Sillimanian secures Norwegian municipal council seat

Marianne Oropel Klengsen speaks to new Norwegian citizens during a Citizenship Ceremony. Source: Facebook of Marianne Oropel Klengsen

Alumna Marianne Oropel Klengsen becomes the first Filipino to serve as Councillor of the Sandnes Municipal Council in Norway after securing one of the 49 seats in the Council during the election on September 11, 2023.

A graduate of the College of Business Administration, with a degree in Management in 2004, Klengsen is the Council’s ninth Progress Party Representative and will serve a four-year term.

Although this is her first elected post, she has been active in public service. She was appointed Leader of the Sandes 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 training at Silliman University (SU) 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.

“SU molded me to believe in me. Sometimes I think if I could have reached what I have achieved so far had I been enrolled in a different institution,” 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.