William Nygaard

William Nygaard

Infobox Person
name = William Nygaard
birth_date = Birth date and age|1943|3|16|mf=y
education = Degree in economics
occupation = Chief publisher (CEO) of Aschehoug publishing house
nationality = Norwegian

William Nygaard (born March 16, 1943) is a Norwegian publisher who graduated with a degree in economics in 1967. He has two children. [ [http://www.norgesdokumentasjon.no/intervjuer.php?mode=vis&id=65 A page about a video interview with Nygaard (in Norwegian)] ]

Business career

Since 1974 he has been the chief publisher (CEO) of Aschehoug publishing house, following the footsteps of his father Mads Wiel Nygaard and grandfather William Martin Nygaard who was leading the company in earlier years. [ [http://www.aschehoug.no/om/Historie/article.jhtml?articleID=12756 The history of Aschehoug publishing house (in Norwegian)] ] William Nygaard was chairman of the Norwegian Publishers Association ("Den norske Forleggerforening" in Norwegian) from 1987 to 1990. [ [http://www.aftenposten.no/kul_und/article1012507.ece Newspaper article from Aftenposten (in Norwegian)] ]

Assassination attempt

On April 12, 1989 Aschehoug and William Nygaard was responsible for publishing the Norwegian edition of Salman Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses". [ [http://www2.tv2.no/riketstilstand/n2i.vis?par=12338 A timeline of the events of the Satanic Verses controversy (in Norwegian)] ] This was two months after Ayatollah Khomeini issued the following fatwa against Salman Rushdie and his publishers:

:"I inform all zealous Muslims of the world that the author of the book entitled The Satanic Verses — which has been compiled, printed and published in opposition to Islam, the Prophet, and the Qur'an — and all those involved in its publication who were aware of its content, are sentenced to death. I call on all zealous Muslims to execute them quickly, wherever they may be found, so that no one else will dare to insult the Muslim sanctities. God Willing, whoever is killed on this path is a martyr." [ [http://www.wsu.edu:8001/~brians/anglophone/satanic_verses/intro.html Notes for Salman Rushdie: The Satanic Verses, including the text of the fatwa] ]

Owing to the fatwa, direct threats against William Nygaard and translator Kari Risvik, and the resulting controversy, Nygaard was given police protection for a period.

Nevertheless, on the morning of October 11, 1993 he was shot three times and left for dead outside his home in Dagaliveien in
Oslo. [ [http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article645031.ece Interview with Helga Waagaard who was first to find Nygaard and call for an ambulance (in Norwegian)] ] Although the crime has never been solved, most people — including Nygaard [http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article645030.ece Interview with William Nygaard 10 years after the assassination attempt (in Norwegian)] ] — link the incident to the fatwa. After several months of hospitalization, most of the time at Sunnaas hospital, Nygaard slowly recovered.

Other positions

Both before and after the attack, William Nygaard has been an outspoken defender of free speech, and is a board member of the Norwegian PEN, the Norwegian division of International PEN. [ [http://www.norskpen.no/php/index.php?task=view&id=14&Itemid=28 Listing of the board of the Norwegian PEN] ]

As of 2008, he is a member of the board of Norway's National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. [ [http://www.nasjonalmuseet.no/index.php/content/view/full/231 Listing of the board of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design] ]

Notes


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • William Nygaard — (Oktober 2009) William Nygaard (* 16. März 1943 in Oslo) ist ein norwegischer Herausgeber. Nygaard hat im Jahr 1967 einen Abschluss in Wirtschaftswissenschaften absolviert und war von 1974 bis zum 31. März 2010 Hauptherausgeber bzw.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Martin Nygaard — (6 February 1865 ndash; 1952) was a Norwegian publisher and politician. Nygaard was born in Kristiansand as the son of school principal Marius Nygaard (1838 1912) and his wife Elisabeth Elise Martin (1842 1923) [http://www.nsd.uib.no/polsys/index …   Wikipedia

  • Nygaard — Nygaard, Nygård or Nygard are surnames of Norwegian and Danish (and Swedish) origin and meaning New homestead . May refer to: People Camilla Martin Nygaard, Danish badminton player Damien Nygaard, Australian football player Eldon Nygaard,… …   Wikipedia

  • Nygaard — ist der Name folgender Personen: Hannes Nygaard (* 1949), deutscher Unternehmensberater und Schriftsteller Hjalmar Carl Nygaard (1906–1963), US amerikanischer Politiker Kristen Nygaard (1926–2002), norwegischer Mathematiker und ein Pionier auf… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William — ist normannischen Ursprungs und die englische Form des männlichen Vornamens Wilhelm. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 William als Vorname 1.1 Namensträger 1.2 Künstlername 1.3 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Lemke — William Frederick Lemke (* 13. August 1878 in Albany, Stearns County, Minnesota; † 30. Mai 1950 in Fargo, North Dakota) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker. Er vertrat den Bundesstaat North Dakota im US Repräsentantenhaus und war der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Clarke (cycliste) — William Clarke William Clarke lors …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Marius Nygaard (academic) — Marius Nygaard (1902) by Eyolf Soot Marius Nygaard (13 September 1838 – 7 February 1912) was a Norwegian educator and linguist. Personal life He was born in Bergen as a son of shipmaster and merchant Mads Christensen Nygaard (1793–1875) and Maren …   Wikipedia

  • Marius Nygaard (judge) — Marius Nygaard (1 June 1902 – 1978) was a Norwegian judge. He enrolled as a student in 1920 and graduated with the cand.jur. degree in 1924. He worked as a deputy judge from 1925 to 1927, as a secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and… …   Wikipedia

  • Marius Nygaard — (* 13. September 1838 in Bergen; † 7. Februar 1912 in Christiania) war ein norwegischer Lehrer und Sprachforscher. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Jugend und Laufbahn 2 Der Sprachreformer 3 Ehrungen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”