Johan Syrstad (3 February 1924 – 16 December 2019) was a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. He was born in

Meldal Meldal is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined Orkland Municipality. It was part of the Orkdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipali ...

as a son of Ivar Syrstad (1893–1973) and Johanna Syrstadeng (1898–1999). He attended

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;' ...

from 1941 to 1942, took the

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

in 1946 and one-year economical and agricultural schools. From 1950 to his retirement in 1988 he owned and operated the family farm Syrstad. He was also director of the local savings bank from 1983 to 1991. He was a member of

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 ...

from 1955 to 1975, the last twelve years in the executive committee. He chaired the county party chapter from 1960 to 1966. He served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway from Sør-Trøndelag during the terms 1961–1965, 1965–1969, 1969–1973 and 1973–1977. From 1968 to 1971 he moved up as a regular representative, filling in for Per Borten who led Borten's Cabinet. From 1972 to 1973 he filled in for

Einar Hole Moxnes Einar Hole Moxnes (11 June 1921 in Alstahaug – 20 January 2006 in Trondheim) was a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Sør-Trøndelag in 1969, and served as a deputy representative duri ...

who was appointed to

Korvald's Cabinet Korvald's Cabinet governed Norway between 18 October 1972 and 16 October 1973. The centre cabinet was led by Lars Korvald as Prime Minister and consisted of the Christian Democratic Party, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party The Liberal Par ...

. Syrstad was then elected to Parliament in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

, and re-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 was chief whip of his party from 1969 to 1971, and his most prestigious committee position was as deputy chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture from 1981 to 1985. He was deputy chair of the Norwegian State Agriculture Bank's council from 1965 to 1979, and also chair of Meldal Sparebank from 1968 to 1983. Around this time he also sat in the

Frostating Court of Appeal The Frostating Court of Appeal ( no, Frostating lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Trondheim. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal. ...

. He was later a board member of Pengelotteriet from 1985 to 1992. As a Lutheran Christian he was a member of the local congregational council in Meldal from 1954 to 1973 and 1985 to 1988, chairing it from 1967 to 1973 and briefly in 1986. He was also a national board member of the

Norwegian Missionary Society The Norwegian Missionary Society or the Norwegian Mission Society ( no, Det Norske Misjonsselskap, NMS) is the first and oldest missionary organization in Norway. It was started by a group of approximately 180 Stavanger residents in August 1842, ...

from 1972 to 1978, later leader of its protocol committee from 1990 to 1993. However, his career mainly centred on the

dairy farmer Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that ...

s' organizations. From 1951 to 1969 he chaired the supervisory council of the local dairy Meldal Meieri, and from 1968 to 1978 he chaired the regional copperative Trøndelag melkesentral. In the nationwide cooperative Norske Meieriers Salgssentral he became a board member in 1971, advanced to deputy chair in 1975 and chairman from 1978 to 1982. He was also a board member of Norske Melkeprodusenters Landsforbund from 1971, and chair from 1978 to 1981. These two organizations merged in 1999 to form the cooperative Tine. Incidentally, Johan Syrstad's neighbor Kåre Syrstad had then served as chair of the cooperative since 1991. Johan Syrstad was also a board member of Landbrukets Sentralforbund from 1978 to 1981 and a supervisory council member of the

Norwegian Agrarian Association The Norwegian Agrarian Association ( no, Norges Bondelag) is the largest Norwegian interest organization for farmers. It functions both as a labour union and as a trade union. It negotiates with the Norwegian Farmers and Smallholders Union and ...

from 1975 to 1982.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syrstad, Johan 1924 births 2019 deaths People from Meldal Norwegian farmers Sør-Trøndelag politicians Centre Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting Norwegian Lutherans 20th-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century Lutherans