Ole Johan Bjørnøy worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway for more than 25 years, holding numerous senior roles with a focus on Eurasia and Southeast Europe. This included serving as long-standing Norwegian Ambassador to Central Asia, covering Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. He also served as Chargé d’affairs to Albania and North Macedonia (then FYROM), and other roles in Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia and Denmark, as well as senior advisor at the Foreign Ministry in Oslo. Ole retired from the Norwegian MFA in 2020.