Mona Scobie Røkke (3 March 1940 – 13 July 2013) was a Norwegian and politician for 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 ...

. She was the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

from 1981 to 1985.

Early life and career

She was born in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken (county), Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and village ...

as a daughter of Randal William Scobie (1904–1979) and Aslaug Høyendahl (1908–1997), both office managers. She

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

her secondary education in 1958, and graduated from the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

with the

cand.jur. Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries. ...

degree in 1963. After seven years as a businesswoman in Drammen and

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) 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 ...

, she was a

police superintendent Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...

in Drammen from 1971 to 1977. The years 1973 and 1976 were exceptions; she served one year as deputy judge in Kongsberg District Court and one year as a lawyer in Drammen.

Political career

Røkke started her political career in Drammen city council from 1971 to 1979. She chaired Drammen Conservative Women's League from 1974 to 1975, later the county league from 1976 to 1979 and the Conservative Women's League of Norway from 1979 to 1985. From 1976 to 1985 she was also a central board member of the Conservative Party. She ended her partisan tenure as chair of Drammen Conservative Party from 1988 to 1990. She was also deputy chair of the European Movement in Norway from 1986 to 1988. She was elected to the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) 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 bas ...

from

Buskerud Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardan ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, and was re-elected in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and 1985 Norwegian parliamentary election, 1985. She was a member of the Standing Committee on Justice. From 1981 through 1985 she was a member of Willoch's First Cabinet as

. Her seat in Parliament was in turn filled by Øivin Skappel Fjeldstad, Hallgrim Berg and Odd Kallerud. She then returned to Parliament for her second real term, serving in the Standing Committee on Defence and Standing Committee on Social Affairs until 1989. From 1987 she was also a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. In October 1987 she was named as the List of County Governors of Vestfold, County Governor of Vestfold, a position she assumed in 1989 after her parliamentary career. She served until her professional retirement in 2010. In March 2010 her successor as County Governor was announced as Erling Lae. She chaired the corporate council of Telenor (1994–2005), was deputy chair of the Norwegian State Agriculture Bank and ''Landbrukets utviklingsfond'' (1994–1999). She also held a wide array of cultural posts, as deputy chair of the Norwegian Cancer Society (1988–1993) and the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History (1989–1997), deputy member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee (1991–1993) and board member of Kommunale kinematografers landsforbund (1976–1979) and Norsk Film (1992–1998). She led the committee that published the Norwegian Official Report 1991:20 on legal protection of developmentally disabled. She was also a member of the committees that published the Norwegian Official Report 1992:1, 1995:26 and 2004:18. She was decorated with the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas in 2000 and as a Commander of the Order of St. Olav in 2005.

Personal life

Mona Røkke was divorced and had two grown-up children and four grandchildren. She was diagnosed with cancer for the first time when she was quite young, and for the second time in 1985, while serving as Minister of Justice. Røkke went on sick leave for about one year before she returned to work as a member of parliament. She told about her experience with cancer and time as minister in the self-biography ''Ingen tid for tårer'' ("No Time for Tears") in 1986. She died in July 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rokke, Mona 1940 births 2013 deaths Politicians from Drammen University of Oslo alumni Justice ministers Norwegian businesspeople 20th-century Norwegian lawyers Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting Government ministers of Norway County governors of Norway Recipients of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Norwegian memoirists Deaths from cancer in Norway Norwegian women lawyers Women members of the Storting 20th-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century Norwegian women politicians Female justice ministers Women government ministers of Norway Women memoirists Ministers of Justice of Norway