Johan Ole Norrback (born 18 March 1941) is a

Finland-Swedish Finland Swedish or Fenno-Swedish ( sv, finlandssvenska; fi, suomenruotsi) is a general term for the variety of the Swedish language and a closely related group of Swedish dialects spoken in Finland by the Swedish-speaking population, commonly a ...

politician and diplomat. Norrback was born in Övermark. He graduated as a primary school teacher in 1965 and was the

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

for the Sfp,

Swedish People's Party The Swedish People's Party of Finland ( sv, Svenska folkpartiet i Finland (SFP); fi, Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue (RKP)) is a list of political parties in Finland, political party in Finland aiming to represent the interests of the minority ...

in Ostrobothnia between 1967 and 1971, and ombudsman for the Swedish Ostrobothnia's Regional authority 1971 and 1989. He was member of the Finnish parliament 1979-1987 and 1991–1999, and the chairman of the SFP Parliament group between 1983 and 1987 and Party leader of the SPP between 1990 and 1998. Norrback joined the government as the

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

in 1987, he was a Minister of Education 1990 to 1991, Minister to the Ministry of Agriculture from 1987 to 1991, Minister of Transport and Communication 1991 to 1995, Europe and Foreign Trade Minister 1995 to 1999, and Minister of Nordic Cooperation 1991 to 1999. Thereafter he left the politics and became a diplomat. He was ambassador to Oslo 1999 to 2003, and was appointed ambassador to Athens in 2003 to 2007. Norrback was a minister for 4,370 days. He was given the honorary title "Minister" in 2006 by President

Tarja Halonen Tarja Kaarina Halonen (; born 24 December 1943) is a Finnish politician who served as the 11th president of Finland, and the first woman to hold the position, from 2000 to 2012. She first rose to prominence as a lawyer with the Central Organisati ...

. Since 2007 he has devoted himself to removing border obstacles among the Nordic countries. He chairs the Nordic Council of Ministers' Freedom of Movement Forum. The workgroup, which reports to the Nordic prime ministers, has had its mandate extended until 2013.Ole Norrback: Border obstacles are all about political will (Nordic Labour Journal)
/ref>

References

Sources

CV of Ole Norrback
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norrback, Ole 1941 births Living people People from Närpes Swedish-speaking Finns Swedish People's Party of Finland politicians Ministers of Defence of Finland Ministers of Education of Finland Ministers of Transport and Public Works of Finland Members of the Parliament of Finland (1979–83) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1983–87) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1991–95) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1995–99) Ambassadors of Finland to Norway Ambassadors of Finland to Greece Finnish diplomats