Top Norwegian diplomat resigns after Epstein scandal

TT

Updated 20.01 | Published 18.01

Norwegian diplomat Mona Juul is forced to resign from her ambassadorship due to links to Jeffrey Epstein. Archive. Photo: Pontus Höök/NTB/TT

Top Norwegian diplomat Mona Juul is resigning as ambassador, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry announced after revelations about Epstein's will.

Juul, who is married to top Norwegian politician Terje Rød-Larsen, appears in documents surrounding the deceased, previously convicted Jeffrey Epstein.

Mona Juul was forced to suspend her ambassadorship in Jordan just under a week ago, citing the need to investigate the circumstances.

“Necessary decision”

“It is a correct and necessary decision. It comes after talks with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this week. Juul’s contacts with Epstein, who was convicted of abuse, have shown serious shortcomings in judgment,” writes Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide in a press release.

Through her law firm, Juul announces that she is “fully cooperating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs” and that she appeals for calm for the family in “a very demanding situation.”

Juul ​​and her husband Rød-Larsen were significant in the secret peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in the 1990s, which led to the so-called Oslo Accords in the fall of 1993 when the then Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin and the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed the agreement in Washington under the supervision of President Bill Clinton. The agreement touched, among other things, on the basis of a future two-state solution.

Ten million dollars

Juul's continued diplomatic career has since led to, among other things, the important post of Norway's UN ambassador in New York.

According to the documents, Epstein wanted to bequeath a large sum to the couple's children, Norwegian media reports, stating that the sum was ten million dollars, equivalent to around 90 million Swedish kronor.

The publication of the investigation into the American financier Epstein has led to Norway's former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland being investigated by the Norwegian Economic Crimes Authority. Former minister, now leader of the World Economic Forum, Børge Brende, is being criticized for contacts with Epstein.

Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit has said that she "deeply regrets" her close contacts with Epstein.