Geir Jørgen Bekkevold (born 19 November 1963) is a Norwegian priest and politician for the Christian Democratic Party. He was born in

Horten is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the town of Åsgårdstrand an ...

as the son of laborer Jan Egil Bekkevold and housewife Evy Bekkevold. He finished his secondary education in Horten in 1982, and attended the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

from 1983 to 1991. Here, he received the

cand.theol. Candidatus theologiæ (male), Candidata theologiæ (female), abbreviated cand. theol. is an academic degree with a long tradition, awarded after a six-year higher education in theology in Iceland, Denmark, and Norway. In Norway, the title has re ...

degree underwent the practical-theological seminary. He worked as a field priest during his

compulsory military service Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

from 1991 to 1992, and then became curate in Gjerpen. In 2005 he was promoted to vicar in Borgestad in Skien. Bekkevold became involved in politics as a member of Skien city council from 1999 to 2009, the last two years in the executive committee. From 2003 to 2007, he was also a member of

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

. He chaired the local chapter from his party from 2007 to 2008, and the regional chapter in Telemark from 2008. He was elected to the

Parliament of Norway 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 ...

from

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. He became a member of the

Standing Committee on Local Government and Public Administration The Standing Committee on Local Government and Public Administration ( no, Kommunal- og forvaltningskomiteen) is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating to local government, regional and rural policy ...

, Like his entire party group, he also joined ''

Israels Venner på Stortinget Friends of Israel in the Parliament of Norway ( no, Israels Venner på Stortinget) is a pro-Israel caucus group consisting of members of the Parliament of Norway. History In 1974 the group constituted a majority in the Parliament of Norway for the ...

''. Bekkevold has also been active in

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

locally. He was a board member of

Teater Ibsen Teater Ibsen (from 1975 to 1991 Telemark Teater) is a theatre in Skien in Vestfold og Telemark, Norway. The theatre was established in 1975 as Telemark Teater, and changed its name to Teater Ibsen in 1991. The theatre serves as regional theatre fo ...

from 2004 to 2008, and the county library from 2007. In 2020, Bekkevold became chair for UWC Red Cross Nordic board in Fjaler, Norway.

References

1963 births Living people Members of the Storting Politicians from Telemark Christian Democratic Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian priest-politicians University of Oslo alumni People from Horten Politicians from Skien 21st-century Norwegian politicians {{Norway-politician-1940s-stub