Jens Juell Wisløff (9 May 1921 – 4 August 1998) was a Norwegian businessman in the

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

industry and a politician for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

Political career

He was born in

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neigh ...

, and resided at

Nesbru Nesbru is a village in Akershus, 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. T ...

in his later life. He was a member of the executive committee of

Asker Asker ( no, Asker), properly called Askerbygda in Norwegian, is a district and former Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus, Norway. From 2020 it is part of the larger administrative municipality Asker, Viken (also known as Greate ...

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 1968 to 1975, and chaired the municipal party chapter from 1971 to 1973. Ahead of the 1979 election he tried to be nominated as the Conservative Party mayor candidate, but lost out to

Eyvind W. Wang Eyvind W. Wang (born 8 December 1942) is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. Wang is from Blommenholm in Bærum and started his career as a car mechanic. He became a workshop manager at Skotvedt and later served on its board of dire ...

. He served as a deputy representative to the

Norwegian Parliament 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 base ...

from

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

during the term 1969–1973.

Professional career

Wisløff completed his education at the

Norwegian Institute of Technology The Norwegian Institute of Technology (Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was m ...

in 1944, and was the CEO of the company Sigurd Hesselberg from 1945 to 1973. From 1973 to 1984 he worked as the chair of

Veidekke Veidekke () is the largest Norwegian construction and civil engineering company and the fourth largest in Scandinavia. Veidekke's business involves a network of Scandinavia construction and engineering operations, rehabilitation work, major heavy ...

. He was also the chair of Vestfjorden Avløpsselskap for fifteen years. The company Sigurd Hesselberg was later incorporated into Veidekke in 1989. Wisløff chaired the publicity body Opplysningsrådet for Veitrafikken from 1976 to 1989, and the

employers' association An employers' organization or employers' association is a collective organization of manufacturers, retailers, or other employers of wage labor. Employers' organizations seek to coordinate the behavior of their member companies in matters of mutual ...

s Asfaltentreprenørenes Forening and the European Asphalt Pavement Association. He helped found both these organizations. From 1980 to 1990 he was the deputy chairman of the Norwegian branch of the Nordic Road Association. He received an honorary prize from this organization in 1993, and became an honorary member in 1994. In an obituary he was called "the grand old man of asphalt". In late 1986, around the time when the

Oslo Package 1 Oslo Package 1 ( no, Oslopakke 1) was a political agreement and plan for introducing an urban toll ring around Oslo, Norway and making 31 investments to road infrastructure in Oslo and Akershus. The package was approved in 1988 and toll charges we ...

was planned, Wisløff surprised many by supporting an increase of the

duties A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may ...

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...

. The reason was to avoid

toll plaza A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

s in

Greater Oslo Greater Oslo Region ("Stor-Oslo-regionen" in Norwegian language, Norwegian) is a statistical metropolitan region surrounding the Norway, Norwegian capital of Oslo. The region includes the city of Oslo (population: 658,390), the entire county of Ake ...

in general, specifically those planned by

Fjellinjen Fjellinjen AS is a toll company owned by the City of Oslo (60%) and Viken County Municipality (40%). It is responsible for the collection from the toll ring around Oslo, with a total of nineteen toll plazas. All toll roads in Norway have a toll r ...

. Toll plazas would create congestion, and their administration would be too costly, Wisløff feared. Gasoline duty was a hot issue in Norwegian politics at the time, as the second cabinet of

Kåre Willoch Kåre Isaachsen Willoch (; 3 October 1928 – 6 December 2021) was a Norwegian politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Norway from 1981 to 1986 and as leader of the Conservative Party from 1970 to 1974. He previously served as the M ...

—a fellow Conservative politician—had fallen on a

vote of confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

, as the

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

and Progress Party opposed the cabinet's proposed increase of such duties. Wisløff's suggestion came as a response to the new Minister of Transport, Labour's

Kjell Borgen Kjell Borgen (21 October 1939 – 22 August 1996) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He served as Minister of Transport and Communications from 1986 to 1988, Minister of Local Government from 1988 to 1989 and again from 1990 to 19 ...

, who recently—shortly after assuming office—had suggested a small increase. A devout Christian, Wisløff was a member of the Diocese Council of Oslo in the 1960s, and chaired the YMCA Scouts of Norway from 1958 to 1962. He was also the chair of Asker Museum for twelve years. During his period, Labråten, the home of

Arne Arne may refer to: Places * Arne, Dorset, England, a village ** Arne RSPB reserve, a nature reserve adjacent to the village * Arné, Hautes-Pyrénées, Midi-Pyrénées, France * Arne (Boeotia), an ancient city in Boeotia, Greece * Arne (Thessa ...

and

Hulda Garborg Hulda Garborg (née Bergersen, 22 February 1862 – 5 November 1934) was a Norwegian writer, novelist, playwright, poet, folk dancer, and theatre instructor. She was married to Arne Garborg, and is today perhaps best known for kindling interest ...

, was incorporated into the museum. Preserving it was a "task ... for the entire Norwegian people", he proclaimed. He received the Cultural Award of Asker municipality in 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wisloeff, Jens Deputy members of the Storting Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Asker politicians People from Sarpsborg 20th-century Norwegian businesspeople Norwegian Institute of Technology alumni Norwegian Lutherans 1921 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Lutherans