[1] A pragmatic social democrat and a proponent of the Third Way, she became a Member of Parliament in 1986 as the substitute for Gro Harlem Brundtland when the latter became prime minister.

Nybakk studied English, French and political science in Oslo, Paris and Cambridge, and graduated with the cand.mag.

[2] Nybakk was elected as a deputy member of the Parliament of Norway, the Storting, for the Oslo constituency in 1985.

[2] Since the 1990s, Nybakk has focused on foreign and defence policy, and has been one of the Labour Party's principal politicians covering this field.

Nybakk is considered a Third Way pragmatic social democrat; she is widely described as a member of the right wing of the Labour Party.

[9] Like the Labour Party itself and most Norwegian politicians, she supports Norway's NATO membership.

[11] Nybakk has also advocated women's human rights, especially in states such as Iran and other areas of the Middle East.

In 2015, Nybakk and Liberal Party leader Trine Skei Grande boycotted a parliamentary delegation visiting Iran due to the requirement that female members would have to wear a chador, which they argued was discriminatory to women.