Ytterhorn was elected to the
Norwegian Parliament from
Hordaland in 1989, but was not re-elected in 1993. She later served in the position of deputy representative during the terms 1993–1997 and 1997–2001. Her husband
Bjørn Erling Ytterhorn was also a member of the Norwegian Parliament. She was a member of the
Norwegian Nobel Committee, the body that awards The
Nobel Peace Prize, for 18 years, from 2000 to 2017.{{cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/themes/the-norwegian-nobel-committee-1901-2017/ ==Awards==