Einar Førde (20 January 1943 – 26 September 2004) was a Norwegian journalist and politician of the Labour Party. He served as Minister of Education and Church Affairs from 1979 to 1981, and

director-general A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...

of the

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

(NRK) from 1989 to 2001. He was also vice-chairman of the

Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party ( nb, Arbeiderpartiet; nn, Arbeidarpartiet; A/Ap; se, Bargiidbellodat), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party ( no, Det norske Arbeiderparti, DNA), is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is positioned on the centr ...

1981–1989. As director of the NRK Førde became a prominent public figure, often known for fearlessly speaking his mind as a knowledgeable political analyst and public debater. After his death

Kåre Willoch Kåre Isaachsen Willoch (; 3 October 1928 – 6 December 2021) was a Norwegian politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Norway from 1981 to 1986 and as leader of the Conservative Party from 1970 to 1974. He previously served as the ...

, former prime minister from 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 ...

, called him a ground-breaker in society, combining great force of mind with warmth and humour. Førde was also known for appearing in TV-shows on NRK, lampooning his own character. Førde died of cancer in 2004, at the age of 61. In his youth, Førde was a middle-distance runner. Representing

IK Tjalve Idrettsklubben Tjalve is a Norwegian athletics club from Oslo, founded on 27 December 1890. It is named after Þjálfi in Norse mythology. It is one of the most prominent athletics clubs in Norway, and numerous members have represented Norway in ...

, he ran the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

in 1:52.6 minutes, at

Bislett stadion Bislett Stadium ( no, Bislett stadion) is a sports stadium in Oslo, Norway. Bislett is Norway's most well known sports arena internationally, with 15 speed skating world records and more than 50 track and field world records having been set here ...

in September 1964. He ran the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

in 3:50.3 minutes at Leangen stadion in August 1963.

References

1943 births 2004 deaths People from Høyanger Government ministers of Norway Political commentators NRK people Norwegian television executives Deaths from cancer in Norway Members of the Storting Labour Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian male middle-distance runners 20th-century Norwegian politicians Ministers of Education of Norway {{Norway-politician-1940s-stub