[4] Also his term as Foreign Minister was marked by controversies, due to his perceived lack of qualification for the office and quotes and statements that were considered inappropriate.

[15] According to the Norwegian daily Dagbladet, his father had additional duties as a kind of "steward" for his community, so when "the postal service had letters" or envelopes without a complete address, the mailman delivered many of them to Jagland's home, "since that was where everything happened".

[citation needed] Jagland has been awarded the title of Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France for his "tireless commitment to the European continent and the universal values it represents".

Rising up rapidly through the party ranks, he was elected leader of the Workers' Youth League in Buskerud, in 1973, a position he held until 1975.

In his role as secretary of the Labour party, Jagland initiated a number of measures that culminated in organisational and political reforms.

During his first term, Jagland was a member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, and also served as the fractional leader for the parliamentary group of the party.

In his speech, Jagland said that he would not deviate much from Harlem Brundtland's policies, but that he would increase the focus on violence, abuse of alcohol and drugs, and crime, including improvement of preventative measures and the courts.

As part of the construction of the Norwegian House, the cabinet also started to appoint lay councils, with expertise within their fields, that would provide them with feedback and inputs on important areas in society.

[2] Ahead of the 1997 parliamentary election, Jagland announced the cabinet would resign if the Labour Party received less than 36.9% of the popular vote.

[27] To pass legislation, the cabinet had sought support from the largest opposition parties—the Centre Party as well as Labour's traditional adversary, the Conservative Party—on a case-by-case basis.

[27][28] Erik Solheim, the leader of Socialist Left Party (SV), said that if Jagland resigned, "he would go down in history as Norway's most puzzling politician".

[31] In February 2000, still reeling from the 36.9 fiasco and the growing popularity of deputy party leader Stoltenberg, Jagland withdraw as a prime minister candidate.

Jagland stated on 2 February 2001 on the nationally broadcast television show I kveld med Per Ståle on TV 2 that "everybody at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs went around saying that 'now you are going to meet with Bongo from Congo'".

It was expected that Stoltenberg would contest the leader during the national congress of Labour in November 2002, and in January 2002 the two were supposed to say if they wanted role.

Jørgen Kosmo, the previous President of the Storting, had not stood for parliamentary re-election, and Jagland was elected to this position by the members of parliament on 10 October 2005.

In 2007, Stoltenberg allowed Jagland to push through his plan to develop Storting as a stronger centre for current political debates, thus increasing the power of the parliamentary members on issues from the cabinet.

[42] Jagland said Norway was unlikely to undertake any boycott, but he added, "The previous racism conference in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, was a festival in the criticism of Western values.

[44] When asked about the case, Jagland responded: "It will in itself be a paradox if one questions the principle that freedom of speech is subject to the party whip.

The announcement of Barack Obama as winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, raised a few eyebrows and Jagland had to clarify[51] this choice on several occasions.

The Nobel Committee points to the fact that it has to execute the will of Alfred Nobel, in accordance with the following text in his will: "...The whole of my remaining realizable estate shall be dealt with in the following way...the capital, invested in safe securities by my executors, shall constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit to mankind... and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses....The prizes for physics and chemistry shall be awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences; that for physiological or medical work by the Caroline Institute in Stockholm; that for literature by the Academy in Stockholm, and that for champions of peace by a committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Storting.

[58] Jagland has emphasized the importance of strengthening the cooperation with the European Union and regular consultations are taking place with the leaders of the EU.

[59] Jagland signed an intention agreement with Commissioner Stefan Füle in April 2014, which will considerably increase the number of Joint Programmes and EU financing of projects implemented by the Council of Europe.

Jagland has also taken the initiative to a Neighbourhood Policy which includes an important number of cooperation activities on the basis of Council of Europe standards with Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco and Kazakhstan.

The annual conference brings together statesmen, NGOs, grassroots workers, academics, politicians and others and was inaugurated in 2012 by the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban ki Moon.

[citation needed] In the preface to the report, Jagland wrote:[60] "Human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe now face a crisis unprecedented since the end of the Cold War.

Serious violations – including corruption, immunity from prosecution, impunity, human trafficking, racism, hate speech and discrimination – are on the rise throughout the continent.

His wide margin of victory is seen as a sign of approval and appreciation of his yeoman services to both the Council of Europe and his unstinting efforts to reduce tensions in Ukraine.

[63][64] 7 delegations left the council in protest of the decision to give Russia voting rights without ending the occupation of parts of Ukraine.

[67] Furthermore, Jagland was one of five members of the Mitchell Committee[68] appointed by President Clinton and Secretary-General Kofi Annan to advise on how to end violence in the Middle East.

[citation needed] Jagland supported more of a traditional social democratic government, and was very skeptical of policies such as privatization of state-owned companies.