Haakon Blankenborg (born 8 April 1955) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was born in

Vågå Vågå () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vågåmo. Other village areas in Vågå include Lalm and Besshe ...

as a son of sawmill and forest Ola Blankenborg (1909–1989) and housewife Margit Kjeka (1915–1971). After primary school in Vågå he attended secondary school in

Vinstra Vinstra is a town in Nord-Fron Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the municipality. The town is located in the Gudbrandsdalen valley, at the confluence of the Gudbrandsdalslågen river and the Vins ...

from 1972 to 1975, and worked as a sawmill worker from 1975 to 1976. He had joined the Workers' Youth League and chaired it locally and regionally; from 1981 to 1983 he was a member of the central board. He took a degree in history and political science at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

in 1980. He served as a deputy representative to the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

from

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The c ...

during the term 1977–1981, and was elected in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. He chaired the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and the

Enlarged Committee on Foreign Affairs The Enlarged Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence is a special committee of the Parliament of Norway. It holds non-disclosed discussions with the government regarding important issues of foreign affairs, trade policy and security issues. Other ...

from 1993 to 2000. In 2005 he left Parliament to become Norwegian ambassador to

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

. He has been a member of the county school board in Oppland from 1979 to 1983, and has been active in the

European Movement The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it. History The origins of th ...

. In 2005, he became Norway's ambassador to

. Since 2011 he has been General Director at the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.

References

1955 births Living people University of Oslo alumni Labour Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting Oppland politicians Ambassadors of Norway to Serbia Norwegian expatriates in Serbia 21st-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians {{Norway-politician-1950s-stub