Jon Lilletun (23 October 1945 – 21 August 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 active in 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 ...
.
Background
Lilletun was born in Western
Vossestrand
Vossestrand is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1868 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located in the northern part of the present-day municipality of Voss. The municipality was cen ...
, now a part of the municipality of
Voss
Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, ...
. His father owned a farm and also worked as a mailman. Lilletun was raised as a
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement , and his family always tithed to the religious community.
After his mandatory 8-year primary education, Lilletun's family was unable to finance attendance at a higher level of school with an academic track. Lilletun worked as an apprentice at a local merchant and attended various trade schools. In 1974 he opened his own retail store that went bankrupt within a few years. He was subsequently convicted of negligence in his accounting practices and sentenced to a 55-day prison term, which he served.
He attributed this experience with a new outlook on life, and from 1975 to 1988 he worked for the municipality of
Vennesla
Vennesla is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vennesla. Other villages in Vennesla include Grovane, Hægeland, Hom ...
on issues related to youth. In 1982 he ran for election as the mayor of Vennesla, but lost in a landslide defeat. During this time he also moved from the
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement movement to the
Church of Norway.
Political career
Representing the county of
Vest-Agder
Vest-Agder (; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (''fylker'') in Norway up until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total population of Norway. I ...
, he served as a deputy member of 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 1981 to 1985, and as an elected member from 1989 until his death. In the spring of 2005 he took sick leave, and his deputy
Sigmund Kroslid filled in for him. After his death he was replaced by
Dagrun Eriksen.
Lilletun was the Minister of Education, Research and Church Affairs 1997-2000, in the first cabinet of
Kjell Magne Bondevik
Kjell Magne Bondevik (; born 3 September 1947) is a Norwegian Lutheran minister and politician. As leader of the Christian Democratic Party, he served as the 33rd prime minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000, and from 2001 to 2005, making him, af ...
. Under his administration, the
was approved.
Among his other parliamentary appointments were:
Storting Committees
* Since 2001: member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Enlarged Foreign Affairs Committee
* 2000-2001: member of the Standing Committee on Business and Industry
* 1993-1997: chair of the Standing Committee on Education, Research and Church Affairs
* 1990-1993: member of the Standing Committee on Church and Education
* 1989-1990: member of the Standing Committee on Local Government and the Environment
Other
* Since 2001: member of the Norwegian delegation for Relations with the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
* Since 2000: member of the Norwegian delegation to the
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
Parliamentary Assembly, Deputy Head of the delegation since 2001
* 1993-1997: alternate member of the Storting delegation to the Nordic Council
* 2001-2005: chair of the Christian Democratic Party parliamentary group
Since 2005, he was also vice president of the Lagting.
The cause of his death was
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
.
External links
Interview with Lilletun in 1997Official parliamentary biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilletun, Jon
1945 births
2006 deaths
Government ministers of Norway
Christian Democratic Party (Norway) politicians
Deaths from cancer in Norway
Members of the Storting
21st-century Norwegian politicians
20th-century Norwegian politicians
Ministers of Education of Norway