Ansgar Gabrielsen (born 21 May 1955 in Mandal) is a Norwegian consultant and former politician for 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 ...

Early life and local politics

He was born in Mandal as a son of Terje Gabrielsen and Astrid Olsen. He is an insurance agent by education and worked in this profession before entering politics. He is also a trained officer in the

Norwegian Defence Force The Norwegian Armed Forces ( no, Forsvaret, , The Defence) is the military organization responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal ...

. He was a member of

Lindesnes Lindesnes ( en, the Naze) is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Mandal. Other villages in Lindesnes include Åvik, Hølle ...

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

from 1983 to 1993, the last six years as mayor. His father Terje Gabrielsen has also been mayor of Lindesnes, from 1975 to 1979. Ansgar Gabrielsen also chaired his county party chapter from 1989 to 1990, and was a member of the Conservative Party central board during the same period.

National politics

He was elected to the Parliament of Norway from

Vest-Agder Vest-Agder (; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (''fylker'') in Norway up until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total population of Norway. I ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, and was re-elected on the two following occasions in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

and 2001. In 2001 Gabrielsen was appointed

Minister of Trade and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

as a part of

Bondevik's Second Cabinet Bondevik's Second Cabinet governed Norway between 19 October 2001 and 17 October 2005. It was led by Kjell Magne Bondevik and consisted of the Conservative Party, the Christian Democratic Party and the Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of ...

. Following the cabinet reshuffle in 2004 he became Minister of Health and Care Services. While Gabrielsen was a cabinet member his seat in parliament was taken by

Peter Skovholt Gitmark Peter Skovholt Gitmark (born 15 April 1977, in Kristiansand) is a Norwegian politician representing the Conservative Party. He is currently a representative of Vest-Agder in the Storting, first elected in 2005. He was elected a reserve candidate ...

. Bondevik's Second Cabinet fell following the 2005 election. While Minister of Trade and Industry, Gabrielsen was first criticized for his suggestion about a law that requires 40% of the board members in Norwegian companies to be female. The law was passed with the blessing of the socialist parties, but his own party opposed it.

Post-political career

Gabrielsen moved from Lindesnes when being elected in 1993, and resided at Østerås. He also kept his residential address in

Spangereid Spangereid is a former municipality that was located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1889 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality was located in the southwestern part of the present-day municipali ...

, his constituent district. Towards the end of his cabinet tenure, he was reported as residing in a yacht at

Aker Brygge Aker Brygge is a neighbourhood in central Oslo, Norway. Since the 1980s and 1990s it has been a popular area for shopping, dining, and entertainment, as well as a high-end residential area. It was previously an industrial area. Location Aker B ...

in Oslo. In 2007 he stood for municipal re-election in Lindesnes, and won a seat. However, as it surfaced that he had recently bought an apartment in Oslo, he had to relinquish the seat. Gabrielsen started his own consultant company in 2006. In 2007 he became chairman of the Special Olympics and the Norwegian Council for Mental Health. In 2007, Tor Øystein Vaaland, former leader of the Norwegian Council for Mental Health, published the book ''Brev til en minister'' (Letters to a Minister) based on private letters Gabrielsen received while he served as Minister of Health, with a focus on letters from people with psychiatric problems or drug addiction. The book was published in 205,000 copies and distributed to Norwegian healthcare workers. Gabrielsen was decorated as a Commander of the Order of St. Olav in 2005. Gabrielsen is married and has four children. In 2014 was elected as chairman of the board at CSAM Health.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabrielsen, Ansgar 1955 births Living people People from Mandal, Norway People from Lindesnes Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Mayors of places in Vest-Agder Members of the Storting Ministers of Health and Care Services of Norway 21st-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians Ministers of Trade and Shipping of Norway