Francis Sejersted | |
|---|---|
 Francis Sejerstedc. 2009 | |
| Born | (1936-02-08)8 February 1936 |
| Died | 25 August 2015(2015-08-25) (aged 79) |
| Occupation | Professor |
Francis Sejersted (8 February 1936 – 25 August 2015) was a Norwegian history professor and the chairman of theNorwegian Nobel Committee (which awards theNobel Peace Prize) from 1991 until 1995.[1][2]
Sejersted was born inOslo. He performed his military service at the prestigious Russian language program of theNorwegian Armed Forces. He was later educated in history as well asNordic linguistics andliterature at theUniversity of Oslo and achieved acand.philol. degree in 1965 and adoctorate in 1973.[3] In 1962 Francis Sejersted was president of the Norwegian Students' Association representing thestudent wing of theConservative Party of Norway, a party with which he remained affiliated.
From 1971 to 1973 Sejersted served asdocent in history at theUniversity of Oslo and was thereafter professor ofsocial andeconomic history at the same institution until 1998. From 1988 to 1998 he served as director of the Centre for Technology and Culture at the university and from 1999 until his death in 2015 he was a fellow of theInstitute for Social Research.[3] As a historian, Sejersted's field of expertise was the economical, technological and political history of Scandinavian countries between theNapoleonic Wars andWorld War II. From 1971 to 1975 he was editor ofHistorisk Tidsskrift ("Historical Review") and since 1984 served as co-editor ofNytt norsk tidsskrift.
Sejersted was a member of the board at theInstitute for Comparative Cultural Studies 1974–1982 and at theNorwegian Research Council for Basic Research 1980-1983 as well as chairman of theNorwegian Science Policy Council 1984–1988.
Sejersted was a member of theNorwegian Nobel Committee (which awards the Nobel Peace Prize) from 1982 to 1999, and from 1991 to 1995 was its chairman.[1] From 1990 to 1999 he also was board member of theNobel Foundation inStockholm. From 1996 to 1996 he chaired the governmentalFreedom of Expression Commission in Norway and became chairman of TheFreedom of Expression Foundation in 2000.
In 1985 he entered theNorwegian Academy of Science and Letters, in 1989 theAcademia Europaea, TheRoyal Danish Academy of Sciences in 1993, TheNorwegian Academy of Technological Sciences 1995, TheRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences 1997 and finally in 2001 TheRoyal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters. He was also a member of theNorwegian Academy for Language and Literature. In 1999 he became anhonorary doctor atUniversity of Linköping,Sweden. Francis Sejersted was Commander of theRoyal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, ofDenmark'sOrder of the Dannebrog and ofSweden'sOrder of the Polar Star.
Sejersted suffered a longillness and died on 25 August 2015 in Oslo, aged 79.[4]
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