The Preses of the Church of Norway is a titular bishop who leads the Bishops' Conference of the church as one who is primus inter pares. The name comes from the Latin word Praeses which means "placed before" or "at the head". In 2011, the office of Preses was changed by law to be a 12th permanent bishopric within the Church of Norway. Prior to 2011, it was an elected position from within the 11 diocesan bishops that made up the Bishops' Conference of the Church of Norway.

Olav Skjevesland was a Norwegian theologian and priest. He was the Bishop of the Diocese of Agder og Telemark from 1998 until his retirement in 2012, and since that time he was a Bishop Emeritus. He was also the Preses and thus presided over the Bishops' Conference of the Church of Norway from 2006 until 2010. During his time as a bishop, he was considered to be theologically conservative and he was opposed to letting gay priests serve in the church.