Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide described the resignation as “right and necessary,” saying Juul’s contact with the convicted sex offender amounted to a “serious failure of judgment” and made it difficult to restore the level of trust required for the diplomatic post, according to a ministry statement, News.Az reports, citing Xinhua.
Juul had been relieved of her official duties last week while the ministry reviewed her knowledge of and contact with Epstein, the statement said.
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The ministry added that its internal fact-finding process will continue despite Juul’s resignation, with particular focus on the rules governing state employees and officials both while in service and outside of it.
Separately, the ministry said it has launched a review of its grants to and contacts with the International Peace Institute during the period when Juul’s husband, Terje Rod-Larsen, led the organization. Eide said information that has emerged regarding Rod-Larsen’s contact with Epstein was “very extensive” and “highly concerning,” adding that there was “no doubt” he had shown poor judgment.
Epstein, who died in 2019, was a U.S. financier accused of sex trafficking. The U.S. Department of Justice said on Jan. 30 that it had released more than 3 million additional pages of material under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which it said was signed into law by Donald Trump in November 2025.
Meanwhile, Okokrim, Norway’s national authority for investigating and prosecuting economic and environmental crime, said on Thursday that it had opened an investigation into former Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland on suspicion of aggravated corruption. The authority said the probe is based on information contained in the Epstein files and noted Jagland’s past roles, including chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee and secretary general of the Council of Europe.
