Halle Jørn Hanssen (born 18 February 1937) is a Norwegian television correspondent,

development aid Development aid (or development cooperation) is a type of aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political International development, development of developing countries. It is distinguishe ...

administrator and politician. He was born in

Brønnøy Municipality Brønnøy is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre and commercial centre of the municipality is the town ...

, and worked as a teacher in

Vinje Municipality Vinje is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vest-Telemark which is part of Øvre Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Åmot. Other villages in the munic ...

before enrolling 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 graduated with the cand.mag. degree in 1964, and worked as a

researcher Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs from 1965 up to and including 1968. Having been the chairman of the

Young Liberals of Norway Young Liberals of Norway () (NUV) is the youth league of the Norway, Norwegian political party Venstre (Norway), Venstre. Young Liberals was founded on 27 January 1909, with Anders Kirkhusmo as the first leader. The current president is Sondre Han ...

from 1964 to 1966, in early 1969 he was hired as secretary for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. Immediately after the 1969 election he was hired in the

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

. In 1978 he became the first correspondent for Africa in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, which was the only television station in Norway at that time. As a correspondent he was stationed in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

. Hanssen left the Liberal Party in 1972, as the party split over disagreements of Norway's proposed entry to the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

. He joined the Labour Party instead, and served three terms as a local politician on the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

for Bærum Municipality. In 1982 he left his job in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, and was hired in the

Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) is a directorate under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is primarily concerned with offering development aid to international partners, but in matters regarding Norway's Inter ...

. In 1992 he was hired in the

Norwegian People's Aid Norwegian People's Aid () was founded in 1939 to provide post-conflict reconstruction assistance and humanitarian relief during conflicts. NPA is now engaged in more than 33 countries in de-mining, Humanitarian aid, humanitarian relief, promotin ...

, becoming secretary general in 1994. He left in 2001, and has since worked as a freelance writer, lecturer and advisor. Among other topics, he has advised the Norwegian People's Aid about democracy building in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. Hanssen has also been involved in

Inter Press Service Inter Press Service (IPS) is a global news agency headquartered in Rome, Italy. Its main focus is news and analysis about social, political, civil, and economic subjects as they relate to the Global South, civil society, and globalization. His ...

, Eurostep, the

Panos Network The Panos Network (originally called Panos Institute) is a network of independent non-governmental institutes working "to ensure that information is effectively used to foster public debate, pluralism and democracy" (see Communication for Develop ...

, Attac Norway and the Norwegian Forum for Environment and Development. He resides at

Høvik Høvik is a suburban area in the municipality of Bærum, Akershus, Norway, within the Oslo metropolitan area. Primarily a residential area, its population was 4,311 in 2005. Høvik is typically divided into two parts: Nedre (lower) and Øvre (up ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanssen, Halle Joern 1937 births Living people NRK people Norwegian television reporters and correspondents University of Oslo alumni Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Labour Party (Norway) politicians Bærum politicians People from Brønnøy