Foss, who married his male partner earlier this month, was installed as Norway's acting prime minister because both the prime minister and foreign minister were traveling abroad.

"I think that this, perhaps, can have a small impact on the discussion (of gay rights) also in other countries," Foss told Reuters.

Foss, 52, made headlines around the world when he married longtime partner Jan Erik Knarbakk, a director of Norwegian media group Schibsted ASA.

Norway became the second country after Denmark to legalize same-sex marriages in 1993. Registered gay and lesbian partnerships have the same rights as heterosexual married couples, except adoption and church weddings.