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Norwegian politician (1931?2009)
Bjartmar Alv Gjerde
(6 November 1931 ? 28 November 2009) was a
Norwegian
politician for the
Labour Party
. He held several posts as a government minister between 1971 and 1980, and was Norway's first
Minister of Petroleum and Energy
. He was later the
director-general
of the
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation
and director of the government agency
Aetat
.
Early life and career
[
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Hailing from
Larsnes
in
Sande, Møre og Romsdal
, he was a son of
smallholder
Hjalmar Gjerde (1902?1979) and housewife Astrid Øvrelid (1907?1993).
[1]
In his younger days he worked as a
journalist
, first in
Sunnmøre Arbeideravis
from 1948 to 1953 and then as editor-in-chief of
Fritt Slag
from 1953 to 1958.
[2]
His only education beyond primary school was Sørmarka Folk High School in 1950. He also served in the
Independent Norwegian Brigade Group in Germany
. A newspaper article about alcohol drinking among brigade group officers in 1947 cost him fifteen days in
military prison
.
[1]
National politics
[
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]
Gjerde was the chairman of
Workers' Youth League
from 1958 to 1961. From 1961 to 1962 he worked as a secretary for the Labour Party's parliamentary group, and from 1963 he worked as chief secretary in
Arbeidernes Opplysningsforbund
.
[2]
He remained in this position—with interruptions—until 1981, and rejected offers to become both party secretary in 1969 and editor-in-chief of
Arbeiderbladet
in 1975.
[1]
As an elected politician he served as a deputy representative to the
Parliament of Norway
from
Oslo
during the term 1965–1969. He chaired Oslo's city chapter of the Labour Party from 1969 to 1972, and was a member of the central committee of the Labour Party from 1972 to 1981. During
Trygve Bratteli
's
First
and
Second Cabinet
, from 1972 to 1972 and 1973 to 1976, Gjerde was appointed as
Minister of Education and Church Affairs
. In
Nordli's Cabinet
he was given the
Minister of Industry
post, which he held until 11 January 1978 when he left to become the first
Minister of Petroleum and Energy
in Norway. He held the latter position until October 1980,
[2]
when
Arvid Johanson
replaced him.
[3]
His time was marked by several extraordinary incidents, including the
Alta controversy
and the
Alexander Kielland rig disaster
.
[1]
Later career
[
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]
Gjerde was later
director-general
of the
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation
from 1981 to 1989. From 1989 to 1995 he was director of
Aetat
(now a part of the
Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service
). He was a member of the
Arts Council Norway
from 1965 to 1985, and a board member of the
Regional Development Fund
from 1989 to 1992.
[2]
References
[
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]