As a cabinet member he several times faced accusations of cronyism by having appointed little-qualified close friends to well paid government jobs, which also led to formal inquiries into his actions in the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs.

[9] He faced intense criticism when seeking election as chairman of a local party branch in 2020, and as a result announced his withdrawal from politics.

[12] 4 years later, the 2005 elections again swept the Labour party to power as a part of the Red-green coalition and Trond Giske was then appointed Minister of Culture.

Giske spoke out against the transfer of 100% of TV 2's shares to the Egmont Group, at a price of 2.1 billion NOK (274 million euros), despite Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg stating his government would have no opinion on the case.

He is also well known for his personal friendship with members of the royal family, namely Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and her previous husband, the author Ari Behn.

[21] Giske has several times faced accusations of cronyism by having appointed little-qualified close friends to well paid government jobs, which also led to formal inquiries into his actions in the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs.

[3] In October 2012, Trond Giske's long-time friend and Labour party colleague Rune Olsø was appointed CEO of Entra Eiendom, a company wholly owned by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

[22] Later it was revealed that the chairman and vice-chairman of the board opposed the appointment of Olsø, but lost the vote due to pressure from members who had personal or political ties to Giske.

[23] In the wake of the affair, prime minister Jens Stoltenberg appointed Bård Vegar Solhjell to handle the matter, as Giske had recused himself.

[28] On 25 October 2012, it emerged that in 2009, when he was Minister of Culture, Giske personally appointed Tore O. Sandvik's wife and former party colleague Trine Brænden to the board of directors at the prestigious Trondheim Symphony Orchestra (TSO).

[1] The accusations came in the context of the international Me Too debate in the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations, and dominated Norwegian media for several weeks.

[32] On 7 January 2018 he permanently resigned as deputy leader of the Labour Party stating that it was impossible for himself and his family to withstand the pressure of the picture that was painted of him by the media.

Labour Party leader Jonas Gahr Støre stated that he had asked Giske to permanently resign a week earlier.