Arvid Helmer Johanson (3 February 1929 – 6 November 2013) was 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 ...

newspaper editor and politician for the Labour Party. He served five full terms in the Parliament of Norway, was Norway's second Minister of Petroleum and Energy from 1980 to 1981, and outside politics he spent most of his career in the newspaper '' Halden Arbeiderblad''.

Early life and career

He was born in

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish mun ...

as a son of Arvid Martin Johanson (1896–1981) and housewife Karla Niemi (1899–1932). He started his career as a journalist in '' Halden Arbeiderblad'' in 1947, and remained there for a year. In 1949 he worked in ''

Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad ''Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad'' is a local newspaper in Sarpsborg, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northern ...

''. He returned to ''Halden Arbeiderblad'', and remained there for the rest of his career. He underwent studies at the Norwegian Journalist Academy from 1942 to 1953 and at Fircroft College from 1954 to 1955. He was a board member of the county chapter of the Norwegian Press Association from 1954 to 1955.

National politics

Johanson became involved in politics as leader of the local workers' youth organization in 1949. He was elected as a member of Halden

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 1959 to 1963. He chaired the Labour Party branch in Halden from 1956 to 1958 and 1962 to 1963, and the county chapter in Østfold from 1962 to 1974. From 1969 to 1974 he was a member of the central committee of the Labour Party. He served as a member of the Parliament of Norway from

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side ...

during the terms 1958–1961, 1965–1969, 1969–1973, 1973–1977 and 1977–1981, and as a deputy member during the terms 1954–1957 and 1961–1965. From 1964 to 1965 he served as a regular representative, following the death of Henry Jacobsen. Towards the end of his fifth full term in Parliament, Johanson was appointed as Minister of Petroleum and Energy. He was the second to hold this position, replacing Bjartmar Gjerde. Gjerde had asked

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Odvar Nordli Odvar Nordli (3 November 1927 – 9 January 2018) was a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. He was the 28th prime minister of Norway from 1976 to 1981 during the Cold War. Before serving as Prime Minister, Nordli served as the minister ...

that his resignation be allowed because of high pressure in the job, with incidents like the

Alta controversy The Alta conflict or Alta controversy refers to a series of massive protests in Norway in the late 1970s and early 1980s concerning the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the Alta River in Finnmark, Northern Norway. Timeline *Inhabitan ...

and the Alexander Kielland rig disaster. Johanson lost his position when the centre-right

Willoch's First Cabinet Willoch's First Cabinet was a minority, Conservative Government of Norway. It succeeded Brundtland's First Cabinet (which was a Labour government), after the Conservative victory in the 1981 Storting election; and sat from 14 October 1981 to ...

took over 1981. While Johanson was a government minister, his seat in Parliament was taken by Jan Eilert Bjørnstad.

Later career

After leaving national politics, Johanson returned to ''Halden Arbeiderblad''. He was promoted to editor-in-chief in 1982, and served until 1993. He chaired the county chapter of the

Association of Norwegian Editors The Association of Norwegian Editors ( no, Norsk Redaktørforening, NR) is an interest group for editors and middle managers in the various Norwegian media.Østbye, Helge. 2007. The Norwegian Media Landscape. In: Georgios Terzis (ed.), ''European ...

from 1987 to 1990. He also wrote several books, particularly on local history.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johanson, Arvid Helmer 1929 births 2013 deaths Alumni of Fircroft College People from Halden Norwegian newspaper editors Labour Party (Norway) politicians Østfold politicians Members of the Storting Petroleum and energy ministers of Norway 20th-century Norwegian politicians