Gunnar Kvassheim (born 14 June 1953, in

Eigersund Eigersund is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is in the traditional district of Dalane. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Egersund. The town was known for its pottery factory (closed in 1979) and it is amo ...

) is a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...

in 1997, but not re-elected in 2001. During

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 ...

, Kvassheim was appointed state secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister. He was re-elected to a second parliamentary term in 2005, where he became chair of the

Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment The Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment ( no, Energi- og miljøkomiten) is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating to petroleum, energy, hydroelectricity, environmental protection and re ...

. He failed to be re-elected in 2009 because the Liberal Party missed about 3000 votes. After the election results, Kvassheim resigned from national politics. On the local level he was a member of

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 counci ...

from 1975 to 1983. He chairs the local party chapter since 2004, and was the deputy leader of the nationwide party from 1996 to 2001. From 2001 till 2008 he was a member of the Liberal Party central board. Outside politics he has spent his career in newspapers. He was a journalist from 1976 to 1986 and editor-in-chief of '' Dalane Tidende'' from 1986 to 1997. From 2009, he became vice president at

Lyse Energi Lyse (Norwegian for ''(to) light'') is an industrial and multi-utility company based in Jæren and Ryfylke, Norway. The company has a yearly normal production of 9.5 TWh of hydroelectric power, develops and maintains the power grid in 14 municipa ...

References

* 1953 births Living people People from Eigersund Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting Norwegian state secretaries Rogaland politicians Norwegian newspaper editors 21st-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians {{Norway-politician-1950s-stub