Bjarne Berg-Sæther (14 April 1919 – 5 August 2009) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party.

Early life

He was born in

Tjeldsund Tjeldsund ( sme, Dielddanuorri) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The southwestern part of the municipality is part of the traditional district of Ofoten and the rest of the municipality is part of Central Hålogaland. The ...

as the son of coastal pilot Berg Sæther (1876–1948) and wife Magna Toresen (1881–1952). He was educated in England from 1939 in languages and economics. In 1943 he married Gudrun Jackobsen (1907–1994) and they had one son, Tor Arne Berg—Sæther (1946–2006) and one daughter, Bente Ramsvik (1948-). After the war he was hired in the Ministry of Local Government and Labour, where he was in charge of integrating refugees from

Finnmark Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024. On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouri ...

from 1946 to 1952.

Major awards

Berg-Sæther participated in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, and was given the

Defence Medal 1940–1945 The Defence Medal 1940–1945 () is the award rewarded to those military and civilian personnel who participated in the fight against the German invasion and occupation of Norway between 1940 and 1945. The Defence Medal 1940–1945 can be awarde ...

by King Haakon the 7th The city of Harstad's honor medal (1969) The Norwegian government's county honor medal by Prime Minister Gro H. Brundtland (1989) The King's Service Medal in Gold 2001 by King Harald the 5th.Archives
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Political career

He chaired his Labour Party chapter from 1945 to 1952, and was first elected mayor of

Sandtorg Sandtorg is a village in Harstad Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located on the eastern shore of the large island of Hinnøya, on the shore of the Tjeldsundet. The village is located along the European route E10 highway i ...

in 1947 and held this office until 1963, when the municipality was incorporated into

Harstad ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogalan ...

. He then sat as mayor of Harstad from 1963 to 1967, and continued as a member of the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

until 1975. He was a member of the

Troms Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...

provincial council from 1947 to 1963, and served as the mayor of the Troms province from 1963 to 1967. He served as a deputy member of 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 bas ...

during the terms 1965-1969 and 1969–1973; in total he met for 347 working days in Parliament. Bjarne Berg-Sæther chaired several public boards, including Vågsfjord Kraftselskap (1956–1975), the Evenes Airport building committee (1964–1967),

Harstad Hospital ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogaland, ...

(1969–1976), the public transportation company

Harstad Oppland Rutebil ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogaland, ...

(1964–1986), Fiskernes Bank and later Kreditkassen Bank in Harstad (1975–1986). He was a member of the National Postal Advisory Board (1978–1986) and vice chair of Niingen Kraftlag (1980–1990).

Positions

He held the Office manager and CFO positions at Trondenes Kraftverk and Sør-Troms Elforsyning A/S power companies for 32 years (1954–86) He died on 5 August 2009.

References

;Further reading *Kristian Steinnes: Ved egne krefter. Harstad 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Berg Saether, Bjarne 1919 births 2009 deaths People from Tjeldsund Labour Party (Norway) politicians Mayors of Harstad Chairmen of County Councils of Norway Deputy members of the Storting