Marianne Oropel Klengsen, who has ties in Dumaguete City as she studied in the City of Gentle People for her college education, becomes the first Filipino to serve as Councilor of the Sandnes Municipal Council in Norway after securing one of 49 seats in the Council during the election on September 11, 2023.
Klengsen is the Council’s ninth Progress Party Representative and will serve a four-year term. She graduated in 2004 in Silliman University with the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration Major in Management.
Although this is her first elected post, she has been active in public service. She was appointed Leader of the Sandnes Immigration Council, Member of the Committee on Schools and Children Development, and Deputy Member of the Committee on Urban Development.
Klengsen has also had a successful corporate career. Currently, she is the Implementation Lead and Acting Payroll Head for Norway of Ernst & Young, a multinational company considered to be one of the largest professional services networks in the world.
Raised in Zamboanga City, Klengsen said her assimilation in Norway has been a long but fulfilling process, so as council member, she will focus on issues and policies related to immigration.
“I have been very lucky, and my public service is my way of giving back. I will look at policies that will help immigrants’ seamless integration into Norwegian society,” Klengsen said.
She credits her Philippine education and training for her success in Norway. She said that the university has boosted her self-confidence and has trained her to be articulate, resourceful, and insightful.
“As a Filipino, I have been raised to be cognizant of values that mold me to believe in myself. Sometimes, I doubt if I could have reached what I have achieved so far had I been raised elsewhere and trained in a different setting,” Klengsen said.
During her college years, Klengsen was a champion debater and orator, a member of the Corps of Campus Ambassadors, and a performer in several school productions. | NWI
