Wenche Frogn Sellæg
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Wenche Frogn Sellæg (born 12 August 1937) is a Norwegian handball player, physician and politician for the Conservative Party. She was Minister of Environmental Affairs 1981–1983, Minister of Justice 1985–1986, Minister of Social Affairs 1989–1990 and a member of 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 1985 to 1993.


Education, medical career and sport

She was born in
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 ...
as a daughter of Henry Frogn (1906–1982) and Bergljot née Osmundsen (1900–1988). After finishing her secondary education in 1957, she graduated with the cand.med. degree from 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 ...
in 1963. She started her career as a physician at
Molde Hospital Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...
before serving as a district physician in remote
Værøy Municipality Værøy is an island List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the villa ...
and
Røst Municipality Røst is a small island List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the R ...
in 1965. In 1966, she moved to
Ullevål Hospital Ullevaal Stadion () is an all-seater football stadium located in Oslo, Norway. It is the home ground of the Norway national football team, and the site of the Norwegian Cup Final. From its opening in 1926 to 2009 it was the home ground of ...
and in 1968 to Drammen Hospital. She received a diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
in 1971, and from the same year she was a specialist in
internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...
. Finally, she was a doctor for a
Christian mission A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and a ...
in
Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...
in 1972 before settling in Namdal in 1973. She played 42 matches as goalkeeper for the Norwegian national handball team from 1959 to 1968. Her clubs were
Namsos IL Namsos Idrettslag is a Norwegian sports club from Namsos Municipality in Trøndelag county. It was founded on 28 November 1904. It has sections for association football, alpine skiing, and ski jumping. The men's football team currently plays in ...
,
Molde HK Molde Elite (or Molde HK Elite) is the women's elite team from the handball club Molde Håndballklubb, from Molde Municipality, Møre og Romsdal, Norway. The women's team currently competes in REMA 1000-ligaen (women's handball), REMA 1000-ligaen, ...
and Frigg Oslo. She held various board positions in Frigg, and from 1967 to 1971 she was a board member of the Norwegian Confederation of Sports. From 1967 to 1969 she sat on the
European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...
's Committee on Women and Sport. Later reprising her board membership in the Confederation of Sports from 1987 to 1989, she also sat on another European Council committee, this time the Committee of Experts on the Organisation of Health Care for the Chronically Ill from 1996 to 1998. Sellæg pursued her career as a physician further, becoming a specialist of
gastroenterology Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- "belly", -énteron "intestine", and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract, sometime ...
in 1980. After two years at Namdal Hospital she became assistant chief physician in 1975. She married dentist Johan Sellæg in 1976. They resided in
Overhalla Municipality Overhalla is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ranemsletta (also called ''Overhalla''). Other villages include Melen, Hunn, Skogmo ...
.


Political career

Sellæg then entered national politics. In the Conservative Party's landslide election in
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
, she was elected deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway for
Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a counties of Norway, county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Sør-Trøndelag ("South Trøndelag") county as well as the county of Nordl ...
. She was later elected as a full representative in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
and
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
. Serving until 1993, she was deputy chair of the
Standing Committee on Justice The Standing Committee on Justice () is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating to judicial system, the probation service, the police, persons performing civilian national service, other judicial i ...
for the last three years. However, the Conservative Party managed to form
Willoch's First Cabinet Willoch's First Cabinet was a minority, Conservative Government of Norway. It succeeded Brundtland's First Cabinet (which was a Labour government), after the Conservative victory in the 1981 Storting election; and sat from 14 October 1981 to ...
in 1981 where Sellæg became
Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of a ...
. She lost her post when
Willoch's Second Cabinet Willoch's Second Cabinet was a majority, centre-right government consisting of the Conservative, Centre, Christian Democratic parties. It succeeded the Conservative First cabinet Willoch in mid-term to secure a majority, right-winged government, ...
was formed in 1985, only to be brought back in 1985, this time as
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 ...
. In
Syse's Cabinet Syse's Cabinet was a minority centre-right Conservative, Centre, Christian Democrat Government of Norway. It succeeded the Labour Second cabinet Brundtland after the 1989 election, and sat between 16 October 1989 and 3 November 1990. It was r ...
from 1989 to 1990, Sellæg was the Minister of Social Affairs. During the last two stints, her seat in Parliament was covered by Gunnar Vada and
Snorre Gundersen Snorre Gundersen (born 8 April 1947) is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. Early life and education He was born in Skogn. After finishing his secondary education in 1967, he graduated from teacher's college in 1972 and did un ...
respectively. As Minister of Social Affairs, Sellæg has been credited with the initiative to establish "" in Norwegian municipalities. Within her party, Sellæg chaired Namsos Conservative Party from 1974 to 1975, sat in the Conservative Party's central board and executive committee from 1982 to 1990, led its political platform committee from 1987 to 1989, served as the Conservative Party's deputy leader from 1988 to 1990, and lastly chaired its electoral committee from 1992 to 1994.


Board memberships and later career

She was also a member of the
Arts Council Norway The Arts Council Norway (, often shortened to ''Kulturrådet'') is the official arts council for Norway. Based in Oslo, it is a Norwegian state institution created in as a result of a parliamentary decision in 1964. Arts Council Norway's admini ...
from 1977 to 1985, the Sports Council from 1977 to 1981, the Museum Council from 1978 to 1982, the board of the
National Gallery of Norway The National Gallery () is a gallery in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003 it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. History It was established in 1842 following a parliamentary decision from 1836. Originally lo ...
from 1980 to 1981, the Norwegian Directorate of Labour from 1983 to 1985 (deputy chair), the Defense Council from 1985 to 1986, ''Det interdepartementale polarutvalg'' from 1985 to 1986 (leader). She led the committee that produced the
Norwegian Official Report A Norwegian Official Report (, NOU) is a report published by a panel or committee appointed by the Norwegian government. The Norwegian Parliament may request the government to establish, such a committee. The first NOU was commissioned in 1972, ...
1987: 9 on
working hours Working time or laboring time is the period of time that a person spends at paid labor. Unpaid labor such as personal housework or caring for children or pets is not considered part of the working week. Many countries regulate the work wee ...
reform. After her political career was over, Sellæg returned to Namdal Hospital as a chief physician for various departments between 1993 and 2002. Having become a specialist in
geriatric medicine Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on addressing the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros'' meani ...
as well in 1992, she finished her professional career as a consultant in geriatric medicine until 2007. At the same time, she studied
art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...
. In 2007, Sellæg became a board member of the
Norwegian Cancer Society The Norwegian Cancer Society () is a non-profitmaking organisation in Norway. History It was established as in 1938, and took the current name when it merged with in 1948. Its purpose is to help patients with cancer, increase awareness of ca ...
and from 2014 she chaired the . She was a founding member of the . In businesses and organizations, she was a board member of
Den norske Creditbank Den norske Creditbank or DnC is a defunct Norwegian commercial bank created in 1857. In 1990 it merged with Bergen Bank to create Den norske Bank (DnB). The bank was based in Oslo and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange Oslo Stock Exchange () ( ...
from 1983 to 1987, supervisory council member of the
Norwegian Bible Society The Norwegian Bible Society ( Norwegian: ) is a Norwegian Christian foundation which translates, produces, and distributes the Bible in Norway. It is the official Bible society of Norway. The Norwegian Bible Society is organized as a publishing ...
from 1987 to 1993, supervisory council and corporate council member of
Vinmonopolet Vinmonopolet (), symbolized by Ⓥ and colloquially shortened to Polet, is a government-owned alcoholic beverage retailer and the only company allowed to sell beverages containing an alcohol content higher than 4.75% in Norway. As the arm of the ...
from 1994 to 1996, and deputy board member of
Sparebanken Midt-Norge SpareBank 1 SMN is a Norwegian savings bank based in Trøndelag. The bank has 71 branches in 51 municipalities in Central Norway and is part of the bank alliance SpareBank 1. In Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag the bank is branded SpareBank ...
from 1995 to 2005.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sellaeg, Wenche Frogn 1937 births Living people People from Oslo People from Overhalla Norwegian female handball players Norwegian sports executives and administrators 20th-century Norwegian physicians Geriatricians Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Politicians from Nord-Trøndelag Women members of the Storting Government ministers of Norway Women government ministers of Norway 20th-century Norwegian women politicians Ministers of climate and the environment of Norway Ministers of justice of Norway Female justice ministers Members of the Storting 1989–1993 Members of the Storting 1985–1989 20th-century Norwegian sportswomen