Snorre Serigstad Valen (born 16 September 1984 in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

) is 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 ...

journalist, musician and former politician from the Socialist Left Party. He served as an MP in the Storting from Sør-Trøndelag from 2009 to

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, and deputy leader of the party from November 2015 to 2019. Valen previously worked as a communications assistant at NTNU Social Research. In 2020, he became head of the politics section of the newspaper ''Nidaros'' 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 ...

, Norway.

Early life and education

Valen was born on 16 September 1984, the son of Knut Serigstad, a civil engineer, and Kristin Valen, a social worker. Valen attended Berg elementary school from 1991 to 1997 and Blussovoll lower secondary from 1997 to 2000. He then went to dance and drama at Trondheim Cathedral School from 2000 to 2003. He then went to NTNU from 2003 to 2004, and studied state science, international and imperative politics and got a ex.phil in political risk.

Career

From 2007 to 2008 Valen was the head of the short-lived newspaper ''Arbeideravisa'' in

. Valen sat in the Sør-Trøndelag County Council and in Trondheim City Council from 2003 to 2007, and during this period, led the foreign affairs and welfare committees in the county council. After being elected to the Norwegian parliament in 2009, he served as member of the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment from 2009 to March 2012. He was the second deputy chair of the

Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence ( no, Utenriks- og forsvarskomiteen) is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating foreign affairs, military, development cooperation, Svalbard or ...

from April 2012 to September 2013. In February 2011, Valen nominated the website

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...

for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

. In 2013, he nominated

Chelsea Manning Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning; December 17, 1987) is an American activist and whistleblower. She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage A ...

and Edward Snowden for the 2014 Nobel peace prize, stating that Manning's leaks helped end the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

while Snowden had exposed how the war on terror had led to mass surveillance of ordinary people. As an anti-monarchist, Valen consequently refused to attend the yearly royal dinners for parliamentarians. On 20 March 2017, Valen announced that he wouldn't be seeking re-election to Parliament in the September election. On 24 September 2018, Valen announced that he wouldn't be seeking re-election as deputy leader the next year.

Music

Valen is a pianist and singer, has a background in Nidarosdomens Guttekor and has studied music at

Trondheim katedralskole Trondheim Cathedral School ( no, Trondheim katedralskole, Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Nidrosiensis'') is an upper secondary school located next to the Nidaros Cathedral in the center of Trondheim, Norway. History There is great dispute regarding ...

. From 2004–2008 he played in the band ''

Gallery Gallery or The Gallery may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Art gallery ** Contemporary art gallery Music * Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s Albums * ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album * ''Gallery'' (Gr ...

'', and released one record with the group. Later on he became a member of the electronica group Amish 82 and the blues band Peevish Penfriend.

References

External links

Snorre Valen's blog

Amish 82

Peevish Penfriend
1984 births Living people Socialist Left Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting Journalists from Oslo People educated at the Trondheim Cathedral School 21st-century Norwegian politicians Politicians from Trondheim {{norway-politician-1980s-stub