46 year old Ragnhild Vassvik Kalstad September 7 was appointed State Secretary for Sami affairs.

Ragnhild Vassvik Kalstad is from Gamvik, but has spent the last 20 years in Karasjok.

She comes from a position as Head of the Centre for Sami Health Research at the University of Tromsø.

Ragnhild Vassvik Kalstad is the first non-Sami speakers in this same position.

She has come to the position Raimo Valle, who is from Nesseby in Finnmark, had held for five years.

Ragnhild Vassvik Kalstad was born in 1966. She grew up in Gamvik municipality in eastern Finnmark, but has lived for decades in Karasjok in Inner Finnmark. Vassvik Kalstad has served several years in the council and the presidency in Karasjok. She has worked primarily with the same policies locally and within the party. She believes she has the experience and knowledge of the Sami needed in state secretary position, she has previously said.

- I've lived most of my adult life in Karasjok, and as such I know the Sami community pretty well, and I know it the also well from a coastal Sami affiliation in that I grew up in Gamvik.

Although Vassvik Kalstad has lived in Karasjok his entire adult life she did not speak Sami. She understands a lot and are determined to learn the language better.

- When you will be working with the same policies as it would certainly be best to Sami, so it's something that I need to work on and get better at.

She adds that she understands some Sami, but that she is not comfortable talking Sami - at least not publicly.