Egil Aarvik () (12 December 1912 – 19 July 1990) was a Norwegian newspaper editor, author and politician for 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 ...

. He served as Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 1982 to 1990.

Early life and career

He grew up at

Børsa Børsa is the administrative centre of the municipality of Skaun in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village lies along the shore of the Gaulosen, an arm off the vast Trondheimsfjorden. It is about west of the village of Buvika, along the Europe ...

in Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. He was the son of Julius Aarvik (1890–1961) and Louise Lie (1889–1973). After attending a

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule;' ...

in 1933, he was hired as a secretary in the Norwegian Lutheran Mission Society (''Det norske lutherske Indremisjonsselskap''). From 1940 to 1946 he was the mission secretary in Stavanger. He worked as a journalist in Trondheim for '' Dagsavisa'' from 1947 to 1950, before advancing to be editor-in-chief of that local Christian newspaper. In 1955, he left to work full-time as editor-in-chief of ''

Folkets Framtid ''Folkets Framtid'' ('The People's Future') was a Norwegian newspaper. It was the official party organ of the Christian Democratic Party. It was established in 1947 in Mysen. From 1954 to 1957 it was published in Trondheim, as '' Dagsavisa'', the ...

''. He subsequently moved to

Grorud Grorud is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. The borough contains the Ammerud, Grorud, Kalbakken, Rødtvet, Nordtvet and Romsås areas. To the north of the borough is the forest of Lillomarka. The borough is the smallest in Oslo, with fewe ...

, where he sat on the congregational council (1962–1966).

Political career

Aarvik served was a member of Strinda

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 ...

during the term 1951–1955. He was elected as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway 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 ...

in 1957, and became a full representative in 1961. He chaired the Standing Committee on Social Affairs during his first term. He was not re-elected in 1965, but gained his seat back again in both 1969 and 1973. In 1965, having recently lost his Parliament seat, Aarvik was appointed as the Minister of Social Affairs in the centre-right Borten's Cabinet. He held the position until Prime Minister Borten's Cabinet fell in 1971. The most important accomplishment during his time was the 1967 passing of the general benefits act ( no, folketrygden). He was also a capacity on foreign policy. Unlike the majority in his party he supported Norwegian EEC membership in 1972. Meanwhile Aarvik was appointed to the Borten cabinet, he did not meet in parliamentary session and then-deputy Kåre Kristiansen filled his seat. After returning to Parliament, Aarvik served as a member of the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs from 1971 to 1977 and was President of the Lagting from 1972 to 1973. He lived in

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

for some time, being elected from the constituency Akershus in 1973. As a pensioner he moved to

Nøtterøy Nøtterøy is an island and a former municipality in the present-day municipality of Færder in Vestfold and Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Borgheim. The parish of ''Nøtterø'' was esta ...

. From 1977 to 1981, he spent the final years of his professional career working in

Norwegian Church Aid Norwegian Church Aid (NCA; Norwegian: ''Kirkens Nødhjelp'') is a Norwegian humanitarian and ecumenical organisation with headquarters in Oslo. It was traditionally affiliated with the state Church of Norway, but is now independent. Norwegian Chu ...

. He was also chairman of the board of Blue Cross, Norwegian branch, from 1960 to 1962. He was vice chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 1975 to 1982, and chairman from 1982 to 1990. He was a deputy board member of Folketrygdfondet from 1972 to 1983 and chaired the corporate council of Statoil from 1973 to 1984.

Selected works

*''Er kristendommen fallit?'' (1941) *''Løftet av stormen'' (1942) *''Vi gjemmer oss på bedehuset'' (1954) *''Dumme troll og menn til kjerringer'' (1956) *''Kvinnen fra Samaria'' (1973) *''Vraket sølv: Kongen Saul'' (1975) *''Syn på saker'' (1982) *''Smil i alvor. Fragmenter av et liv'' (1985)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aarvik, Egil 1912 births 1990 deaths People from Skaun Norwegian newspaper editors Sør-Trøndelag politicians Politicians from Oslo Bærum politicians Christian Democratic Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting Government ministers of Norway Chairpersons of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Norwegian Lutherans Norwegian non-fiction writers 20th-century Norwegian writers 20th-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century non-fiction writers