Kjell Arvid Svendsen (born 27 August 1953 in

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...

) is a Norwegian schoolteacher and politician for the Christian Democratic Party. He was a son of manager Karl Sigfred Svendsen and housewife Anny Kristine Levinsen. He grew up in Skudeneshavn, and after primary and lower secondary school here he attended Hetland Upper Secondary School. Finishing in 1972, he was a teacher at Ådland before returning to his own lower secondary school, Skudenes, where he was a teacher from 1973 to 1995. He took higher education at Stord Teachers' College (1975–1978) and Stavanger Teachers' College (1978–1979). He entered politics as a deputy member of Karmøy municipal council and member of the cultural board from 1983 to 1987. He was then elected to Karmøy municipal council's executive committee, being steadily re-elected. He served as mayor from 1995 to 2011. He also served as a deputy representative 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

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 ...

during the terms 2005–2009 and 2009–2013; meeting regularly in October 2005 while

Dagfinn Høybråten Dagfinn Høybråten (born 2 December 1957) is a Norwegian politician. He was the leader of the Christian Democratic Party 2004–2011. He was also Parliamentary leader from 2005 when he was elected as Member of Parliament representing Rogaland. ...

was still a member of the outgoing

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 ...

. Svendsen chaired Karmøy Christian Democratic Party from 1987 to 1988. He chaired Rogaland Christian Democratic Party from 2004 to 2007, during which time he was also a member of the party's national board. He has been active in the Norwegian Lutheran Inner Mission Society and a board member of the companies Gassnor (1996–2004), Haugaland Bompengeselskap (chairman, since 2001), KLP Skadeforsikring (since 2005) and Fonna Health Trust (since 2006).

References

1953 births Living people People from Haugesund People from Karmøy Stord/Haugesund University College alumni Norwegian schoolteachers Members of the Storting Mayors of places in Rogaland Christian Democratic Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian Lutherans {{Norway-politician-1960s-stub