(25 November 1930 – 17 September 1997) was a Norwegian lawyer and politician from 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 ...

. He was the 31st

Prime Minister of Norway The prime minister of Norway ( no, statsminister, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government department ...

from 1989 to 1990. He also served as the minister of Industry from 1983 to 1985. Syse was the president of the Lagting 1993–1997. Syse was the president of the

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomou ...

in 1988 and 1993. He served in the Norwegian parliament for over 25 years until his sudden death from a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

in 1997.

Early life and career

Syse was born in Nøtterøy in the county of

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered ...

. He was the son of Peter Syse (1888–1965) and Magnhild Bjønnes (1898–1985). His father was a local politician and dental surgeon. He earned his

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

in 1949 and his degree in law in 1957. He was politically active as a student, serving as chair of Den Konservative Studenterforening,

Det Norske Studentersamfund Norwegian Students' Society ( no, Det Norske Studentersamfund) is Norway's oldest student society. The Norwegian Students' Society was established during 1813 in Oslo, Norway. Two years after the Royal Frederick University (today named the Uni ...

, and the construction committee for

Chateau Neuf Chateau Neuf is a building in Oslo, Norway that houses the Norwegian Students' Society ''( Det Norske Studentersamfund)'' including cafes, bars, performance centers, and other facilities for student assembly. It is situated at Slemdalsveien 1 ...

. His initial professional experience was as an attorney and manager for the deep sea shipping company Wilh. Wilhelmsen. He worked for Wilhelmsen at various times throughout his career, and was also employed as the editor for Wilhelmsen's newsletter, ''Skib-rederi''. Jan P. Syse met Else Walstad (1936–2021) while they both were students at 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 ...

in 1955, and they were married in 1959. They had the two sons philosopher Henrik Syse and diplomat Christian Syse.

Political career

After being a member of the national council for the Conservative Party since 1957, he started his elected political career in 1963 when he was elected to the

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 of ...

city council, where he served two terms. He was elected into the

Storting 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 ...

as a deputy representative in 1965. He started his term as a full voting member in 1969 to replace Kåre Willoch who was a member of

Borten's Cabinet Borten's Cabinet governed Norway between 12 October 1965 and 17 March 1971. The cabinet was led by Per Borten and consisted of the Conservative Party, the Centre Party, the Liberal Party and the Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian ...

. Syse served on the Judiciary, Administration, Finance, extended Foreign Affairs and Constitution, and Constitutional committees throughout his parliamentary career. He was also sent as a parliamentary delegate to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; french: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other ...

, and other international bodies. Syse was State Secretary to the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Justi ...

from 1 November 1970 to 17 March 1971 in the non-Socialist coalition government led by

Per Borten (3 April 1913 – 20 January 2005) was a Norwegian politician from the Centre Party and the 25th prime minister of Norway from 1965 to 1971. Per Borten is credited for leading the modernization of what was then named Bondepartiet (the Agrarian ...

. He was Minister of Industry in the

second cabinet Willoch Willoch's Second Cabinet was a majority, centre-right government consisting of the Conservative, Centre, Christian Democratic parties. It succeeded the Conservative First cabinet Willoch in mid-term to secure a majority, right-winged government, ...

from 16 September 1983 to 4 October 1985, and

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

with the Syse Cabinet from 16 October 1989 to 3 November 1990.

Political legacy

Syse was well liked and respected among political allies and adversaries alike. He worked for cooperation within the Nordic region and also to strengthen the cooperation with the

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone ...

, although he opposed their wish to join the Nordic council."Nordisk råd forblir nordisk" he Nordic Council remains Nordic ''

Norwegian News Agency The Norwegian News Agency ( no, Norsk Telegrambyrå; abbreviated NTB) is a Norwegian press agency and wire service that serves most of the largest Norwegian media outlets. The agency is located in Oslo and has bureaus in Brussels in Belgium and ...

'', 28 August 1991 His sons Christian Syse and Henrik Syse published ''Ta ikke den ironiske tonen - tanker og taler av Jan P. Syse'' (Oslo, Forlaget Press, 2003), a book that describes Syse's speeches and style.

References

Other sources

*Borgen, Per Otto (1999) ''Norges statsministre'' (Oslo: Aschehoug)

External links

*
Interview with Else Syse, in Vi over 60

Obituary issued by Høyre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Syse, Jan P. 1930 births 1997 deaths Norwegian state secretaries Members of the Storting Government ministers of Norway Prime Ministers of Norway Politicians from Oslo University of Oslo alumni Leaders of the Conservative Party (Norway) 20th-century Norwegian politicians People from Nøtterøy Ministers of Trade and Shipping of Norway