Party politics In 2007, Asheim was elected to
Bærum municipal council. He was leader of the
Norwegian Young Conservatives, the youth wing of the Conservative Party from 2008 to 2012. He had previously been deputy leader between 2007 and 2008. He was elected the leader of the Bærum Conservatives on 29 November 2021, defeating the incumbent Siw Wikan with 91 votes. He didn't seek re-election in 2023 and was succeeded by Haakon Christopher Sandven on 28 November. Following
Jan Tore Sanner's announcement that he would step down as deputy leader, Asheim was among the favourites to succeed him, alongside
Nikolai Astrup and
Ine Eriksen Søreide. The latter later announced she wouldn't be seeking the deputy leadership, and Asheim was subsequently designated as first deputy leader on 17 February 2022. He was formally elected at the party conference on 3 April 2022. He announced his candidacy for the leadership of the party a month after
Erna Solberg announced her resignation following the
2025 election. He did however say he would withdraw his candidacy should front runner
Ine Eriksen Søreide also seek the leadership, which he ultimately did upon her candidacy announcement on 6 November. The party's election committee designated him to continue in his role as first deputy leader on 11 December, with Søreide as leader and
Ola Svenneby as second deputy leader. The trio were formally elected at the party's extrodinary convention on 14 February 2026.
Parliament In the
2013 general election, he was elected to the
Storting for
Akershus. In the Storting, he was a member of the Standing Committee on Education, Research and Church Affairs. He was reelected in
2017 and
2021. After
Nikolai Astrup was appointed to the government on 17 January 2018, Asheim succeeded him as the chair of the
Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. He held this position until he himself was appointed to the government on 24 January 2020, and was succeeded by
Mudassar Kapur. Following the Solberg cabinet's defeat in the 2021 election, Asheim became the
Conservative Party's spokesperson for labour and social policy; and Second Deputy Parliamentary Leader. He held the latter post until October 2022, when he was replaced by
Jan Tore Sanner.
Acting minister of education Asheim served as acting
Minister of Education and Research in
Solberg's Cabinet from September to November 2017, during
Torbjørn Røe Isaksen parental leave.
Minister of Higher Education Asheim was appointed minister of higher education on 24 January 2020 after the Progres Party withdrew from government. After exams where cancelled for the school term 2020-21, Asheim proposed alternatives to still have it, notably oral exams via
Skype or home exams for written ones. On 5 November, Asheim briefed rectors and leaders of universities and colleges of new
COVID-19 measures in higher education. One of those measures included more proposed use of digital lessons. He expressed that the sector seemed to take pandemic seriously and did their best to limit the spread of the virus in society. In March 2021, Asheim proposed an amendment to the University and College Act in the wake of several reports of unfair treatment of students from staff members. He also announced that the government's first action would be to clarify the regulations for universities and colleges, before looking at what could be improved. Asheim added that a hearing for an amendment would quickly scheduled. When a recording of a Polish professor was leaked, where he said that the
Medical University of Gdańsk could benefit from falsely reporting failing students, Asheim called Polish authorities to clear up in the matter after Norwegian students reported the incident. The professor was eventually fired at the end of the month (March 2021), and Asheim praised the university for taking swift action. After calls from students who expressed that exams should be improved or abolished, Asheim came out against the latter in June. He didn't clarify what the government would do to improve exams, but expressed that there should be variation in exams. He also expressed hope for staff and students to find common ground to improve exams together. Following the cabinet's defeat at the
2021 election, he was succeeded by
Ola Borten Moe on 14 October. ==Personal life==