Bjartmar Alv Gjerde (6 November 1931 – 28 November 2009) 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 ...

politician for the Labour Party. He held several posts as a government minister between 1971 and 1980, and was Norway's first

Minister of Petroleum and Energy The Minister of Petroleum and Energy ( no, Olje- og energiministeren) is a councilor of state and chief of the Norway's Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The current minister is Terje Aasland. The ministry is responsible for the government's ene ...

. He was later the

director-general A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...

of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and director of the government agency Aetat.

Early life and career

Hailing from

Larsnes Larsnes is the administrative centre of the municipality of Sande in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located on the southwest side of the island of Gurskøya, about east of the island of Kvamsøya, southwest of the village of Gursk ...

Sande, Møre og Romsdal Sande is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Larsnes on the island of Gurskøya. Other villages in Sande include Gursken, Sandshamn, Bringsinghaug, ...

, he was a son of

smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...

Hjalmar Gjerde (1902–1979) and housewife Astrid Øvrelid (1907–1993). In his younger days he worked as a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

, first in '' Sunnmøre Arbeideravis'' from 1948 to 1953 and then as editor-in-chief of '' Fritt Slag'' from 1953 to 1958. His only education beyond primary school was Sørmarka Folk High School in 1950. He also served in the

Independent Norwegian Brigade Group in Germany The Independent Norwegian Brigade Group in Germany ( no, Tysklandsbrigaden, 'the Germany Brigade') was a Norwegian expeditionary force stationed in the British zone of Allied-occupied Germany, from 1946 to 1953. At first it was based in the Hanov ...

. A newspaper article about alcohol drinking among brigade group officers in 1947 cost him fifteen days in

military prison A military prison is a prison operated by a military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members ...

National politics

Gjerde was the chairman of Workers' Youth League from 1958 to 1961. From 1961 to 1962 he worked as a secretary for the Labour Party's parliamentary group, and from 1963 he worked as chief secretary in Arbeidernes Opplysningsforbund. He remained in this position—with interruptions—until 1981, and rejected offers to become both party secretary in 1969 and editor-in-chief of ''

Arbeiderbladet ''Dagsavisen'' is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999. It has borne several names, and was called ''Arbeiderbladet'' from 1923 to 1997. ...

'' in 1975. As an elected politician he served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway from

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

during the term 1965–1969. He chaired Oslo's city chapter of the Labour Party from 1969 to 1972, and was a member of the central committee of the Labour Party from 1972 to 1981. During Trygve Bratteli's

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and Second Cabinet, from 1972 to 1972 and 1973 to 1976, Gjerde was appointed as Minister of Education and Church Affairs. In

Nordli's Cabinet Nordli's Cabinet governed 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 ...

he was given the

Minister of Industry The industry minister is a cabinet position in a government. The title may refer to the head of the governmental department that specializes in industry. This position may also be responsible for trade and employment, areas that fall under the mi ...

post, which he held until 11 January 1978 when he left to become the first

in Norway. He held the latter position until October 1980, when

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

replaced him. His time was marked by several extraordinary incidents, including 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.

Later career

Gjerde was later

of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation from 1981 to 1989. From 1989 to 1995 he was director of Aetat (now a part of the

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service The Labour and Welfare Service (Norwegian: ''Arbeids- og velferdsetaten'') is a government agency of Norway. Together with municipal welfare agencies, it makes up the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). The Labour and Welfare Service ...

). He was a member of the

Arts Council Norway The Arts Council Norway ( no, Norsk kulturråd, often shortened to ''Kulturrådet'') is the official arts council for Norway. Based in Oslo, it is a Norwegian state institution created in 1965 as a result of a parliamentary decision in 1964. Art ...

from 1965 to 1985, and a board member of the Regional Development Fund from 1989 to 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gjerde, Bjartmar 1931 births 2009 deaths People from Sande, Møre og Romsdal People from Møre og Romsdal Norwegian expatriates in Germany Labour Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian Army personnel Politicians from Oslo Deputy members of the Storting Government ministers of Norway Petroleum and energy ministers of Norway Directors of government agencies of Norway NRK people Norwegian television executives 20th-century Norwegian journalists Ministers of Education of Norway Ministers of Trade and Shipping of Norway