Per Voksø (23 June 1923 – 28 December 2002) was a Norwegian newspaper editor and Christian leader. He was 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 of ...

as the son of Julius Peder Voksø (1888–1937) and Gudrun Larssen (1891–1972). He took commerce school in 1941 and

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 1944. In 1945 he started as a journalist in Bergen's Christian newspaper, '' Dagen''. He participated at the foundation congress of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

in 1948. In the same year he married shipmaster's daughter Doris Paulsen. They got four children together. He was hired as subeditor of ''Vår Kirke'' in 1954, and ''

Morgenposten ''Morgenposten'' is a former Norwegian newspaper, issued in Oslo from 1861 to 1971. It was the largest newspaper in Norway from the 1870s until the early 1900s, when its name was ''Christiania Nyheds- og Avertissements-Blad'', also nicknamed ''Sv ...

'' in 1957. In late 1966 he was promoted to editor-in-chief. He succeeded Asbjørn Engen. However, shortly after the newspaper was bought by industrialist

Sverre Munck Sverre Munthe-Kaas Munck (5 July 1898 – 26 January 1970) was a Norwegian businessperson. Early life and career He was born in Høvik as the son of dean Oskar Albert Munck (1868–1956) and Mathilde Munthe-Kaas (1871–1906). He was also a great ...

. The previous owner was

Libertas Libertas (Latin for 'liberty' or 'freedom', ) is the Roman goddess and personification of liberty. She became a politicised figure in the Late Republic, featured on coins supporting the populares faction, and later those of the assassins of Jul ...

, a semi-secret libertarian organization. Voksø ran afoul with the new owner, and resigned after only three months in the editor's chair. He was succeeded by acting editor Gunnar Kristiansen. Until his retirement in 1986, Voksø worked as editor of publishing in Det Beste, the Norwegian version of the

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

. Voksø chaired YMCA Norway from 1955 to 1964 and was a member of the executive committee of the international YMCA from 1955 to 1961 and 1968 to 1974. In the World Council of Churches he was a member of the central committee and executive committee from 1983 to 1991. He was also active in the

Lutheran World Federation The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; german: Lutherischer Weltbund) is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish ...

. He chaired the Church of Norway National Council from 1970 to 1978 and the Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations from 1986 to 1990, and had

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

concerns. In 1998 he received the Norwegian Ecumenical Prize. He was also a board member of the Church City Mission and

Norwegian Church Aid Norwegian Church Aid (NCA; Norwegian: ''Kirkens Nødhjelp'') is a Norwegian humanitarian and ecumenical organisation with headquarters in Oslo. It was traditionally affiliated with the state Church of Norway, but is now independent. Norwegian Chu ...

, and chaired the latter organization from 1980 to 1986. All in all, he has been called "one of the most influential leaders within the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

" and "the most central

layman In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...

in Norwegian post-

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

church life". In 1992 he was decorated as Knight, First Class of 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 ...

. He died in December 2002 in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vokso, Per 1923 births 2002 deaths Norwegian newspaper editors Norwegian Lutherans Journalists from Bergen YMCA leaders 20th-century Lutherans