Gunnar Garbo (19 April 1924 – 29 June 2016) was a Norwegian journalist, politician, and ambassador. He represented the

Liberal Party of Norway The Liberal Party ( no, Venstre, lit=Left, V; se, Gurutbellodat) is a centrist political party in Norway. It was founded in 1884 and it is the oldest political party in Norway. It is positioned in the centre on the political spectrum, and it is ...

at 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 ...

during four electoral periods, from 1958 to 1973, and was leader for the party from 1964 to 1970. He was ambassador in Dar es Salaam from 1987 to 1992.

Early and personal life

Garbo was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, as the son of Ingvald Garbo and Sara Haugland. His father Ingvald Garbo was shot by the Germans in 1941, for listening to radio and distributing the news. Gunnar Garbo himself had to flee to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in 1943, where he joined the police troops. He worked as a journalist for ''

Bergens Tidende ''Bergens Tidende'' is Norway's fifth-largest newspaper, and the country's largest newspaper outside Oslo. ''Bergens Tidende'' is owned by the public company Schibsted ASA. Norwegian owners held a mere 42% of the shares in Schibsted at the end ...

'' from 1945, and was later editor of the newspaper ''

Nidaros Nidaros, Niðarós or Niðaróss () was the medieval name of Trondheim when it was the capital of Norway's first Christian kings. It was named for its position at the mouth (Old Norse: ''óss'') of the River Nid (the present-day Nidelva). Althou ...

'' in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

, from 1954 to 1957. Retrieved 31 March 2009.

Political career

Garbo was a member of Bergen

city 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 ...

from 1948 to 1954, and

city council from 1956 to 1957. He was deputy representative to the

from

during the term 1954–1957, and was elected member of the Parliament during the terms 1958–1961, 1961–1965, 1965–1969 and 1969–1973. As a representative he was a member of the Procol Committee, the Standing Committee on Finance and Customs, and the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Constitutional Affairs. He was chairman for the

from 1964 to 1970. He was a substitute assembly member of the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up o ...

from 1963 to 1965 and 1966 to 1970. Garbo was a researcher at the

International Peace Research Institute, Oslo The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO; no, Institutt for fredsforskning) is a private research institution in peace and conflict studies, based in Oslo, Norway, with around 100 employees. It was founded in 1959 by a group of Norwegian researche ...

from 1974, and worked for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

from 1980 to 1987. He was Ambassador to

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

from 1987 to 1992. Garbo has written several books and numerous articles on political issues, in particular on international politics, including themes such as

disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as n ...

and on the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. He has also written memoirs from his political life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garbo, Gunnar 1924 births 2016 deaths Diplomats from Bergen Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Journalists from Bergen Politicians from Bergen Politicians from Trondheim Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting Ambassadors of Norway to Tanzania 20th-century Norwegian politicians