Ole Danbolt Mjøs (8 March 1939 – 1 October 2013) was a Norwegian physician and politician for the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

. A professor and former rector 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 was known worldwide as the leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 2003 to 2008.

Career

Born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, he took the dr.med. degree in 1972. In 1975 he was appointed professor of

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

at the

. From 1989 to 1995 he served as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

there. Mjøs was also well known outside of his academic field. He chaired

Kringkastingsrådet The Broadcasting Council ( no, Kringkastingsrådet, or ''K-rådet'' for short) is an advisory board to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). The role of the Broadcasting Council is to discuss and comment on NRK's programming agenda for Nor ...

from 1990 to 1994, and has held various political offices. From 1998 to 2000 he chaired the so-called ''Mjøs Committee'', which delivered the

Norwegian Official Report A Norwegian Official Report ( no, Norges offentlige utredninger, NOU) is a report published by a panel or committee appointed by the Norwegian government. The Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the su ...

2000:14, thus paving way for the so-called Quality Reform. From 2003 to 2008 he chaired the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which is awarding the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

. Laureates during his times as chair were

Shirin Ebadi Shirin Ebadi ( fa, شيرين عبادى, Širin Ebādi; born 21 June 1947) is an Iranian political activist, lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi was ...

(2003),

Wangari Maathai Wangarĩ Muta Maathai (; 1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011) was a Kenyan social, environmental and a political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. As a beneficiary of the Kennedy Airlift, she studied in the Un ...

(2004) the International Atomic Energy Agency and

Mohamed ElBaradei Mohamed Mustafa ElBaradei ( ar, محمد مصطفى البرادعي, Muḥammad Muṣṭafá al-Barādaʿī, ; born 17 June 1942) is an Egyptian law scholar and diplomat who served as the vice president of Egypt on an interim basis from 14 July ...

(2005)

Muhammad Yunus Muhammad Yunus (born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, economist and civil society leader who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance ...

and the Grameen Bank (2006),

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007), and

Martti Ahtisaari Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (; born 23 June 1937) is a Finnish politician, the tenth president of Finland (1994–2000), a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and a United Nations diplomat and mediator noted for his international peace work. Ahtisa ...

(2008). In 2009, he was succeeded as leader by

Thorbjørn Jagland Thorbjørn Jagland (born Thorbjørn Johansen; , 5 November 1950) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. He served as the secretary general of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019. He served as the 32nd prime minister of Norway from ...

. Mjøs was decorated with the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

and the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President ...

. Mjøs died following a long illness on 1 October 2013, aged 74.Jan Arild Holbek and Trygve W. Jordheim (1 October 2013)
Ole Danbolt Mjøs er død
Vårt Land. Retrieved 1 October 2013

References

1939 births 2013 deaths Norwegian physiologists Academic staff of the University of Tromsø Rectors of the University of Tromsø Christian Democratic Party (Norway) politicians Recipients of the Order of the Lion of Finland Chairpersons of the Norwegian Nobel Committee {{Norway-politician-1930s-stub