John Ingolf Alvheim (21 May 1930 – 5 December 2005) 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 Progress Party. He was a

nurse anesthetist A nurse anesthetist is an advanced practice nurse who administers anesthesia for surgery or other medical procedures. They are involved in the administration of anesthesia in a majority of countries, with varying levels of autonomy. A survey ...

by profession, and served as

aid worker Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and v ...

in several developing countries during the 1970s. Alvheim was highly respected, also by his political opponents, for his vigorous fight for society's disadvantaged.

Personal life

Alvheim was born in

Øygarden Øygarden is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is an island municipality located in the traditional district of Midhordland, stretching along the west coast of the county. The village of Straume is the administrative centre of the ...

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

, to

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or rec ...

and

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer m ...

Joakim Knutsen Alvheim (1893–1958) and housewife Ingeborg Larsen (1895–1972). From 1954 to 1956 he worked in the

Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

as a Medical Quartermaster, and finished his education as a

. After working some years in Norway at ''Askim sykehus'', from 1958 to 1961 he worked as head nurse at the

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( ar, قوة الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة في لبنان, he, כוח האו"ם הזמני בלבנון), or UNIFIL ( ar, يونيفيل, he, יוניפי״ל), is a UN peacekeeping m ...

, and later returned to work in Norway at ''Notodden sykehus''. After that he did several missions as an aid worker, for the

Norwegian Church Aid Norwegian Church Aid (NCA; Norwegian: ''Kirkens Nødhjelp'') is a Norwegian humanitarian and ecumenical organisation with headquarters in Oslo. It was traditionally affiliated with the state Church of Norway, but is now independent. Norwegian Chu ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

in 1972 and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

in 1974, and for the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

in 1976. He also devoted much of his life to help less fortunate children in developing countries, building an orphanage for children in Bangladesh in 1979. He was married in 1980 to

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

Aune-Liisa Kankaanpää (born 29 December 1944). Alvheim co-authored the autobiography ''Fra småting til Storting'' with Maj-Lis Stordal in 1990.

Political career

Alvheim started his political career for the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

. He was elected to a local office in

Notodden Notodden () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Øst-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Notodden. Notodden was separated from the munic ...

for the party in 1967 and was a deputy Member of Parliament for the party from 1973 to 1977. During the 1980s he however changed to the Progress Party, and in 1989 was elected into 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

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

. He was a member of the Health Committee from 1989 to 2005, the last eight years as its leader.

Memoria

To his honor, the "Honorary Award of John I. Alvheim" (''John I. Alvheim ærespris'') has since 2005 been awarded annually by the Progress Party to someone who has made a special effort for the weak in society. Alvheim was present to give the first award himself at the Progress Party national convention on 21 May 2005, but died in December later the same year of a heart attack after many years being a smoker. Award recipients have been: * 2005 – Slumsøster Marit Solli in the Salvation Army, for his efforts for the poor * 2006 – Ola Ødegaard in the Foundation of Justice for Taperne * 2007 – Private Investigator Tore Sandberg * 2008 – Kai Zahl, founder of Dissimilis * 2009 – Lise Karlsen, Evangeliesenteret * 2010 – Stine Sofies Foundation * 2011 – Lifestyle for the elderly * 2012 – Grete Kvalheim * 2013 – LEVE – National Association for Suicidal Suffering * 2014 – Shirley Bottolfsen * 2015 – Stiftelsen Retretten

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvheim, John 1930 births 2005 deaths People from Øygarden Christian Democratic Party (Norway) politicians Progress Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting 21st-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians