John Austrheim (10 October 1912 – 13 April 1995) 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, farmer for the Centre Party. Born in

Gloppen Gloppen is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. Gloppen is generally subdivided into three areas: Hyen in the west, Gloppen in the center, and Breim in the east. Each of the ...

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...

, Austrheim had no more than a primary education, and worked as a farmer when he was elected mayor of his municipality

in 1955. He had previously been a municipality council member from 1945 to 1951, and served as mayor until 1962. In 1967 he was elected leader of the Centre Party, a position he took over after Per Borten, who was serving as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

at the time. Austrheim held this post until 1973. He was elected to 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 bas ...

from

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side ...

in 1961, and was re-elected on three occasions. He had previously served in the position of deputy representative during the term 1958–1961. Borten's Cabinet resigned in 1971, but when the Centre Party returned to power on 18 October 1972, Austrheim was appointed Minister of Transport and Communications in the new cabinet of

Lars Korvald (29 April 1916 – 4 July 2006) was a Norwegian educator and school headmaster. He became associated with the Christian Democratic Party and was elected to the Norwegian Parliament. He served as the 27th prime minister of Norway from 1972 to 197 ...

. He served in this position until the government resigned on 16 October 1973. During his time in cabinet he was replaced in the Norwegian Parliament by

Ambjørg Sælthun Ambjørg Sælthun, née Ødelien (27 July 1922 – 2 January 2012) was a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. She was born in Ål. She was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Sogn og Fjordane in 1973, and was re-elected on two occ ...

and, briefly, Leiv Erdal.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Austrheim, John 1912 births 1995 deaths Government ministers of Norway Centre Party (Norway) politicians Mayors of places in Sogn og Fjordane Members of the Storting Place of death missing People from Gloppen Ministers of Transport and Communications of Norway 20th-century Norwegian politicians