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Kjell Magne Bondevik | |
|---|---|
 Bondevik in 2004 | |
| Prime Minister of Norway | |
| In office 19 October 2001 – 17 October 2005 | |
| Monarch | Harald V |
| Preceded by | Jens Stoltenberg |
| Succeeded by | Jens Stoltenberg |
| In office 17 October 1997 – 17 March 2000 | |
| Monarch | Harald V |
| Deputy | Anne Enger Odd Roger Enoksen |
| Preceded by | Thorbjørn Jagland |
| Succeeded by | Jens Stoltenberg |
| Deputy to the Prime Minister of Norway | |
| In office 4 October 1985 – 9 May 1986 | |
| Prime Minister | Kåre Willoch |
| Preceded by | Post established |
| Succeeded by | Vacant(succeeded in 1997 byAnne Enger) |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 16 October 1989 – 3 November 1990 | |
| Prime Minister | Jan P. Syse |
| Preceded by | Thorvald Stoltenberg |
| Succeeded by | Thorvald Stoltenberg |
| Minister of Education and Church Affairs | |
| In office 8 June 1983 – 9 May 1986 | |
| Prime Minister | Kåre Willoch |
| Preceded by | Tore Austad |
| Succeeded by | Kirsti Kolle Grøndahl |
| Leader of theChristian Democratic Party | |
| In office 16 April 1983 – 24 March 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Kåre Kristiansen |
| Succeeded by | Valgerd Svarstad Haugland |
| State Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister | |
| In office 23 October 1972 – 6 August 1973 | |
| Prime Minister | Lars Korvald |
| Member of the Norwegian Parliament | |
| In office 1 October 1973 – 30 September 2005 | |
| Deputy | Kjell Furnes Agnes Reiten Aud Inger Aure Modulf Aukan |
| Constituency | Møre og Romsdal |
| Deputy Member of the Storting | |
| In office 1 October 1969 – 30 September 1973 | |
| Constituency | Møre og Romsdal |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1947-09-03)3 September 1947 (age 78) Molde,Møre og Romsdal, Norway |
| Party | Christian Democratic |
| Spouse | Bjørg Bondevik |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | MF Norwegian School of Theology |
| Signature |  |
Kjell Magne Bondevik (Norwegian pronunciation:[ˈçɛlːˈmɑ̀ŋnəˈbʊ̀nːəviːk]ⓘ; born 3 September 1947) is aNorwegianLutheranminister andpolitician. As leader of theChristian Democratic Party, he served as theprime minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000, and from 2001 to 2005,[1] making him, afterErna Solberg, Norway's second longest serving non-Labour Party prime minister since World War II.[2] Currently, Bondevik is president of theOslo Centre for Peace and Human Rights.[3]
Bondevik was born inMolde, the son of Johannes Bondevik, a principal at the Christianfolk high school Rauma folkehøyskole who also was a local politician for the Christian Democratic Party,[4] and Margit, née Hæreid. He became a theological candidate fromMF Norwegian School of Theology in 1975.[5] As Bondevik was active in Norwegian politics at a young age, he did not serve in the military.[clarification needed] In 1979, he was ordained as pastor in the (Lutheran)Church of Norway.[6]
He is married to Bjørg Bondevik (née Rasmussen) and has three children: Bjørn (born 1972), Hildegunn (born 1973), and John Harald (born 1976). Kjell Magne Bondevik is the nephew of politicianKjell Bondevik, the cousin of former bishopOdd Bondevik and brother in law of author and priestEyvind Skeie.[7]
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In 2008, Bondevik said that he regards himself as a "68'er", and that he was "influenced by the radical wind of the time". While he remained in the movement ofYoung Christian Democrats (Norway, KrFU), he claims to have "radicalized the organization to great despair in the party". He has also said that he would likely rather have "oriented" himself towards theSocialist People's Party, had his radicalization of the Christian Democratic Party not gone through.[8] While not identifying as a socialist, Bondevik and fellow young Christian Democrats took issue with his party's explicitly anti-socialist line, preferring to identify with a third way between socialism and capitalism.[9]
Representing the Christian Democratic Party, Bondevik was a member of theStorting (Parliament) from 1973 to 2005. He was his party's parliamentary leader in the periods of 1981–1983, 1986–1989, 1993–1997, 1997, and 2000–2001, and party leader from 1983 to 1995. In this position, he was succeeded byValgerd Svarstad Haugland. He was alsoMinister of Foreign Affairs inJan P. Syse's government of 1989–1990,Minister of Church and Education inKåre Willoch's government 1983–1986, also Prime Minister Willoch's deputy 1985–1986, andstate secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister duringLars Korvald's government 1972–1973.
Bondevik supported Norway's accession to theEuropean Economic Area in 1990, but opposed full accession to the European Union in1994.[9]
Bondevik's first term as prime minister lasted from 17 October 1997 to 3 March 2000, in acoalitioncabinet consisting of the Christian Democratic Party, theCentre Party and theLiberal Party.
While serving his first term as prime minister, Bondevik attracted international attention in August 1998 when he announced that he was suffering from adepressive episode, becoming the highest ranking worldleader to admit to suffering from a mental illness while in office. Upon this revelation,Anne Enger became acting prime minister for three weeks, from 30 August to 23 September, while he recovered from the depressive episode. Bondevik then returned to office. Bondevik received thousands of supportive letters, and said that the experience had been positive overall, both for himself and because it made mental illness more publicly acceptable.[6][10]
Bondevik's first cabinet resigned after losing aconfidence vote in March 2000 as a result of a dispute over the construction of gas-fired power stations[11] and was replaced by aLabour Party government led byJens Stoltenberg until their defeat in the2001 parliamentary election. Bondevik then formed hissecond cabinet, consisting of theChristian Democratic Party, theConservative Party and theLiberal Party, which took office on 19 October 2001.[citation needed]
The second Bondevik government carried out reforms and left a booming economy; however, Bondevik was defeated in the2005 parliamentary election, with 81 seats obtained for Bondevik's coalition and its supporters to the oppositionRed-Green Coalition's 88.[citation needed]
Bondevik announced his retirement from national-level politics at the end of his term as prime minister, and did not seek re-election for his seat in parliament.[citation needed]
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TheOslo Centre for Peace and Human Rights was founded by Bondevik in January 2006. The purpose of the centre is to work for worldpeace,human rights and inter-religious tolerance worldwide. The centre cooperates closely with theCarter Center inAtlanta, the Kim Dae Jung Library inSeoul and theCrisis Management Initiative inHelsinki.
On 31 October 2006, he published his memoir, calledEt liv i spenning (A life of excitement and tension).
On 31 January 2017, he was the first high-ranking politician from another country detained and questioned in the United States as a result of PresidentDonald Trump's executive orders banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim nations, because of a diplomatic visit to Iran he had made in 2014.[12][13]
In 2022, it was revealed that Bondevik had published a glowing appraisal ofKazakhstan in the Norwegian daily newspaperVårt Land after receiving cash payments from the government of Kazakhstan.[14]
Earlier, in 2021, the Norwegian newspaperDagbladet had revealed that one of Bondevik's colleagues, the Conservative Party politician Aamir J. Sheikh, had requested a cash payment of 704,000 NOK from the government ofBahrain in an e-mail, with Bondevik as one of the carbon-copied (CC) recipients. "A month later, Bondevik and Sheikh handed out an 'honorary prize' to representatives of Bahrain's prime minister," the newspaper wrote.[15]
Bondevik was awarded theGrand Cross of St. Olav in 2004, the first sitting Norwegian Prime Minister to receive the Order of St. Olav in 80 years. The award happened due to a change in the Statutes of the Order with automatic awards to the prime minister and Ministers of the Government that stirred some debate and criticism.[7][16] With the succeedingStoltenberg Government, the practice was halted.[17]
He is a full member of theClub de Madrid, a group of former leaders of democratic states that works to strengthen democratic governance and leadership.[1]
Bondevik is an Honorary Member of TheInternational Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.[18]
In 2009, Bondevik was awarded an honorary degree from theUniversity of San Francisco.[19]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chairman of theYouth of the Christian People's Party 1970–1973 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Christian Democratic Party 1983–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Norwegian Minister of Church and Education Affairs 1983–1986 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs 1989–1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Norway 1997–2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Norway 2001–2005 | |
| First ministers, 1814–1873 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Prime ministers, 1873–1905 | ||
| Prime ministers, 1905–1940 | ||
| WWII, 1940–1945 |
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| Prime ministers, 1945– | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
