Bjørn Skau (26 February 1929 – 2 March 2013) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. Skau was born in Borre. In 1959, during the third cabinet Gerhardsen, he was appointed personal secretary (today known as political advisor) in the Ministry of Social Affairs.Arbeids- og inkluderingsdepartementet: Personlig sekretær/personlig rådgiver/politisk rådgiver 1946-
(Regjeringen.no) He was promoted to state secretary in 1961, but lost the position temporarily in 1963, when the cabinet Lyng held office. When the fourth cabinet Gerhardsen held office from 1963 to 1965, Skau was again state secretary. During the short-lived first cabinet Brundtland in 1981, Skau was appointed Minister of Justice and the Police. On the local level he was a member of

Larvik Larvik () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Larvik (town) ...

municipality council from 1951 to 1957 and of the executive committee of

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

city council from 1983 to 1987. He chaired the party chapter in

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

county from 1981 to 1986. Skau also headed the health administration in Buskerud from 1978 to 1986, and then became director of Buskerud sentralsykehus, a post he held until 1993. A member of the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

, he led the Norwegian branch of the

International Organisation of Good Templars The International Organisation of Good Templars (IOGT; founded as the Independent Order of Good Templars), whose international body is known as Movendi International, is a fraternal organization which is part of the temperance movement, promoti ...

from 1991 to 1997. Bjørn Skau died in

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

on 2 March 2013, at the age of 84. His sister was the acclaimed Norwegian missionary Annie Skau Berntsen.

References

* 1929 births 2013 deaths Labour Party (Norway) politicians Government ministers of Norway Norwegian state secretaries Norwegian temperance activists Ministers of justice of Norway {{Norway-politician-1920s-stub