Tove Astri Strand (born 29 September 1946) is a Norwegian director and former politician for the Labour Party. She was active in politics between 1963 and 1992, including two periods as a

government minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

. She headed the

Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) is a directorate under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In matters regarding Norway's International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), Norad reports to the Norwegian Ministry ...

from 1997 to 2005, and since 2005 she is the director of

Ullevål University Hospital Ullevaal Stadion () is an all-seater football stadium located in Oslo, Norway. It is the home ground of the Norway national football team, and the site of the Norwegian Cup Final. From its opening in 1926 to 2009 it was the home ground of FK ...

Early and personal life

Born in

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aust ...

as the daughter of local bureaucrat Norvald Strand and nurse Svanhild Lundhaug, she chaired the local chapter of the Workers' Youth League from 1963 to 1966. She then enrolled as a student at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

, having chosen to study economics over medicine, She graduated in 1971 with the

cand.oecon. Candidatus oeconomices (male) or Candidata oeconomices (female), often abbreviated cand.oecon. is an academic degree in economics at Education in Denmark, Danish, Háskóli Íslands, Icelandic and Higher education in Norway, Norwegian universities ...

degree, and cited Leif Johansen and Nobel Prize laureate

Trygve Haavelmo Trygve Magnus Haavelmo (13 December 1911 – 28 July 1999), born in Skedsmo, Norway, was an economist whose research interests centered on econometrics. He received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1989. Biography After attendi ...

as inspirational economists. While living 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 of ...

she was a member of the board of local Workers' Youth League chapter from 1968 to 1970. Tove Strand was formerly married to

Rune Gerhardsen Rune Gerhardsen (13 June 1946 – 4 September 2021) was a Norwegian politician, representing the Norwegian Labour Party, and sports leader at Norwegian Skating Association representing Aktiv SK. Biography Gerhardsen was a son of Werna and ...

, a fellow Labour Party politician and son of former

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 ...

Einar Gerhardsen Einar Henry Gerhardsen (; 10 May 1897 – 19 September 1987) was a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party of Norway. He was the 22nd prime minister of Norway for three periods, 1945–1951, 1955–1963 and 1963–1965. With totally 17 years i ...

whom she met in university. Due to the marriage she was named Tove Strand Gerhardsen during this period. Before the couple split in 1996, they had two daughters,

Marte Marte may refer to: *Marte, Nigeria, a Local Government Area in Borno State *Marte (surname), including a list of people with the name * C.D. Marte, a Mexican football club *C.D. Atlético Marte, a Salvadoran football club * ST ''Marte'', a tug in ...

and Mina Gerhardsen. Both daughters joined the Labour Party too, and Mina Gerhardsen, as political advisor for Prime Minister

Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th prime minister of Norway from 2000 to ...

, has been considered particularly influential in Norwegian society. Tove Strand later married Tor Saglie, the director of the

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service The Labour and Welfare Service (Norwegian: ''Arbeids- og velferdsetaten'') is a government agency of Norway. Together with municipal welfare agencies, it makes up the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). The Labour and Welfare Service ...

Career

Professional career

After graduation, she worked five years as a clerk in the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Eco ...

. At the same time, she was elected to serve in the city council of Oslo for the term 1971–1975. When the

cabinet Nordli Nordli's Cabinet governed Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote ...

assumed office in January 1976, she was appointed personal secretary (today known as political advisor) in the Ministry of Trade and Shipping. She left in January 1979, to concentrate on her career as a civil servant in the Ministry of Finance, where she was promoted to assistant secretary (''byråsjef''). However, after only one year she returned to the political scene as a personal secretary, this time in the Ministry of Finance. In February 1981, when the

first cabinet Brundtland Brundtland's First Cabinet was a minority, Labour Government of Norway. It succeeded the Labour Cabinet Nordli, and sat between 4 February and 14 October 1981. The cabinet was the first in Norwegian history to be led by a woman. It was replaced ...

, Strand was again promoted, this time to state secretary. The first cabinet Brundtland losing office to the cabinet Willoch following the 1981 election, Strand returned to work one more year as assistant secretary in the Ministry of Finance. In 1982 she left the executive branch of government to work as a head of a department at

Rikshospitalet Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet is one of the four main campuses of Oslo University Hospital in Oslo, Norway. It was an independent hospital, ''Rigshospitalet'', later spelled ''Rikshospitalet'' ("The National Hospital"), from 1826 to 2009 ...

. In May 1986, the

second cabinet Brundtland Brundtland's Second Cabinet was a minority, Labour Government of Norway. It succeeded the Conservative Willoch's Second Cabinet, and sat between 9 May 1986 and 16 October 1989. It was replaced by the Conservative/Centre/Christian Democrat cabi ...

took over as the cabinet Willoch lost a

vote of confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

. Strand was brought back to the government's offices, this time as Minister of Social Affairs. She stayed in this position until October 1989, when the second cabinet Brundtland fell due to the 1989 election. However, its successor lasted only one year, and Strand returned in 1990 as Norwegian Minister of Government Administration and Labour in the

third cabinet Brundtland Brundtland's Third Cabinet was a minority, Labour Government of Norway. It succeeded the H- Sp-KrF Cabinet Syse, and sat between 3 November 1990 and 25 October 1996. In between the two tenures as government minister, she had worked as a "project leader" at BI, the

Norwegian School of Management BI Norwegian Business School () is the largest business school in Norway and the second largest in all of Europe. BI has in total four campuses with the main one located in Oslo. The university has 845 employees consisting of an academic staff o ...

. When leaving the third cabinet Brundtland in September 1992, she returned to BI to work as a "special advisor". From 1993 to 1996 she worked as a regional director of the

Research Council of Norway The Research Council (also the Research Council of Norway; no, Norges forskningsråd) is a Norwegian government agency that funds research and innovation projects. On behalf of the Government, the Research Council invests NOK 11,9 billion (2021) ...

. From 1997 to 2005 she headed the state-run directorate

. In 2005 she returned to the hospital business to work as director of

Boards and committees

During her career she has been a member of several boards and committees, both public and private. During her early political career, she was a member of the kindergarten committee of Oslo, as well as a member of the board of the publicly owned electricity company

Oslo Lysverker E-CO Energi is a Norwegian power company and after Statkraft the second largest producer of electricity in Norway. Structure E-CO is wholly owned by the City of Oslo. Operations are divided into E-CO Vannkraft, E-CO Norne and Oslo Lysverker. E-C ...

, both from 1971 to 1975. From 1971 to 1979 she was a member of the regional planning council for Oslo and

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

. She returned in 1990-1991 as a member of the cultural committee in Oslo. In 1984 she became a board member of the

Norwegian Confederation of Sports The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports ( no, Norges idrettsforbund og olympiske og paralympiske komité; NIF) is the umbrella organization for sport in Norway. It is the largest volunteering organization in No ...

. She left in 1987, but returned as vice president of the organization from 1994 to 1999. She was also a board member of the

Norwegian Handball Federation '' , abbrev= NHF , logo= , logosize= 250px , countryflag= Norway , iocnation= Kingdom of Norway (NOR) , url= www.Handball.no , sport= Handball , othersport1= Beach Handball , othersport2= Wheelchair Handball , historytitle=HISTORY , precedingorga ...

from 1993 to 1995. She was also a member of the board of the publishing house

Universitetsforlaget Universitetsforlaget AS (English: "The University Press"), also known in English as Scandinavian University Press, is a Norwegian academic publishing company, which publishes non-fiction literature and journals mainly oriented to Scandinavia. U ...

from 1982 to 1985, and the

Bank of Norway Norges Bank / Noregs Bank is the central bank of Norway. The bank shall promote economic stability in Norway. Norges Bank also manages the Government Pension Fund of Norway and the bank’s own foreign exchange reserves. History The history of ...

from 1990 to 1999. She chaired the board of the

National Institute of Occupational Health National Institute of Occupational Health, also known as Statens arbeidsmiljøinstitutt or STAMI is a government body organised by the Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion. The institute deals with a range of occupational health areas, ...

from 1990 to 1991, and was also involved in the

Royal Norwegian Society for Development The Royal Norwegian Society for Development ( no, Det Kongelige Selskap for Norges Vel, also known as ''Norges Vel'' 'Norwegian Development', originally called ''Selskabet for Norges Vel'' 'Norwegian Society for Development') is a general developm ...

and the Norwegian

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

commission. From 1993 to 1994, she was deputy chair of the organization Sosialdemokrater mot EU, which opposed a Norwegian application for membership in the European Union. Following the

1994 Norwegian European Union membership referendum A referendum on joining the European Union was held in Norway on 27 and 28 November 1994. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1438 After a long period of heated debate, the "no" side won with 52.2 per cent o ...

, such a membership was out of the question. After some years without committee or board memberships, she joined the board of the

International Development Law Organization The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the promotion of the rule of law. With a joint focus on the promotion of rule of law and development, it works to empower people and communiti ...

and

Arbeidsgiverforeningen Spekter Arbeidsgiverforeningen Spekter is an employers' organisation in Norway. It was established in 1993 as the Norwegian Association of Publicly Owned Companies (''Norges arbeidsgiverforening for virksomheter med offentlig tilknytning''). The name was s ...

in 2007. Also, since 2006 she has chaired the ''Kronprinsparets Humanitære Fond'', a

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...

fund initiated by

Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway (; Haakon Magnus; born 20 July 1973) is the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne. He is the only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja. Haakon represents the fourth generation of the sitting Norwegian royal famil ...

and the Crown Princess Mette-Marit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strand, Tove 1946 births Living people Politicians from Kongsvinger University of Oslo alumni Politicians from Oslo Norwegian state secretaries Government ministers of Norway Labour Party (Norway) politicians Directors of government agencies of Norway Norwegian sports executives and administrators Women government ministers of Norway Norwegian women state secretaries