Arvinn Eikeland Gadgil (born 18 January 1980,
Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
)
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 ...
Socialist Left Party politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n descent. He was the
State Secretary (International Development Affairs) of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs from April 2012
until the
Norwegian general election of September 2013.
His appointment was seen by the world as the first effort by the Norwegian government to reach out to the immigrant population in Norway after the Anders Breivik attack.
Notably, Gadgil's grandfather sat on the inaugural
Board of Directors of
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the ...
, India's flag carrier airline.
[
]
Early life and education
Gadgil's father Arun Kumar Keshavrao Gadgil is a first-generation India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n immigrant of Maharashtrian descent and his mother Inger Eikeland is 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 ...
.[ Gadgil considers himself to be Maharashtrian.
Gadgil completed his ]International Baccalaureate
The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...
from Mahindra United World College of India
UWC Mahindra College (sometimes known as the ''Mahindra United World College of India'', or MUWCI) is a pre-university international boarding school, located west of Pune in Maharashtra, India. The college is a two-year programme with about 250 ...
between 1997 and 1999, where 94 of the 100 students in the school were of different nationalities.[ Subsequently, he attained Examen philosophicum from ]University of Tromsø
The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway (Norwegian: ''Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet''; Northern Sami: ''Romssa universitehta – Norgga árktalaš universitehta'') is a state university in Norway an ...
in the spring of 2000. He enrolled for his BSc in Economics and International Studies course at the University of Warwick
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020â ...
, spending three years from 2000 to 2003. Later, he earned his Masters in Development Studies and Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...
with distinction and first class honours.
Political career
Early activism
Gadgil's early involvement with activism was when Shiv Sena opposed his international school in Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
.[ He was actively involved in protesting to restore electricity and water supply cut by the government to his school.
]
Student involvement
During his time at the University of Warwick
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020â ...
, he was the Coordinator of the One World Week and Chairman of the International Committee. At the London School of Economics and Political Science
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...
, he was the Student representative for the Institute for Development Studies. From 2006 to 2008, he was the Member of United World Colleges National Committee, Norway.
Formal career
From the autumn of 2006 to 2007, he was a Foreign Service Trainee, working in the Afghanistan team of the South Asia section. In the autumn of 2007, he became a Foreign Service Trainee and Personal Assistant to Political Director Kai Eide. From June 2008, he was a Political Advisor in the Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, assisting Erik Solheim
Erik Solheim (born 18 January 1955) is a Norwegian diplomat and former politician. He served in the Norwegian government from 2005 to 2012 as Minister of International Development and Minister of the Environment, and as Under-Secretary-General of ...
. He was retained as a Political Advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until October 2012. Since 2007, he is a prominent member of the International Committee of the Socialist Left Party.
Social contribution
Gadgil has actively contributed to the Norwegian NGO Development Fund Norway, serving as an Information Officer for civilian national service and an Executive Officer for Sri Lanka. He was briefly involved in teaching students with special needs.
Personal life
Gadgil has a registered partner.
References
External links
Arvinn Gadgil profile
at the 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 ...
Government website.
Avrinn E Gadgil
on Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
Arvinn Eikeland Gadgil: Good governance will never be enough
at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit
The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) is an annual conference organized by The Energy and Resources Institute
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) is a research institute in New Delhi that specializes in the fields of energy, e ...
2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gadgil, Arvinn
Norwegian state secretaries
Socialist Left Party (Norway) politicians
University of Tromsø alumni
Alumni of the University of Warwick
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Norwegian people of Indian descent
1980 births
Living people
People educated at a United World College