Ambassador Mona Juul is now concluding her career in the Norwegian foreign service after she was recently charged with gross corruption by Norway’s Economic Crime Unit (Økokrim).
The 67-year-old will retire on 1 May after a long period of service extending over several decades. The charge against her has shaken the diplomatic milieu in Oslo and is connected to her long-standing contact with the deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein.
It was broadcaster TV 2 that first reported this.
Million salary and secured pension
Through her position as ambassador to Jordan and Iraq, Juul has had an annual salary of over NOK 1.5 million. Although she was relieved of her duty to work in February, she has retained her fixed salary up to retirement age. Calculations show that she will receive an annual retirement pension of between NOK 900,000 and 1,000,000 before tax. A possible conviction in the corruption case will, in principle, not affect these rights, as the pension is regarded as an accrued entitlement which she retains regardless of the outcome of the case.
The investigation of the Epstein connection
Økokrim formally charged Juul on 9 February 2026 following a period of mapping her connections. The charge concerns the receipt of improper advantages by virtue of the position she has held. Her husband, Terje Rød-Larsen, is also charged with complicity in gross corruption in the same case. The authorities are investigating whether private benefits and travel have been covered through the network surrounding Epstein over a ten-year period. The police have, inter alia, conducted a search of the couple’s joint apartment at Frogner as part of the investigation.
The mapping continues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Although Juul is now leaving the service, Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide announces that the department’s internal investigations will continue. The aim is to obtain full clarification of all facts related to the contact with the convicted sexual offender. Juul has, via her lawyer Thomas Skjelbred, stated that she does not agree with the charge. The lawyer explains that she chooses to step down now so that the ongoing processes can continue without becoming a burden for the institutions she has served. He simultaneously adds:
– This is not how Juul had hoped to conclude a long career in the Norwegian foreign service.
Historical shadows over the career
Mona Juul has been a central figure in Norwegian foreign policy since the negotiations on the Oslo Accords in the 1990s. Her career has, however, not been without controversies. Historians have previously pointed out that important documents from the peace process are alleged to have disappeared, and criticism has been directed at a closed culture within the ministry. The charge against Juul is also connected with a larger investigation in which former Minister of Foreign Affairs Thorbjørn Jagland is involved.
Whether this marks the end of an epoch in which a small group of top diplomats have operated with a very high degree of autonomy remains to be seen.