Geir Jørgen Bekkevold (born 19 November 1963) is a Norwegian priest and politician for 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 ...

. He was born in

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

as the son of laborer Jan Egil Bekkevold and housewife Evy Bekkevold. He finished his secondary education in Horten in 1982, and attended the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

from 1983 to 1991. Here, he received the

cand.theol. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

degree underwent the practical-theological seminary. He worked as a field priest during his

compulsory military service Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

from 1991 to 1992, and then became curate in

Gjerpen Gjerpen is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Skien Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Gjerpen, which is now part o ...

. In 2005 he was promoted to vicar in Borgestad in

Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...

. Bekkevold became involved in politics as a member of Skien city council from 1999 to 2009, the last two years in the executive committee. From 2003 to 2007, he was also a member of

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

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. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

. He chaired the local chapter from his party from 2007 to 2008, and the regional chapter in Telemark from 2008. He was elected to the

Parliament of Norway 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

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. He became a member of the

Standing Committee on Local Government and Public Administration The Standing Committee on Local Government and Public Administration () is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating to local government, regional and rural policy, immigration policy, housing policy, ...

, Like his entire party group, he also joined '' Israels Venner på Stortinget''. Bekkevold has also been active in

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

locally. He was a board member of Teater Ibsen from 2004 to 2008, and the county library from 2007. In 2020, Bekkevold became chair for

UWC Red Cross Nordic The school UWC Red Cross Nordic ( Norwegian: UWC Røde Kors Nordisk), formerly known as Red Cross Nordic United World College, was founded in 1995, located in Norway. It is the ninth member of the today 18 United World Colleges, others having been ...

board in

Fjaler Fjaler is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre is the village of Dale. Other places in Fjaler include Espedal, Flekke, Folkestad, Guddal, and Hel ...

, Norway.

References

1963 births Living people Politicians from Telemark Christian Democratic Party (Norway) politicians Norwegian priest-politicians University of Oslo alumni People from Horten Politicians from Skien Members of the Storting 2009–2013 Members of the Storting 2013–2017 Members of the Storting 2017–2021 {{Norway-politician-1940s-stub