Anita Apelthun Sæle (born 13 December 1951) is a Norwegian politician who was a member of the Norwegian parliament from 1993 until 2005, representing the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

(KrF) and the county of

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipa ...

. Sæle was among the most conservative members of KrF, and a firm opponent of

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

and

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...

. In foreign policy. Sæle was opposed to Norwegian membership in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

, and was a supporter of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

.KrF vraket Sæle
(KrF declined Sæle) Dagsavisen, November 14, 2004 She is married to Finn Jarle Sæle who runs an online Christian newspaper, and they have the son Finn Ørjan Sæle. In the KrF nomination for parliament ahead of the 2005 parliamentary election, Sæle lost both the top and second spot on the KrF ballot, to Ingebrigt Sørfonn and Laila Dåvøy respectively, in spite of warnings from some members that losing her from the ballot might cost the party conservative voters. After losing the nomination, she was offered a top spot on the

Coastal Party The Coastal Party ( no, Kystpartiet) is a regionalist, agrarian political party in Norway. The party has district, fishing and coastal issues among its primary policies with its main political base in Northern Norway, and is a staunch opponent ...

's ballot, but declined the offer. In April 2006, Sæle became the leader of the women's division of the Christian Democratic Party.Anita Apelthun Sæle ny leder for KrF-kvinnene
(Anita Apelthun Sæle new leader of the KrF women, Stavanger Aftenblad, April 22, 2006)

References

Living people 1951 births Norwegian Christians Christian Democratic Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting Women members of the Storting 21st-century Norwegian politicians 21st-century Norwegian women politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century Norwegian women politicians {{Norway-politician-1950s-stub