Thorbjørn Jagland

Infobox_Prime Minister
name=Thorbjørn Jagland
order=Prime Minister of Norway


caption=Photo: Harry Wad
term_start =25 October 1996
term_end =17 October 1997
predecessor =Gro Harlem Brundtland
successor =Kjell Magne Bondevik
birth_date =Birth date and age|1950|11|5|df=y
birth_place =Drammen
party=LabourAudio|Thorbjorn Jagland.ogg|Thorbjørn Jagland (born 5 November 1950) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was Prime Minister of Norway from 1996 to 1997 leading the cabinet Jagland, and then Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2000 to 2001 in the first cabinet Stoltenberg. He was leader of the Norwegian Labour Party from 1992 to 2002, and was succeeded by Jens Stoltenberg. Thorbjørn Jagland currently serves as President of the Storting from October 2005.

Career

Born in Drammen, He was the leader of the Workers' Youth League, the youth wing of the Labour Party, from 1977 to 1981. He had previously chaired the local chapter of this organization from 1973 to 1976. From 1975 to 1983 he was a member of Buskerud county council.

Jagland became acting party secretary of the Labour Party in 1986, and then formally appointed in 1987. In 1986 he also became chairman of the Labour Party international committee. He held these two positions until 1992, when he left to become party leader, succeeding Gro Harlem Brundtland. Jagland was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Buskerud in 1993, and has been re-elected on three occasions.

In 1996 the third cabinet Brundtland resigned, prompting the party leader Jagland to form a new cabinet. The tenure of cabinet Jagland, albeit short, was marked by controversies. Minister of Planning Terje Rød Larsen was forced to resign after 35 days, [cite news |first=Berit |last=Almendingen |title=Skandale-statsrådene |url=http://www.nettavisen.no/innenriks/politikk/article1607714.ece |work=Nettavisen |date=16 February 2008 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2008-03-31 ] Jagland and Rød Larsen's successor Bendik Rugaas were widely ridiculed for their visions about "det norske hus" ("The Norwegian House") [cite news |first=Halvor |last=Hegtun |title=Han kom igjen, ja, han er her allerede |url=http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/politikk/article790457.ece |work=Aftenposten |date=9 May 2004 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2008-03-31 ] and Minister of Energy Grete Faremo resigned over the secret police investigation of Berge Furre which happened during her stint as Minister of Justice. [ [http://www.stortinget.no/stid/1996/s961216-20.html Stortinget, Møte mandag den 16. desember kl. 10 1996. Sak nr. 1: Redegjørelse av statsministeren i tilknytning til meldingen av 5. desember 1996 fra Stortingets kontrollutvalg for etterretnings-, overvåknings- og sikkerhetstjenesten.] Stortinget.no no icon] Ahead of the 1997 parliamentary election, Jagland stated that the cabinet would resign should the party receive less than 36.9% of the popular vote. [cite news |first=Herbjørn |last=Sørebø |authorlink=Herbjørn Sørebø |title=Ikkje noko mediemord |url=http://www.dagogtid.no/arkiv/2000/07/herb.html |work=Dag og Tid |date=17 February 2000 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2008-03-31 36.9% was the percentage of votes won by Labour Party in the previous election in 1993.] Labour only received 35.0%, and gave way to the first cabinet Bondevik. Jagland continued as parliament member. During his tenure as Prime Minister his seat in parliament had been occupied by Vidar Brynsplass.

In 2000 the first cabinet Bondevik fell following a motion of confidence. A new Labour cabinet was formed. It was not headed by the party leader Jagland, but rather by deputy leader Jens Stoltenberg. Instead, Jagland was Minister of Foreign Affairs. Again, Jagland made national headlines similar to the publicity about "The Norwegian House" and "36.9%", this time for the phrase "Bongo from Congo", originally coined as an internal joke in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the expense of the dignity of the President of Gabon, Omar Bongo. [cite news |first= |last= |title=Jagland omtalte president som Bongo fra Kongo |url=http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/artikkel.php?artid=1159979 |work=Verdens Gang |date=6 February 2001 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2008-03-31 ] Jagland lost the position as Foreign Minister as the Labour cabinet again held office for only one year, succeeded by the second cabinet Bondevik following the Norwegian parliamentary election, 2001. While appointed to the cabinet, his seat in parliament had been occupied by Frank Willy Larsen.

Jagland was replaced as party leader by Jens Stoltenberg the following year. This was not uncontroversial. In 2001 an unnamed source within the party commented that Jagland "most likely" would remain leader up until 2004. [cite news |first=Kirsten |last=Karlsen |title=Deler makta til 2004 |url=http://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/2001/03/25/249285.html |work=Dagbladet |date=25 March 2001 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2008-03-31 ] However, before any voting took place Jagland relinquished the post. cite news |first=Håvard |last=Narum |title=Ville kjempet mot Jagland |url=http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/politikk/article306584.ece |work=Aftenposten |date=6 April 2002 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2008-03-31 ] He had recently been hospitalized due to general health problems, [cite news |first= |last= |title=Ingen tegn til sykdom |url=http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/nrk_buskerud/1571234.html |work=NRK |date=15 January 2002 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2008-03-31 ] and had moreover felt "responsibility to end this destructive personal strife".b]

In 2005 Jagland was elected to the Norwegian Parliament for a fourth term. As the previous President of the Storting Jørgen Kosmo had not stood for parliamentary re-election, Jagland was elected to this position by the members of parliament.

Jagland is known for his strong support of Norwegian membership in the European Union. In 1990 he published the book "Min Europeiske drøm" ("My European Dream"). Since 1999 Jagland is also one of several Vice Presidents of the Socialist International. [ [http://www.socialistinternational.org/viewArticle.cfm?ArticleID=11 PRESIDIUM of the SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL] ] From 2000 to 2006 he chaired the Socialist International Committee on the Middle East, and he has outspokenly opposed the alleged "islamophobia" presence in Western societies. [cite news |first=Thorbjørn |last=Jagland |title=Islamofobi vårt nye spøkelse? |url=http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/debatt/article1275326.ece |work=Aftenposten |date=12 April 2006 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2008-03-31 ] He became chairman of the board of The Oslo Center upon its establishment in 2006.

Personal life

Thorbjørn Jagland is the son of a welder, Helge Th. Jagland, and a cook, Ingrid Bjerknes. He married journalist Hanne Grotjord in 1975. [ [http://www.regjeringen.no/en/The-Government/Previous-governments/The-Structure-of-the-Registry/Ministries-and-Offices/Offices/prime-minister-since-1814/Thorbjorn-Jagland.html?id=463465&epslanguage=EN-GB Thorbjørn Jagland] biography at Government.no] Jagland lives in Lier just outside of his birthtown Drammen, whereas Grotjord bought a house in Risør in 2002 because of her work situation. [cite news |first=Frank |last=Ertesvåg |coauthors=Bård Gultvedt |title=Jaglands nye norske hus |url=http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/artikkel.php?artid=7743426 |work=Verdens Gang |date=23 April 2002 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2008-03-31 ]

References

*stortingetbio|TJ