(29 April 1916 – 4 July 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 ...

educator and school headmaster. He became associated with 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 ...

and 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 ...

. He served as the 27th

prime minister of Norway The prime minister of Norway ( no, statsminister, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government department ...

from 1972 to 1973, leading the cabinet that took over when Trygve Bratteli resigned in the wake of the first referendum over Norway's membership in the European Economic Community.

Early life and career

Lars Korvald was born at Nedre Eiker in

Buskerud Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Ha ...

, Norway. His parents were Engebret Korvald (1873-1956) and Karen Sofie Wigen (1876-1965). He attended Hamar Cathedral School graduating in 1940. He attended the

Norwegian College of Agriculture The Norwegian University of Life Sciences ( no, Norges miljø- og biovitenskapelige universitet, NMBU) is a public university located in Ås, Norway. It is located at Ås in Viken, near Oslo, and at Adamstuen in Oslo and has around 5,200 stud ...

at Ås in Akershus where he graduated in 1943. Lars Korvald had been educated in agricultural studies. Upon graduation, he joined the faculty of the Tomb Agricultural School (''Tomb Jordbruksskol''). The school was situated by the Krokstadfjordenon at Råde in

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 ...

. This was the site of a former estate (''Tomb herregård i Råde'') which had dated from the Middle Ages. In 1938, the estate was purchased by the

Norwegian Lutheran Mission The Norwegian Lutheran Mission (''Norsk Luthersk Misjonssamband'' in Norwegian; NLM) is one of several independent Lutheran organisations based in Norway. History The organization was founded in 1891 as Det Norske Lutherske Kinamisjonsforbund ...

(''Det norske lutherske Indremisjonsselskap'') which established a high school and a modern farm operation on the property. The school offered several education programs with the principal focus on agriculture and agronomy. Korvald became

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

at Tomb in 1952.

Parliamentary career

Korvald was first elected to the Parliament of Norway in 1961 representing the county of

. In 1965, he was appointed parliamentary leader; and in 1967 the party leader. Altogether, Korvald served as a member of Parliament for five terms between 1961 and 1981. He was President of the Lagting 1969–1972.

Prime Minister

Lars Korvald served as Prime Minister from 18 October 1972 to 16 October 1973. Though short-lived, his cabinet served as an important milestone in Norwegian politics, both because it marked the conclusion of the bitter and divisive debate over Norway's membership in the European Economic Community (EEC) and because it was a centrist non-socialist coalition. He was also the first prime minister from the

. Korvald proved to be an effective prime minister in a very difficult and transitional political situation. His cabinet commissioned the negotiations for a trade treaty with the EEC and instituted Norway's first petroleum policy. In addition, the Teachers' Training Law of June 1973 was a move to raise teacher training to university status. Korvald didn’t seek re-election in 1981 to the Storting after 20 years of service. That same autumn he was appointed County Governor in Østfold. He held in this position until he retired at the age of 70 in 1986.

Personal life

In 1943, he married Ruth Aarny Borgersen (1915–2006). While serving as Prime Minister, Korvald resided in Bærum. He later resided in Moss, but in his later life he moved back to

Mjøndalen Mjøndalen is a built up area in Drammen municipality in Viken county (formerly Buskerud county), Norway. It is situated south of the Drammenselva River opposite of Krokstadelva. History Mjøndalen has traditionally been a railway site most ...

References

External links

Tomb Videregående skole og landbruksstudier website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Korvald, Lars 1916 births 2006 deaths People from Nedre Eiker Østfold politicians Norwegian College of Agriculture alumni Norwegian educators Norwegian Lutherans Christian Democratic Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting County governors of Norway 20th-century Norwegian politicians Prime Ministers of Norway 20th-century Lutherans