Johan Jørgen Holst (29 November 1937 – 13 January 1994) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

politician representing

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

, best known for his involvement with the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993;

. Holst was Minister of Defence from 1987 to 1989 and from 1990 to April 1993. He then became Minister of Foreign Affairs, a position he held to his death. During his time in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs he was heavily involved in the process that led to the Oslo Accords. He suffered a minor

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in December 1993 and was admitted to a hospital. He never fully recovered and died a month later. His wife

Marianne Heiberg Marianne Heiberg (7 December 1945 – 26 December 2004) was director of the UN organization for aid to Palestinian refugees UNRWA field office in Jerusalem. Biography She was born in Oslo, Norway, and received her education in the United States and ...

later said that he had worked himself to death with the peace process. In his memory, the city of Gaza created the Holst Park, an activity center for children of Gaza from 6 to 16. Holst was educated at

Oslo Cathedral School Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian language, Norwegian as Oslo Katedralskole (''Oslo Cathedral School'') and more commonly as "Katta",

, where he completed his

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

in 1956. He then completed his mandatory military service at the prestigious Russian language program of the Norwegian Armed Forces. He then studied at

Columbia College of Columbia University Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college of Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded by the Church of England in 1754 as King' ...

, where he obtained his

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in 1960 and where he was honored with its

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the first ...

Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement shortly after his death—the first time the prize had been given posthumously. Through his marriage Mr. Holst was the uncle of

Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th prime minister of Norway from 2000 to ...

, the prime minister of Norway throughout central parts of the 2000s. Friends of Israel in the Norwegian Labour Movement (Norwegian: Venner av Israel i Norsk Arbeiderbevegelse), planted a forest to his memory in Israel.

References

External links

Civilian-Based Defense in a New Era
(free download), a short monograph by Holst

1937 births 1994 deaths Labour Party (Norway) politicians Foreign Ministers of Norway Norwegian state secretaries Norwegian political scientists Israeli–Palestinian peace process Columbia College (New York) alumni University of Oslo alumni People educated at Oslo Cathedral School Defence ministers of Norway 20th-century political scientists {{Norway-politician-stub