Thorbjørn Jagland (né Johansen), born on 5 November 1950 in Spinningen, Lier, Norway, grew up in a modest working-class family during Norway's industrial boom. His father was a factory worker born in 1919, and his mother was a cook; another relative or parent named Bodil Selnes (1926-) is mentioned in records. After completing his university qualifying examination in 1969, he studied economics at the University of Oslo. He began his political career in the Workers' Youth League (AUF), serving as its national leader from 1977 to 1981. Rising through the ranks of the Norwegian Labour Party, he was party secretary from 1987 to 1992 and leader from 1992 to 2002. Jagland held several high-profile positions, including former Prime Minister of Norway (1996-1997), Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2000 to 2001, President of the Storting (Norwegian parliament) from 2005 to 2009, and Secretary General of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019. He also served as former Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee (around 2000-2005). In recent years, Jagland has faced significant controversy: in 2024, Norwegian police (Økokrim) opened a criminal investigation into him for alleged gross corruption related to his ties with Jeffrey Epstein, including possible gifts, travel, or loans. Newly leaked emails from 2018 show communications between Jagland, then Council of Europe chief, and Epstein, where Epstein suggested Jagland connect with Putin and Lavrov. Additionally, declassified KGB documents allege Jagland was cultivated as a Kremlin asset in the 1970s while leading the Labour youth wing, a claim resurfacing amid Ukrainian warnings of his pro-Russian leanings during his Council of Europe tenure.