Karl Evang (19 October 1902 – 3 January 1981) was a Norwegian physician and civil servant. He was born in

Kristiania 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 ...

as a son of assisting secretary Jens Ingolf Evang (1873–1914) and Anna Beate Wexelsen (1875–1954). He was a brother of Vilhelm Evang, and a relative of

Vilhelm Andreas Wexelsen Vilhelm Andreas Wexelsen (5 June 1849 – 9 July 1909) was a Norwegian bishop and politician for the Liberal Party. He served five terms in the Norwegian Parliament, was Minister of Education and Church Affairs from 1891 to 1892 and from 1 ...

Per Kvist Per Kvist was the artist name of Vidar Wexelsen (4 April 1890 – 23 May 1947), a Norwegian revue writer, entertainer, stage actor, film actor and children's writer. Personal life Wexelsen was born in Overhalla as a son of vicar, politician a ...

and Gunnar Jahn. His sister Anne Beate married another civil servant, Karl Ludvig Bugge. Karl Evang met physician Gerda S. Landmark Moe (1905–1985) in 1926, and married her in 1929. He enrolled in medicine studies at the Royal Frederick University in 1924, and became a member of the revolutionary group ''

Mot Dag Mot Dag (, 'Towards Day') was a Norwegian political group. The group was active from the 1920s to the early 1930s and was first affiliated with the Labour Party. After World War II, many of its former members were leaders in Norwegian politics and ...

'' in 1926 which had a strong standing among students. ''Mot Dag'' was affiliated with the

Communist Party of Norway The Communist Party of Norway ( no, Norges Kommunistiske Parti, NKP) is a communist party in Norway. The NKP was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. It was Stalinist from its establishment and, as such, supported t ...

at the time, but soon became independent. Evang was also active in the

Norwegian Support Committee for Spain Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

and Clarté. He was elected chairman of the

Norwegian Students' Society 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 Univer ...

in 1931, while serving a prison sentence for conscientious objection. He joined the

Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party ( nb, Arbeiderpartiet; nn, Arbeidarpartiet; A/Ap; se, Bargiidbellodat), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party ( no, Det norske Arbeiderparti, DNA), is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is positioned on the centr ...

after ''Mot Dag'''s demise in 1933. In the 1930s he became a noted public debater. He issued the 1934 book ''Rasepolitikk og reaksjon'', and wrote with the purpose of medicinal and hygienic enlightenment in the publications ''Populært Tidsskrift for Seksuell Oplysning'' (which he edited) and ''

Arbeidermagasinet ''Arbeidermagasinet'' was a Norwegian language, Norwegian weekly literary magazine established in 1927. It changed its name to ''Magasinet For Alle'' in 1953, and ceased publication in 1970. The magazine is especially noted for its literary quali ...

''. He was also a popular radio speaker and lecturer. In 1938 he was appointed to the vacant position as director of the Norwegian Directorate for Health. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

came to Norway, Evang followed the cabinet Nygaardsvold first to Northern Norway, then to exile in the United Kingdom. Evang was given the rank of lieutenant colonel. He spent the war years organizing a health administration for Norwegians abroad, spending time in the USA as well. After the war he co-founded the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

; he was also board chairman for some time. His position was strengthened after the war, and Evang signalized technocratic ambitions. Similarly, the health conditions in Norway improved in the post-war years.

Poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

was eradicated and

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

diminished. However, several welfare programs were implemented long after Evang's initiatives. He also had political ambitions ( Minister of Social Affairs, probably also

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 not ...

) that were never fulfilled. In 1972 he had to retire due to the age limit of 70. He spent one year as a guest professor at the

University of Tromsø The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway (Norwegian: ''Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet''; Northern Sami: ''Romssa universitehta – Norgga árktalaš universitehta'') is a state university in Norway an ...

. He also became more radical politically. He had been an opponent of Norwegian participation in the Korean War and NATO, co-founded the newspaper ''

Orientering ''Orientering'' was a Norwegian newspaper which was initially published in December 1952 as an alternative voice. It was absorbed into ''Ny Tid'' in 1975. There were many reasons for establishing the newspaper, but the most important was perhaps ...

'' and opposed Norwegian EEC membership in 1972. In 1973 he joined the

Socialist Electoral League The Socialist Left Party of Norway ( no, Sosialistisk Venstreparti or SV) was founded in 1975. Its history shows a long-term rise in political influence, resulting in part from its emergence from older left-wing parties, especially the Socialist ...

. He released the book ''Helse og Samfunn'', an overview of the contemporary health sector. Other releases include selected articles from ''Populært Tidsskrift for Seksuell Oplysning'', which were released in book form in 1947 and 1951. He suffered from a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

, and subsequent

aphasia Aphasia is an inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine but aphasia due to stroke is estimated to be 0.1–0.4% in th ...

from 1976 to his death in January 1981 in Oslo.

Publications

* ''Die Hauptaufgaben der II. Internationalen Konferenz.'' In: ''Internationales ärztliches Bulletin'', 1. Jg, (1934), Heft 5 (Mai), p. 69-70
Digitalisat
* ''Rassenhygiene und Sozialismus. (Referat auf der II. Internationalen Konferenz Sozialistischer Ärzte in Brünn, Pfingsten 1934.)'' In: ''Internationales ärztliches Bulletin'', 1. Jg, (1934), Heft 9 (September), p. 130-135
Digitalisat
* ''Aus der sozialistischen Ärztebewegung. Bericht vom Sozialistischen Ärzteverein Norwegens.'' In: ''Internationales ärztliches Bulletin'', 3. Jg, (1936), Heft 9-10 (November-Dezember), p. 133-134
Digitalisat
* ''Medical Care and Family Security'' (with

David Stark Murray Dr David Stark Murray (14 July 1900 – 16 September 1977), son of Robert Murray (Scottish politician), Robert Murray MP was a Consultant (medicine), consultant pathologist, writer, and president of the Socialist Health Association, Socialist Med ...

, and

Walter Jay Lear Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

) Prentice-Hall, 1963

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evang, Karl 1902 births 1981 deaths Norwegian military doctors Directors of government agencies of Norway University of Oslo alumni Mot Dag Conscientious objectors Norwegian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Norway Norwegian magazine editors Norwegian political writers Norwegian medical writers Labour Party (Norway) politicians Politicians from Oslo University of Tromsø faculty Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom Norwegian expatriates in the United States Norwegian Army personnel of World War II 20th-century Norwegian writers Léon Bernard Foundation Prize laureates