Jon Nicolaisen, Vice President of the Central Bank of Norway, was forced to resign on Friday (4th) because his application for security permit renewal was rejected. Nicholson said that all this was just because his wife was Chinese.
According to the Financial Times and Reuters on the 4th, Nicholson said on the same day, "The Norwegian Civil Security Review Agency informed me that I could not obtain a new security permit because my wife is a Chinese citizen living in China and I provide her with economic support."
Financial Times: Norwegian Vice President Resigns Due to Contact with China
Nikolason said that the review agency told him, "In my personal situation, there is no doubt about obtaining security permits." However, he said that this "lack of enough weight" alone is not enough to affect the final decision made by the agency.
"I have to bear all the consequences now," said Nicholson.
But unlike Nicolas, Norwegian government officials said the decision was based on "personal assessment". Bloomberg quoted government official Gudmund Gjolstad as saying that the decision was made at the request of Nicholas' employer. Joelstad said that "there is no established relationship between laws and regulations and any country", which would lead to the cancellation of the security permit. He insisted that the decision was based on "personal assessment".
According to the statement issued by the Norwegian Central Bank, Nicholas' resignation application takes effect immediately. It is not clear who will take his place.
Bard Ove Molberg, spokesman of the Norwegian Central Bank, said that the resignation of the vice governor would not affect the policy meeting held by the central bank on December 17. "The task (of Nicholas) will be handed over to others for execution, and the daily operation of the institution will not be affected."
Norwegian central bank governor Oeystein Olsen responded that they had taken note of Nicholas' decision. He praised Nicholas "as a close colleague and competent professional, he has performed his duties well. Over the years, he has held an important position in the bank and made important contributions to the development of Norwegian Bank."
Nicholson married his wife in 2010. In 2014, Nicholas Sen was appointed Vice President of the Norwegian Central Bank for the first time, and received the second appointment on April 1 this year. In addition to participating in the formulation of monetary policies, Nicholas Sen is also responsible for the supervision of Norway's sovereign wealth fund of up to 1.2 trillion dollars, which is also the world's largest sovereign wealth fund.
Bloomberg reported that in 2018, a civil engineer of the Norwegian National Defense Research Institute lost his job because his wife was Russian. At that time, the engineer initiated a lawsuit on the grounds of "improper dismissal", and then won the lawsuit with the government.
The Associated Press pointed out that in recent years, some western countries are strengthening security controls to prevent potential impacts from China and other countries, especially in the fields of technology, finance and other enterprises. As a member of NATO, Norway has become increasingly demanding in security review in recent years.
In February this year, the Norwegian intelligence agency listed China and Russia as the two biggest threats facing Norway in its annual security threat assessment. On this Thursday (3rd), the Norwegian Police Security Bureau (PST) also claimed that some countries, including Russia and China, are using the so-called "espionage" to collect the secrets of the Norwegian oil industry, including the Norwegian government's plans to reduce or increase oil and gas production. In response, the Russian Embassy in Norway said that the report was "very primitive propaganda" and that "Norway could have thought about what it could do for cooperation".
(Source: Observer Network)
