Inger Louise Valle (28 November 1921 – 21 May 2006) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

politician for the Labour Party, particularly noted for her efforts to reform the Norwegian

penal system A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...

. She is the mother of professor Jan Grund.

Biography

She represented Akershus in the Norwegian

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 ...

in the period between 1977-1981. She also served as Minister of Administration and Consumer Affairs 1971-1972 and Minister of Family and Consumer Affairs in 1972, Minister of Justice and the Police 1973-1976 and 1976–1979, and Minister of Local Government Affairs 1979-1980. Valle also served in the local government of

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 ...

, and was Norway's first Consumer Ombudsman. Born into a privileged family and educated as an attorney, Valle was one of the first ministers of justice whose main career had been in politics. Her views on the Norwegian

were grounded in humanistic principles founded in criminology, and several of her proposals for reform met with controversy. In particular the so-called "Criminal report" in 1978 (''Stortingsmelding 104, 1977-1978'') caused considerable controversy. The report asserted that the deterrent effect of stiff penalties was a myth, and that policy toward criminals should be based in broader considerations than

penology Penology (from "penal", Latin '' poena'', "punishment" and the Greek suffix '' -logia'', "study of") is a sub-component of criminology that deals with the philosophy and practice of various societies in their attempts to repress criminal activiti ...

. It didn't help matters much that she enlisted Arne Haugestad, who had already gained notoriety in the campaign against Norwegian membership in the European Community, as the director of Norway's penal system. Among other things, he recommended eliminating prison sentences as punishment for crimes for financial gain. The controversy gained steam in the fall of 1978, when professor of law Johs Andenæs critiqued the report in a meeting arranged by the Conservative Party, claiming that the principles were coddling criminals and threatening law and order. The year after in April 1979, Valle pressured prime minister Nordli to push through Stortinget, against all advice and recommendations the total abolition of the death penalty in Norway. Valle quickly found herself isolated, even now within her own party. Much of the blame for the Labour Party's relatively poor showing in the 1979 elections were put at her feet. Even among her detractors, she is noted for her moral courage and commitment to humanistic values. Although many of her proposed reforms never were implemented, some were, notably raising the age of criminal accountability and including community service in the penal system. Valle headed the Norwegian executive committee for UN's

International Women's Year International Women's Year (IWY) was the name given to 1975 by the United Nations. Since that year March 8 has been celebrated as International Women's Day, and the United Nations Decade for Women, from 1976 to 1985, was also established. Histo ...

in 1975.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valle, Inger Louise Government ministers of Norway Ministers of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion of Norway Ministers of Local Government and Modernisation of Norway Labour Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting Bærum politicians Norwegian criminologists Norwegian jurists Women jurists Ombudsmen in Norway Directors of government agencies of Norway 1921 births 2006 deaths Women members of the Storting Place of birth missing Place of death missing 20th-century Norwegian women politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians Women government ministers of Norway Norwegian women criminologists Female justice ministers Ministers of Justice of Norway