Kåre Willoch

Kåre Willoch's career in politics started when he became a member of the Oslo City Council from 1952 to 1959. In 1958, at the age of 30 he became a member of the Norwegian Parliament, a seat he held for over 30 years. At the age of 35 he became Minister of Trade in John Lyng's government that lasted only from August to September of 1963. From 1965 he was again appointed to the same post as Minister in the Per Borten government. He held his post until 1970 when he stepped down to take over as the Conservative Party's parliamentary leader. From 1970 to 1974 he was also the party's chairman. During his stay as Trade Minister in the Borten government he took a part in deciding whether they would support then Crown Prince Harald who wanted to marry a commoner, Sonja Haraldsen. Willoch in later years revealed he thought Ms Haraldsen was a wonderful woman, and would never stand in the way of her and the Crown Prince's love (Ms Haraldsen married Harald in 1968 and since 1991 she has been Queen Sonja of Norway). After the Conservative election victory in 1981 Willoch put together a cabinet and became Prime Minister of Norway. He held the position until the government resigned in 1986, after disagreements with Parliament over their financial politics. From 1986 Willoch was leader of Parliament's Foreign Committee until he retired from Parliament in 1989. From 1989 he was county chairman (fylkesmann) of the county of Oslo and Akershus, until he retired from that post in the late 1990s. Willoch has since been active in political and social debates, among others well known for his support of a free Palestinian state. He has won new admirers even in the left-wing circle after seeming to grow more liberal with age. He has authored several important books (since debuting as an author as early as 1956), and is considered one of the great statesmen in modern Norway.