Former Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik (KrF) has held a diplomatic passport continuously since 2006 – a full 21 years after he stepped down as Prime Minister. The passport was most recently renewed in 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms.

It is Rights (HRS) that has unearthed the information, after the Epstein files revealed that Bondevik apparently travelled with a diplomatic passport long after he left government.

In a message to Jeffrey Epstein in February 2017, Terje Rød-Larsen described how Bondevik was stopped by American border guards at Dulles Airport in Washington. Bondevik himself is said to have complained about the treatment, referring to the fact that he held a diplomatic passport as a former Prime Minister.

The information led HRS to contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (UD), which confirms that Bondevik has held a diplomatic passport linked to his role as leader of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights (Oslosenteret for fred og menneskerettigheter) and as former Prime Minister ever since 2006. The passport was administratively renewed in 2016, and again in 2025.

According to the Ministry’s own guidelines, a diplomatic passport is a travel document reserved for persons travelling on assignment for the Norwegian authorities. The passport shall be valid only for as long as the official assignment lasts, and shall be returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when the assignment is concluded.

Bondevik has not held any official position in the Norwegian state since he stepped down as Prime Minister in 2005. The Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights is a private foundation which no longer receives public funding either.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has thus allowed him to retain the diplomatic passport for two decades, and renewed it as recently as last year.

In its reply to HRS, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the Ministry has initiated “necessary work to modernise and update the guidelines for the issuance of all official passports”.