Petter Johan Thomassen (17 April 1941 – 8 October 2003) was a Norwegian politician for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

Early years

He was born in Salangen as a son of farmers Karl Thomassen (1905–1978) and Johanna, née Grimstad (1914–1996). He

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

his secondary education in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

in 1960, and took the siv.øk. degree in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in 1963. He was the manager of Nordlandsdata in Bodø from 1965 to 1976.

Career

He was a member of Bodø

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 1967 to 1975. He was also a member of Nordland

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irel ...

. From 1976 to 1977 he was chairman (''fylkesrådsleder'') of Nordland's county cabinet. In his party he was a central board member of the

Norwegian Young Conservatives Norwegian Young Conservatives (Norwegian: Unge Høyres Landsforbund, UHL, normally referred to as Unge Høyre) is the Norwegian youth party of the Conservative Party. Its ideology is liberal conservatism Liberal conservatism is a political ...

from 1969 to 1971, and central board member of the Conservative Party from 1976 to 1990. From 1988 to 1990 he was the second deputy leader of his party. He was elected to the Parliament of Norway from Nordland 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 was re-elected on four occasions; 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 ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

and

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

. He chaired one Standing Committee during his time, the Standing Committee on Finance from 1983 to 1985. He had previously served as a deputy representative during the term 1969–1973. From 1985 to 1986, while Willoch's Second Cabinet held office, Thomassen served as the

Minister of Industry The industry minister is a cabinet position in a government. The title may refer to the head of the governmental department that specializes in industry. This position may also be responsible for trade and employment, areas that fall under the mi ...

. During this period his seat in parliament was taken by Harry Danielsen. From 1989 to 1990 Thomassen served as Minister of Trade in Syse's Cabinet. During this period his seat in parliament was taken by Steinar Høgaas. He chaired Nordland District College (1976 to 1978), Dataringen (1971 to 1973, board member 1968 to 1976), Nordlandsforskning (1980 to 1985, 1986 to 1988), Polarsirkelsenteret (1988 to 1990), Norsk Luftfartssenter (1994 to 1998), Polar Park (1994 to 2001), Bodø Energi (1996 to 2003),

Nordland Teater Nordland Teater is a Norwegian theatre based in Mo i Rana. It was established in 1977 by Norwegian Parliament as the regional theatre for Nordland. Birgitte Strid has been theatre director since 2013. Theatre directors *1979–1986 Collective ...

(1999 to 2003) and Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (2003). He was a board member of ''Norske datasentralers landsforbund'' (1972 to 1974) and the

Norwegian Electricity Industry Association The Norwegian Electricity Industry Association ( no, Energibedriftenes Landsforening) is an employers' organisation in Norway, organized under the national Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise ( no, Nærin ...

(1998 to 2003). He authored numerous books.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomassen, Petter Johan 1941 births 2003 deaths Politicians from Bodø Businesspeople in computing Nordland politicians Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting Government ministers of Norway Norwegian non-fiction writers 20th-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century non-fiction writers People from Salangen Ministers of Trade and Shipping of Norway