October 2021, is the second government member entangled in a plagiarism scandal this year. In January, Sandra Borch stepped down as Minister for Research and Higher Education after similar allegations surfaced regarding her master’s thesis.
The resignation adds to the challenges faced by Støre’s coalition government, which has seen the departure of several ministers in recent months due to various controversies.
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