Anita Apelthun Sæle (born 13 December 1951) is a Norwegian politician who was a member of the

Norwegian parliament The Storting ( ; ) 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 based on party-list proportional represe ...

from 1993 until 2005, representing 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 ...

(KrF) and the county of

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 ...

Biography

Sæle was among the most conservative members of KrF, and a firm opponent of

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

and

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

. In foreign policy. Sæle was opposed to Norwegian membership in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, and was a supporter of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

.KrF vraket Sæle
(KrF declined Sæle) Dagsavisen, November 14, 2004 She is married to Finn Jarle Sæle who runs the Christian conservative newspaper ''

Norge Idag ''Norge Idag'' (literally "Norway Today") is a Norwegian Christian conservative weekly newspaper published in Bergen that was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief is Finn Jarle Sæle. Publishing The newspaper receives financial press support f ...

'', and they have four children, including the son Finn Ørjan Sæle. In the KrF nomination for parliament ahead of the 2005 parliamentary election, Sæle lost both the top and second spot on the KrF ballot, to

Ingebrigt Sørfonn Ingebrigt is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Ingebrigt Davik (1925–1991), Norwegian teacher, children's writer, broadcasting personality, singer and songwriter *Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (born 1971), Norwegian bassist active in ...

and

Laila Dåvøy Laila Dåvøy (born 11 August 1948, in Bergen) is a Norwegian nurse and politician for the Christian Democratic Party. She is a former member of the Norwegian parliament and a former Minister and leader of the Norwegian Nurses' Union. Career ...

respectively, in spite of warnings from some members that losing her from the ballot might cost the party conservative voters. After losing the nomination, she was offered a top spot on the

Coastal Party The Coastal Party () is a Regionalism (politics), regionalist, Agrarianism, agrarian list of political parties in Norway, political party in Norway. The party has district, fishing and coastal issues among its primary policies with its main poli ...

's ballot, but declined the offer. In April 2006, Sæle became the leader of the women's division of the Christian Democratic Party. She then stated her belief that free abortion will eventually become illegal in Norway due to failing birth rates, praising a proposed abortion ban in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. After withdrawing from national politics, she has worked for her husband's newspaper ''Norge Idag''.

References

1951 births Living people 20th-century Norwegian women politicians 21st-century Norwegian women politicians Christian Democratic Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting 2001–2005 Members of the Storting 1993–1997 Members of the Storting 1997–2001 Norwegian anti-abortion activists Norwegian Christian Zionists Women members of the Storting {{Norway-politician-1950s-stub