Gunnar Johan Stålsett (born 10 February 1935, in Nordkapp) is a Norwegian theologian and politician. He was leader of the Centre Party 1977–1979, general secretary of the

Lutheran World Federation The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; ) is a global Communion (religion), communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish city of L ...

1985–1993 and bishop of

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, in the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

1998–2005.

Early life

Gunnar Stålsett was born in Repvåg in

Nordkapp Municipality Nordkapp (; or ; or ) is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Honningsvåg, where most residents live. Other settlements in Nordkapp include the villages of Gjesvær, Kåfjor ...

to principal Johan Emil Stålsett and Alma Elisabeth Joki. He was one of eight children. When he was seven the family moved to

Gildeskål Municipality Gildeskål is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Bodø Region and the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipali ...

. His parents were inspired by the Laestadian movement in

Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...

. After having completed school in

Leknes Leknes () is a town in Vestvågøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The town is also the administrative centre of Vestvågøy Municipality (with 11,619 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality in Lofoten and Vesterålen). Lek ...

he went to high school in

Nordfjordeid Nordfjordeid is the administrative centre of the municipality of Stad, Norway, Stad in Vestland county, western Norway. It is located at the end of the Eidsfjorden, an arm of the main Nordfjorden (Sogn og Fjordane), Nordfjorden, west of the large ...

where he graduated in 1953.

Theological career

Stålsett is a graduate from MF Norwegian School of Theology in Oslo, and was awarded the qualification cand.theol. in 1961. He has worked as a minister and taught at 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 ...

. He has also been a General Secretary of the

and a member of the

Norwegian Nobel Committee The Norwegian Nobel Committee () selects the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize each year on behalf of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's estate, based on instructions of Nobel's will. Five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament. ...

until he was appointed to bishop in 1998. He stepped down from office on 28 February 2005. His predecessor was

Andreas Aarflot Andreas Aarflot (born 1 July 1928) is a Norwegian theologian and bishop emeritus in the Church of Norway. He was bishop of Oslo from 1977 to 1998. Early life Aarflot was born in Yiyang, China where his mother and father served the Norwegian Mis ...

, and he was succeeded in Office by Ole Christian Kvarme. Stålsett has also had a political career. From 1972 to 1973, during the cabinet Korvald, he was appointed state secretary in the Ministry of Church Affairs and Education. He served as a deputy representative to 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

in during the term 1977–1981, and chaired the Centre Party from 1977 to 1979.

Awards

*2013: Niwano Peace Prize *2021: Officers Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

References

External links

* *Gunnar Stålsett, (in Norwegian)

Norsk Biografisk Leksikon is the largest Norwegian biographical encyclopedia. It is part of the '' Great Norwegian Encyclopedia''. Origin The first print edition (NBL1) was issued between 1923 and 1983; it included 19 volumes and 5,100 articles. Kunnskapsforlaget to ...

1935 births Living people People from Nordkapp Bishops of Oslo Norwegian theologians MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo 20th-century Norwegian Lutheran bishops 21st-century Lutheran bishops Deputy members of the Storting Norwegian state secretaries Politicians from Oslo Centre Party (Norway) politicians Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany {{Norway-politician-1930s-stub