Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken is a Norwegian politician who served as the leader of the Norwegian Socialist Left Party from 2012 to 2023. His career in national politics began when he was elected to the Norwegian parliament in 2001. In 2006, he became deputy leader of the Socialist Left Party. He held the post as Minister of Children and Equality in Jens Stoltenberg's second government from October 2009 to March 2012, when he resigned due to a conflict of interest. Under his leadership, the Socialist Left Party had strong gains in its vote share in Parliamentary elections and membership.

Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 11 September 2017 to elect all 169 members of the unicameral Norwegian Parliament, the Storting. The non-socialist parties retained a reduced majority of 88 seats, allowing Prime Minister Erna Solberg's Conservative-Progress coalition to remain in government. The Liberal Party joined the coalition in January 2018 but it remained a minority cabinet until the Christian Democratic Party joined the coalition in 2019. The three largest centre-left parties won 79 seats. The Green Party retained its single seat, while the Red Party won its first ever seat.