Berit Ås | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ås in 2004 | |
| Member of theStorting | |
| In office 1973–1977 | |
| Constituency | Oslo |
| Leader of theSocialist Left Party | |
| In office 16 March 1975 – 17 April 1976 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Berge Furre |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Berit Skarpaas (1928-04-10)10 April 1928[1] Fredrikstad, Norway[1] |
| Died | 14 September 2024(2024-09-14) (aged 96) Asker, Norway |
| Political party | Norwegian Labour Party (until 1973) Democratic Socialists (Norway) (1973–1975) Socialist Left Party (from 1975) |
| Profession | Professor of Social Psychology |
Berit Ås (néeSkarpaas; 10 April 1928 – 14 September 2024) was a Norwegian politician,social psychologist, andfeminist.
Ås was the first leader of theSocialist Left Party (1975–1976), and served as a Member of theParliament of Norway 1973–1977. She was also a deputy member of parliament from 1969 to 1973 (for theNorwegian Labour Party), and from 1977 to 1981 (for the Socialist Left Party).[2] She was a professor ofsocial psychology at theUniversity of Oslo. She is known for helping popularize themaster suppression techniques originally proposed byIngjald Nissen, and her research interests also includefeminist economics and women's culture.[1] Some of her initiatives after her retirement were criticised for promotingconspiracy theories.
Ås's parents were teachers. Her mother and maternal grandmother were both politically active, and her father was an avid reader and inventor. She completed her secondary education with theexamen artium in 1947, followed by a cand. psychol. degree at theUniversity of Oslo in 1953. Following one year as a primary school teacher atEiksmarka,[2] she worked on issues related to smoking hazards, eventually becoming a member ofStatens tobakksskaderåd from its establishment in 1971,[1] consumer protection, children's safety, and housing.[2] She taught and conducted research on women's issues at theUniversity of Oslo, where she was an Assistant Professor of Psychology 1969–1980, Associate Professor 1980–1991 and full Professor of Social Psychology from 1991 until she retired in 1994.[1] In 1983, she,Suzanne Stiver Lie, andMaj Birgit Rørslett, were commissioned to start an experimental project and establish Norway's first Women's University.[3] She was a visiting professor at theUniversity of Missouri (1967–68),Mount Saint Vincent University (1983),Uppsala University (1989),Saint Mary's University (Halifax) (1997), andSt. Scholastica's College (1999).[2]
Ås was for several years a member of theNorwegian Labour Party. Her first political office was in themunicipal council inAsker in 1967. Four years later, she led withKarla Skaare, the leader of AskerHusmorlag,[4] what was later known as the non-partisan "women's coup" in 1971, when women achieved majority representation in three of Norway's largest municipal assemblies. In Asker, this initiative was spearheaded by Berit Ås,Tove Billington Bye,Marie Borge Refsum and Kari Bjerke Andreassen.[5] She was a deputy member of parliament for the Labour Party 1969–1973.[1]
She was effectively expelled from the Labour Party during the 1972 EU debate.[6] She was actively involved in theInformation Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community (AIK), and eventually elected the leader of AIK in 1973.[7]: p. 200 When AIK went on to register itself as theDemocratic Socialists in 1973, Ås became the first leader, from 1973 to 1975.[7]: p. 192 [8] The party joined theSocialist Electoral League (SV), which was formed in April 1973.[7]: pp. 208–212 Ås was elected member of theStorting for the period 1973 to 1977, for the Socialist Electoral League.[2] When SV became theSocialist Left Party in 1975, Ås was elected the first leader of the party, and was further deputy leader from 1976 to 1979.[7]: p. 192
Ås led several political campaigns, includingKvinner for fred, inspired by theWomen Strike for Peace,[6] the women's movement againstmembership in the European Union,[1] and others. She also made important contributions to the feminist cause in Norway. She led efforts to establish the Feminist University in Norway in the 1980s, and formulated fiveMaster suppression techniques which she claimed were used against women in particular, though these may be used against other disadvantaged groups as well.[1] She co-founded theNordic Women's University in 2011.[9]
In 1973, she stayed withJohn Lennon andYoko Ono in their Manhattan apartment for a week, while participating at the Women's Conference.[10] Lennon had become interested in meeting Ås after having read one of her speeches; rumor has it that she didn't know who Lennon was.[11]
She contributed the piece "More power to women!" to the 1984 anthologySisterhood Is Global: The International Women's Movement Anthology, edited byRobin Morgan.[12]
In her later years, she became known for her promotion ofconspiracy theories, including9/11 conspiracy theories.[13] Participating in a discussion forum in 2008, aged 79, she presented alternative theories for the 9/11 attacks, which drew criticism from the press and politicians.[14][15]
Born inFredrikstad on 10 April 1928, Ås was the daughter of schoolteachers Knut Knutsen Skarpaas and Ingeborg Stokke,[1] the oldest of four siblings.[6] She married Dagfinn Ås in 1950,[1] and they had four children.[6] Ås was a sister-in-law ofBerthold Grünfeld.[1]
Ås died inAsker on 14 September 2024, at the age of 96.[1][16]
Ås held honorary doctorates at theUniversity of Copenhagen,Uppsala University,[2] andMount Saint Vincent University.[2][17] In 1997, she received theRachel Carson Prize,[18] an award that was established spontaneously on her initiative in 1991.[19] In 1997, she was also decorated as a Knight First Class of theOrder of St. Olav.[20]
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