[2] Solberg was first elected to the Storting in 1989, and served as Minister of Local Government and Regional Development in Bondevik's Second Cabinet from 2001 to 2005.

During her tenure, she oversaw the tightening of immigration policy and the preparation of a proposed reform of the administrative divisions of Norway.

[4] After winning the September 2013 election, Solberg became prime minister of Norway, the second woman to hold the position, after Gro Harlem Brundtland.

Her father, Asbjørn Solberg (1925–1989), worked as a consultant in the Bergen Sporvei, and her mother, Inger Wenche Torgersen (1926–2016), was an office worker.

[18] As Minister, Solberg instructed the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration to expel Mulla Krekar, being a danger to national security.

After losing the 2009 elections, the party realised that a mere promise of tax cuts and a smaller role for the state would not convince voters.

She made regular visits to schools, health facilities and smaller municipalities, explaining to all that the goal was not to serve big business but to create conditions for the creation of new jobs, infrastructure development and economic restructuring.

Solberg saw her long-term economic goal of moving Norway's economy out of dependence on oil revenues as achievable through traditional right-wing methods of tax cuts, spending reductions and privatisation of state shares in companies.

[20] Solberg became the head of government after winning the general election on 9 September 2013 and was appointed prime minister on 16 October 2013.

Erna Solberg has combined numerous national positions as Minister, Parliamentarian and regional politician with a strong commitment to global solutions for development, growth and conflict resolution.

After the Christian Democrats alliance conflict that lasted from September to November 2018, they eventually negotiated to join the Solberg Cabinet on the grounds of a minor change in the abortion law, something that caused harsh backlash from the public and critics alike.

[19] She inherited the nickname "Iron Erna", in reference to the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, for her relentless management of the migration crisis in 2015, during which she had tightened reception conditions.

[19] To cope with the fall in oil prices in March 2020, her government adopted a series of measures to support businesses, such as simplifying procedures for temporary layoffs of employees, and tax privileges.

[28] On 24 September 2021, her government announced a lift for all national major measures, taking effect the day after at 4:00pm, officially reopening the country.

[29] As Prime Minister, and former Chair of the Norwegian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, she has championed transatlantic values and security.

In one her many keynote speeches she stated that there is still a need for traditional aid and humanitarian assistance in marginalised and conflict-ridden areas of the world.

Together with Graça Machel she has expressed the hope that in 2030 no factors such as poverty, gender and cultural beliefs will prevent any of today's ambitious young girls from standing confidently on the world stage.

[23] In October 2019, she criticized the unilateral Turkish invasion of the Kurdish areas in Syria, but dismissed calls for suspending Turkey from NATO.

[35] In Solberg's speech to the UN General Assembly in 2019 she advocated for Norway's candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for 2021–2022.

"[39] In April 2008, it was revealed that Solberg, as Minister of Local Government and Regional Development in 2004, had rejected a request for asylum in Norway by the Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu.

In response to his death, caused by organ failure while in government custody on 13 July 2017, Solberg said: "It is with deep grief that I received the news of Liu Xiaobo's passing.

[48] On 13 November, Solberg announced that she would continue as leader of the Conservative Party and be their candidate for prime minister at the 2025 parliamentary election.

[60][61] On 30 November, the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs sent 13 more questions to the Office of the Prime Minister, which more specifically asks about record keeping.