Øystein Mæland (born 26 March 1960) is a Norwegian psychiatrist, civil servant and politician for the Labour Party. In 2011, Mæland was appointed director of the

National Police Directorate National Police Directorate ( no, Politidirektoratet) a government agency subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security which heads the Norwegian Police Service The Norwegian Police Service ( no, Politi- og lensmannsetaten) is t ...

, a position he retained until August 2012 when he resigned in the wake of the Gjørv Report. He has since 2014 been director of

Akershus University Hospital Akershus University Hospital ( no, Akershus universitetssykehus, abbreviated Ahus) is a Norwegian public university hospital in the Greater Oslo Region. It is located in the Lørenskog municipality in the region of Viken, northeast of the Norwegian ...

Early life and education

Mæland was born in

Rjukan Rjukan () is a town and the administrative centre of Tinn municipality in Telemark, Norway. It is situated in Vestfjorddalen, between Møsvatn and Lake Tinn, and got its name after Rjukan Falls west of the town. The Tinn municipality council gra ...

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

county in 1960 to parents Einar and Bjørg Mæland, but grew up in the neighborhood of Hoff in the borough of

Ullern Ullern is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. History The borough has its name from an old farm, Norse ''Ullarin''. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the Norse god Ullr. The last element is ''vin'', meaning pasture or mea ...

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 ...

. His father was a

plant foreman A shop foreman or plant foreman is a front-line supervisor in a skilled trades, manufacturing or production operation: a person who plans, organizes and controls the operations of the shop or plant; supervises, trains and develops staff; provides ...

Ringnes Ringnes is the largest brewer in Norway. owned by the Carlsberg Group. History Ringnes AS was founded in 1876. The company's brewery in the Grünerløkka district of Oslo produced its first beer in 1877. The brewery was founded by brothers Amund ...

brewery, his mother attended to the office of the

Norwegian Union of Municipal Employees The Norwegian Union of Municipal Employees ( no, Norsk Kommuneforbund, NKF) was a trade union in Norway, organized under the national Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions. It was founded in 1920 as the Norwegian Municipal Workers' Union, a spli ...

. Both of his parents were active in the Workers' Youth League and Mæland states that "political debate around the dinner-table" became part of his upbringing. He attended medical school 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 ...

and took the cand.med. degree in 1986.

Career

Early career

After completing his mandatory

residency Residency may refer to: * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place ** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship * Residency (medicine), a stage of postgra ...

, he was between 1989 and 1990 employed as the prison doctor at

Ullersmo Prison Ullersmo Prison ( no, Ullersmo fengsel) is a prison in Ullensaker, Akershus. It was opened in 1970. The prison was intended as a replacement for the Botsfengselet in Oslo. It is used for long term prisoners from the whole of Norway Norw ...

. He worked as a physician from 1989 to 1994 and 1997 to 2000, and was chief physician at

Aker University Hospital Oslo University Hospital, Aker (also known as Aker Hospital or just Aker) is one of the four main campuses of Oslo University Hospital. It was an independent hospital from 1895 to 2009, under the name Aker Hospital and from 2002 Aker University Ho ...

before becoming head of the psychiatric division at

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 o ...

between 2004 and 2009.

Political career

Mæland led the Oslo chapter of the Workers' Youth League from 1979 to 1982, and was a central board member from 1983 to 1989. During this period he met and made friends with a number of youth politicians, among them were future 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 ...

, future bankier and CEO of Norway's largest bank

Rune Bjerke Rune Bjerke (born 17 June 1960) is a Norway, Norwegian businessperson and politician for the Labour Party (Norway), Labour Party. Rune is son of Juul Bjerke and brother of Siri Bjerke. Bjerke studied economics at the University of Oslo, and has a ...

, as well as future ministers

Hanne Harlem Hanne is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Hanne Blank (born 1969), American historian, writer, editor and public speaker * Hanne Budtz (1915–2004), Danish politician and lawyer * Hanne Darboven (born 1941), German ...

Turid Birkeland Turid Birkeland (5 November 1962 – 24 December 2015) was a Norwegian cultural executive and former politician for the Labour Party. She was Minister of Culture in 1996–97. She was an author and also worked in television, including being chi ...

and

Espen Barth Eide Espen Barth Eide (born 1 May 1964, in Oslo) is a Norwegian politician and political scientist. He is currently serving as the Minister of Climate and the Environment in Jonas Gahr Støre's government. He has been a been a member of the Norwegian ...

. He was a member of Oslo city council from 1983 to 1986. During

Brundtland's Second Cabinet 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 cab ...

, he was a personal secretary both in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1988–89) and the

Ministry of Petroleum and Energy The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy ( no, Olje- og energidepartementet) is a Norwegian ministry responsible for energy, including petroleum and natural gas production in the North Sea. It is led by Minister of Petroleum and Energy ...

(1988). In 1994, during the

Brundtland's Third Cabinet 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.State Secretary in the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

. He held the position for the remainder of Brundtland's tenure, and then a year into

Jagland's Cabinet Jagland's Cabinet governed Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian ...

under two different Ministers of Justice

Anne Holt Anne Holt (born 16 November 1958) is a Norwegian author, lawyer and former Minister of Justice. Early life She was born in Larvik, grew up in Lillestrøm and Tromsø, and moved to Oslo in 1978. Holt graduated with a law degree from the Universit ...

and

Gerd-Liv Valla Gerd-Liv Valla (born 25 January 1948 in Korgen, Nordland) is a Norwegian former trade union leader, who served as leader of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO). She took over in 2001 (from former leader, Yngve Hågensen) and resigned i ...

. In 2000, when another Labour cabinet Stoltenberg 1 took over, Mæland was again appointed State Secretary in the Ministry of Justice. He held that position until after the

2001 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2001. Africa * 2001 Beninese presidential election * 2001 Cape Verdean parliamentary election * 2001 Cape Verdean presidential election * 2001 Chadian presidential election * 2001 Gabonese legislative ...

, which caused the cabinet to fall. He was also a member of the Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Director of National Police and resignation

In 2011, Mæland was one of two applicants to the position as director of the

replacing outgoing

Ingelin Killengreen Ingelin Christine Killengreen (born 12 November 1947) is a Norwegian jurist and former Police Commissioner in the National Police Directorate. Killengreen was born in Bergen. In her youth she attended Bergen Cathedral School. She graduated at t ...

. The other applicant was Christine Fossen, then Chief of Police in the Southern Buskerud Police District. In the end, Mæland was selected. He was appointed on 27 May 2011, mere weeks before the

2011 Norway attacks The 2011 Norway attacks, referred to in Norway as 22 July ( no, 22. juli) or as 22/7, were two domestic terrorist attacks by neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik against the government, the civilian population, and a Workers' Youth League (AUF) ...

. During most of the period following the attacks, Mæland was away on

paternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity l ...

On 13 August 2012 the Gjørv Report was released. It found that the authorities in general, and the police in particular, failed massively in protecting the public during the 2011 Norway attacks. In the aftermath, Mæland stated that he fully accepted the criticism of the commission's findings and intended to remain in his post, there were calls for his immediate resignation which were repeatedly rejected. The same evening the report was released, Mæland himself appeared on television saying he would not resign. Three days later on 16 August 2012, Minister of Justice

Grete Faremo Grete Faremo (born 16 June 1955) is a Norwegian politician, lawyer and business leader. From August 2014 to May 2022, she held the post of Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). ...

, which was Mæland's immediate superior, announced during a live television debate that she would henceforth recuse herself from all matters relating to him, as to avoid a conflict of interest. This was allegedly due to the close professional relationship the two had when Mæland was state secretary for Faremo during the 90's. This was interpreted by the media as a sign that the minister lacked confidence in Mæland, and that it was a step in the process of removing him from the post altogether. One scholar described it as a "humiliation" and a "sacking". 25 minutes after the ministers announcement, Mæland publicly informed the Minister of his immediate resignation.

Later career

He became assisting director of the Norwegian Directorate for Health, then in 2014 director of the

Personal life

Mæland is openly gay, and is married to psychotherapist and relationship counsellor Rolf Nicolay Aspestrand. The couple have two children, both of which were born through surrogacy in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and subsequently adopted. Mæland and his family currently resides in the borough of

Nordberg Nordberg is a neighbourhood in Nordre Aker in Oslo, the capital of Norway. From 1934 to 1992 it was served by Nordberg Station on the Sognsvann Line, but is now served by Østhorn and Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, H ...

in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maeland, Oeystein 1960 births Living people People from Rjukan Norwegian psychiatrists Directors of government agencies of Norway Directors of hospitals of Norway Politicians from Oslo Labour Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian state secretaries Norwegian LGBT politicians Gay politicians Norwegian police chiefs