Here is Jens Stoltenberg's notebook from 22 July

For the first time, he shares his personal notes from that dramatic day. Fjerdingstad / NRK Published 21.07.2026, at 21.14 Tord Magnus Håland Dyrkorn – Journalist Journalist Frode Fjerdingstad – Photographer Photographer Milana Knežević – Journalist Journalist – 15 injured, there are fatalities, major material damage. Jens Stoltenberg reads from a modest, food-stained notepad.

He relives what he has called the darkest day of his life, 22 July 2011. Chaotic briefings and strong impressions are scribbled down. - For me, browsing is powerful, says Stoltenberg. It is big and small.

About everything from the big challenges of the day, to who will order food and who will set up phone calls. These are notes he himself has not seen for 15 years. Among other things from meetings and conversations with people who had been in the government quarter and on Utøya.

- So for me it is strong to browse through. On Friday afternoon 22 July, the car bomb explodes right next to Høyblokka in the government quarter. In the midst of the chaos, the Prime Minister must continue to be Prime Minister.

Just hours after the explosion, he is on the air in NRK's ​​daily news broadcast from a secure room in the prime minister's residence. - And then the text messages started coming from Utøya, says Stoltenberg. It is only when Anniken Huitfeldt and Tonje Brenna call from Sundvolden that he realizes what a national tragedy this is.

Fjerdingstad / NRK - They explain that there are not ten killed, which is the official figure, but it is probably over 50. I hope that they are wrong, because they do not have a complete overview. It is the death notice of Monica Bøsei, "Mother Utøya", that remains as Stoltenberg's strongest memory from the day. Then death got a face, then it became very concrete.

- Is there anything you realize you had forgotten from that day? - I may not have forgotten that, but the first figures on the number of people killed we operated with were very low. And then it took several hours before we realized that it was low.

- So seeing the numbers written down, which turned out to be completely wrong... It's a reminder of how big this tragedy was. The notebook also shows preparations for Stoltenberg's first statement.

- Then there are some points that have been written down, which is the first thing I will say to the public, to the media. I am keen to say that these are 15-year-olds. After 15 years, he shows the notes for the first time.

15 years later, it is still important for Stoltenberg to talk about this day. That is also the reason why he is now sharing the notes with the public for the first time. Because 22 July is the most violent, brutal day Norway has experienced in peacetime.

Because 22 July is not a random attack, it is a deliberate political choice to kill people with whom you disagree politically. It is an attack on the AUF, on social democracy.