Support The Moscow Times!

Gay Norwegian Minister to Take Husband to Sochi Paralympics

Health Minister Bent Hoeie, who will be the Norwegian government's official representative at the Paralympics.

OSLO — Norway's health minister will make a point about gay rights in Russia by attending the Sochi Paralympics with his husband.

President Vladimir Putin has faced calls for a boycott of the Olympics over a law banning the spread of gay propaganda among minors. The Paralympics will be held in Sochi after the main Games.

Health Minister Bent Hoeie, who will be the Norwegian government's official representative at the Paralympics, said it was normal for a Cabinet official to travel with a spouse on such an official visit.

"Having said that, everyone understands what two married men think about gay rights," Hoeie told the Stavanger Aftenblad newspaper.

Norway has won more Winter Olympic medals than any other nation and is likely to finish high in the medal table in Sochi.

Read more