André Oktay Dahl (born 7 July 1975, in

Lørenskog is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. A suburb of Oslo, it is part of the Oslo urban area and the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrati ...

) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

law graduate who was a politician representing the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. He served as a representative of

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

in the ''

Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

'' and was first elected in 2005. He was a reserve candidate in the two previous periods, and took

Jan Petersen Jan Petersen (born 11 June 1946, in Oslo) is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. Petersen was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Akershus in 1981, and was re-elected on six occasions. He had previously served as a deputy re ...

's seat while Petersen was a cabinet minister from 2001-2005. He was also elected to the regional Parliament of Akershus between 1999-2006, where he amongst others led the standing Committee on Scrutiny. Dahl has also led the Akershus Conservatives, his party's biggest regional party, between 2008-2012. During his time in parliament he focused on fighting homophobia, fighting for female rights, anti-corruption and fighting against child abuse. In January 2008 he made accusations that were considered harsh against controversial Norwegian defense attorney

Tor Erling Staff Tor Erling Staff (22 February 1933 – 22 July 2018) was a Norwegian criminal defense lawyer. He was particularly known for taking controversial cases. Staff was born in Oslo. As a student he chaired the Norwegian Students' Society in Oslo in t ...

who was then defense attorney for the suspected Pocket Man, a Norwegian pedophile predator. Attorney Staff had asserted that the bulk of the cases with which his client was charged amount to mere "peanuts". Dahl's position was that by downplaying the severity of the abuse, Staff in fact victimized the victims again. Dahl is a former victim of

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

, and he is also openly gay. He was rewarded for both his work for gay rights as well as his openness about his own experiences of child sexual abuse. He was member of the board of several organizations working against homophobia and violence towards men as well as women. Dahl served as his party's central spokesperson in judicial matters and was central in the discussions after the terrorist attacks in Norway after the 22nd of July in 2011. Occasionally he tried to get his party to discuss whether Norwegian anti-drug policy "worked" and if criminalization works. He is now a member of the think tank "Foenix" which works to get better help for people addicted to drugs. After leaving the Norwegian Parliament, Dahl took the position as account director in Norway's biggest consultancy firm, Gambit Hill + Knowlton. He is still partly active in public debates, especially considering the core issues he engaged in when being an elected MP; child abuse, human rights and LHBT- issues. In 2015 he withdrew his membership of the Conservative Party to become politically independent."Høyre-topp melder seg ut etter 12 år på Stortinget: – Har aldri passet inn"
''VG''. 17.01.2015. In an interview given to the weekend magazine "Dagbladet Magasinet" in March 2015 he stated the reason he left politics was that he wasn't sure any more about central political solutions by any political party and did not want to engage any more in party politics. He said he had been approached by several different parties, but wants to stay independent until he knows more about where he stands politically. He also stated that there were "no personal conflicts or dissatisfaction of not being given a position within the new Government" that made him withdraw. If he wanted a position he would "have asked for renomination", he added in the same interview. Dahl is also known to be a former highly skillful clarinet player and planned to be a professional musician. Amongst others he served as solo clarinet player in his Majesty's Kings Guards band when he served in the Norwegian Army.

Storting committees

* 2009–2013 deputy leader of the standing Committee of Justice * 2005–2009 member of the standing Committee of Justice * 2001–2005 member of the standing Committee of Scrutiny and Constitutional affairs.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dahl, Andre Oktay 1975 births Living people Norwegian people of Turkish descent Members of the Storting Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Gay politicians People from Rælingen LGBT politicians from Norway 21st-century Norwegian politicians LGBT legislators People from Lørenskog 21st-century LGBT people LGBT conservatism