Snorre Serigstad Valen (born 16 September 1984 in
Oslo
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 ...
) is a
Norwegian
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 ...
journalist, musician and former politician from the
Socialist Left Party. He served as an MP in the
Storting from
Sør-Trøndelag from
2009 to
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
, and deputy leader of the party from November 2015 to 2019. Valen previously worked as a communications assistant at NTNU Social Research.
In 2020, he became head of the politics section of the newspaper ''Nidaros'' in
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
, Norway.
Early life and education
Valen was born on 16 September 1984, the son of Knut Serigstad, a civil engineer, and Kristin Valen, a social worker.
Valen attended Berg elementary school from 1991 to 1997 and Blussovoll lower secondary from 1997 to 2000. He then went to dance and drama at
Trondheim Cathedral School
Trondheim Cathedral School ( no, Trondheim katedralskole, Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Nidrosiensis'') is an upper secondary school located next to the Nidaros Cathedral in the center of Trondheim, Norway.
History
There is great dispute regarding ...
from 2000 to 2003. He then went to
NTNU from 2003 to 2004, and studied state science, international and imperative politics and got a
ex.phil in political risk.
Career
From 2007 to 2008 Valen was the head of the short-lived newspaper
''Arbeideravisa'' in
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
.
Valen sat in the
Sør-Trøndelag County Council and in
Trondheim City Council from 2003 to 2007, and during this period, led the foreign affairs and welfare committees in the county council.
After being elected to the Norwegian parliament in 2009, he served as member of the
Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment from 2009 to March 2012. He was the second deputy chair of the
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence ( no, Utenriks- og forsvarskomiteen) is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating foreign affairs, military, development cooperation, Svalbard or ...
from April 2012 to September 2013.
In February 2011, Valen nominated the website
WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...
for 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 ...
. In 2013, he nominated
Chelsea Manning
Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning; December 17, 1987) is an American activist and whistleblower. She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage A ...
and
Edward Snowden for the 2014 Nobel peace prize, stating that Manning's leaks helped end the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
while Snowden had exposed how the war on terror had led to
mass surveillance of ordinary people.
As an
anti-monarchist, Valen consequently refused to attend the yearly royal dinners for parliamentarians.
On 20 March 2017, Valen announced that he wouldn't be seeking re-election to Parliament in the
September election.
On 24 September 2018, Valen announced that he wouldn't be seeking re-election as deputy leader the next year.
Music
Valen is a pianist and singer, has a background in
Nidarosdomens Guttekor and has studied music at
Trondheim katedralskole
Trondheim Cathedral School ( no, Trondheim katedralskole, Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Nidrosiensis'') is an upper secondary school located next to the Nidaros Cathedral in the center of Trondheim, Norway.
History
There is great dispute regarding ...
. From 2004–2008 he played in the band ''
Gallery
Gallery or The Gallery may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Art gallery
** Contemporary art gallery
Music
* Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s
Albums
* ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album
* ''Gallery'' (Gr ...
'', and released one record with the group. Later on he became a member of the
electronica group
Amish 82 and the
blues band
Peevish Penfriend.
References
External links
Snorre Valen's blogAmish 82Peevish Penfriend
1984 births
Living people
Socialist Left Party (Norway) politicians
Members of the Storting
Journalists from Oslo
People educated at the Trondheim Cathedral School
21st-century Norwegian politicians
Politicians from Trondheim
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