Nikolai Astrup (politician)

Nikolai Astrup (born 12 June 1978) is a Norwegian politician representing the Conservative Party (Høyre) for Oslo.
Astrup was elected Member of Parliament in 2009 and leader of the Conservative Party in Oslo in 2012 and has previously been leader of the Oslo Norwegian Young Conservatives. After the election in 2013, Astrup was appointed as vice-chair of the Conservative Party Parliamentary Group. Prior to his election to parliament, he worked as political adviser for the Conservative Party parliamentary group and political adviser to the Governing Mayor of Oslo. Astrup holds a master's degree in European Politics and Governance and a bachelor's degree in International Relations, both from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Between 2001 and 2008 he was the editor of the conservative periodical Minerva.
Ahead of the 2009 election for parliament, Astrup was nominated as the Conservative Party's fourth candidate for Oslo, considered the last safe seat. He defeated Inge Lønning in the nomination. Ahead of the election in 2013 he was nominated as the second candidate for Oslo, behind the Minister of Defence, Ine Eriksen Søreide. Due to his relatively young age, he is considered a rising star in the party.
In parliament, Astrup sat on the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment from 2009-2015, and from 2016 he is the leader of the Standing Committee on Transport and Communication and is the Conservative's spokesperson on issues relating to these issues. For a number of years Astrup was also spokesperson on European affairs and he served as vice-president of the European Movement in Norway in 2012-2013.
In March 2011, he was named the "European of the Year" by the JEF Norway.