Berit Kvæven (born 19 November 1942) is a Norwegian

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

and politician for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. She has been Vice President of the Liberal Party, president of the

Norwegian Association for Women's Rights The Norwegian Association for Women's Rights ( no, italic=no, Norsk Kvinnesaksforening; NKF) is Norway's oldest and preeminent women's and girls' rights organization and works "to promote gender equality and all women's and girls' human rights thr ...

(2004–2006), President of

Tekna The Tekna () is a semi-nomadic Sahrawi tribal confederation of Lamta Sanhaja Berber and Arab Hassani origins. Its constituents today inhabit southern Morocco and northern Western Sahara, but traditionally with wider migration routes. Nowadays, i ...

and a deputy member of parliament.

Career

Kvæven earned a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

(MSc) degree at the

Norwegian Institute of Technology The Norwegian Institute of Technology (Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was m ...

in 1967 and was a research scientist at

SINTEF SINTEF ( no, Stiftelsen for industriell og teknisk forskning), headquartered in Trondheim, Norway, is an independent research organization founded in 1950 that conducts contract research and development projects. SINTEF has 2000 employees from 7 ...

from 1968. She earned a doctorate in chemistry from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1975. In later years, she has worked as Chief Engineer at the

Norwegian Climate and Pollution Agency The Norwegian Climate and Pollution Agency ( no, Klima- og forurensningsdirektoratet, Klif), named Norwegian Pollution Control Authority ( no, Statens forurensningstilsyn), SFT) until 2010, was a Norwegian government agency from 1974 to 2013 when ...

, where she worked on international assignments, including as head of the UN monitoring program for

acid rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but acid ...

. She served as personal secretary (i.e. political adviser) to the Minister of Government Administration and Consumer Affairs

Eva Kolstad Eva Severine Lundegaard Kolstad (born Eva Severine Lundegaard Hartvig; 6 May 1918 – 26 March 1999) was a Norwegian politician and government minister for the Liberal Party. A major figure in the history of liberal feminism and the development of ...

Korvald's Cabinet Korvald's Cabinet governed Norway between 18 October 1972 and 16 October 1973. The centre cabinet was led by Lars Korvald as Prime Minister and consisted of the Christian Democratic Party, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party The Liberal Part ...

1972–1973 and as deputy representative to the

Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years base ...

from

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 ...

during the term 1997–2001. She was Vice President of the

from 1976 to 1982, President of the Oslo branch of the Liberal Party in 1990 and president of the

from 2004 to 2006. She was President of

, the Norwegian association of engineers with around 50,000 members, from 1990 to 1993. She was also Vice President of the Confederation of Academic and Professional Unions in Norway, with around 200,000 members, from 1991 to 1993. She has also been a member of several governmental committees and boards of directors in the fields of nuclear energy, pollution, agriculture and government reform.

References

* Norwegian women's rights activists 1942 births Living people Deputy members of the Storting Women members of the Storting Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian feminists 20th-century Norwegian politicians 21st-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century Norwegian women politicians 21st-century Norwegian women politicians Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people {{Norway-politician-1940s-stub