Norwegian ambassador resigns as she faces scrutiny over contacts with Epstein

OSLO, Norway — A Norwegian ambassador who was involved in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts in the 1990s and most recently served in Jordan has resigned as she faces scrutiny over her contacts with Jeffrey Epstein, the country's Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry announced Mona Juul's resignation on Sunday evening, days after she was suspended as Norway's ambassador to Jordan. That followed reports that Epstein left the children of Juul and her husband, Terje Rød-Larsen, $10 million in a will drawn up shortly before his death by suicide in a New York prison in 2019.

Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said Juul's decision was ''correct and necessary.'' Her contact with the convicted sex offender showed a ''serious lapse in judgment,'' he said, adding that ''the case makes it difficult to restore the trust that the role requires.''

A ministry investigation into Juul's knowledge of and contact with Epstein will continue, and Juul will continue discussions with the ministry ''so that the matter can be clarified,'' Eide said.

The ministry said it also launched a review of its funding of and contact with the International Peace Institute, a New York-based think tank, during the period when it was headed by Rød-Larsen. Eide said Rød-Larsen also had shown poor judgment regarding Epstein.

Revelations from the Epstein files have reverberated across several countries — most prominently the U.K., where the former Prince Andrew has long been under pressure. Prime Minister Keir Starmer now faces calls to resign as he contends with fallout from the relationship between Epstein and former British ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson. Starmer appointed Mandelson in 2024 despite knowing he had ties to Epstein.

Rød-Larsen and Juul were among those involved in facilitating the landmark Oslo Accords aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the 1990s.

It said in a statement that Juul is suspected of gross corruption based on her position at the Foreign Ministry, and Rød-Larsen of aiding and abetting gross corruption. Investigators will look among other things into whether Juul received benefits in connection with her position. On Monday, they searched an apartment in Oslo's Frogner district and the home of a witness.

Juul acknowledged in a statement to Norwegian news agency NTB last week that it had been ''imprecise'' to describe her contact with Epstein as minimal, but said that the contact originated in her husband's relationship with Epstein and she had no independent social or professional relationship with him.

She wrote that her contact with Epstein had been sporadic and private, not part of her official duties, but acknowledged that she should have been much more careful.

The latest batch of Epstein files has cast an unflattering spotlight on other prominent figures in Norway. Crown Princess Mette-Marit on Friday issued an apology ''to all of you whom I have disappointed" after documents offered more details of her relationship with Epstein.