Ann-Kristin Olsen (born 29 March 1945) is a Norwegian jurist and

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. Known as the first female

chief of police A chief of police (COP) is the title given to an appointed official or an elected one in the command hierarchy, chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. A chief of police may also be known as a police chief or somet ...

in Norway, and the first female

Governor of Svalbard The governor of Svalbard () represents the Norwegian government in exercising its sovereignty over the Svalbard archipelago (Spitsbergen). The position reports to the Norwegian Ministry of Justice, but it maintains all Norwegian interests in ...

. She served as County Governor of Vest-Agder from 1998 until her retirement in 2015.

Early life

She was born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

shortly before the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; her mother chose to give birth here due to the wartime

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

. The family soon moved to

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

, and Olsen grew up there. After finishing her secondary education at

Kristiansand Cathedral School Kristiansand Cathedral School (''Kristiansand katedralskole Gimle''), known in Latin as ''Schola Christiansandensis'', is a high school in Kristiansand, Agder, Norway. It is the oldest high school on the southern coast of Norway, having been f ...

in 1965, she enrolled in law studies, graduating with the

Cand.jur. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

degree in 1972. In her young days, she reportedly attended the first

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

parade in Oslo.

Career

She worked as a deputy judge in Indre Follo District Court from 1975 to 1976, and after switching to the local police force, she became the first female police inspector in the district. In 1983 she became the first female

in the whole of Norway, stationed in the city of

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a List of cities in Norway, town and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, R ...

. In this position she was responsible for investigating the large murder case in Tistedalen. From 1995 to 1998 she was Norway's

, again being the first woman to hold the position. She had to cope with several accidents, including the consuming of her headquarters by fire, the 1996

Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 was an international charter flight from Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, to Svalbard Airport on Spitsbergen, in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. On 29 August 1996 at 10:22:23 CEST, a Tupole ...

disaster and the

Barentsburg Barentsburg () is the second-largest settlement in Svalbard, Norway, with about 455 inhabitants (). A coal mining town, the settlement was almost entirely made up of Russian and Ukrainian nationals. History Rijpsburg, a now abandoned Dutch s ...

mining disaster of 1997. In 1998, at the expiration of her pre-designated period, she was appointed as the new County Governor of Vest-Agder. In 2006 she was decorated as a Commander of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

for her work. She has been the

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of Crown Prince and Crown Princess' Humanitarian Fund, vice chair of Kings Bay AS and Bjørnøen AS and board member of the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation, the

Norwegian Police University College The Norwegian Police University College (; PHS) is a public university college located in Oslo, Kongsvinger, Stavern and Bodø, Norway. It offers education for the police force of Norway, including a three-year basic education and four Master's ...

and the

University of Tromsø The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway ( Norwegian: ''Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet''; Northern Sami: ''Romssa universitehta – Norgga árktalaš universitehta'') is a state university in Norway a ...

. She has also been a member of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

Committee to oversee the Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, and is the deputy leader of the Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission. In this position, she has voted against a review of the espionage case of

Arne Treholt Arne Treholt (13 December 1942 – 12 February 2023) was a Norwegian-born, Russia-based convicted felon and KGB agent who was convicted of treason and espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union against Norway during the Cold War and sentenced to 20 ...

. She is married to teacher Henrik Rolf Pettersen since 1974, has two children, and resides in Kristiansand.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsen, Ann-Kristin 1945 births Living people People educated at Kristiansand Cathedral School Norwegian police chiefs Governors of Svalbard County governors of Norway People from Kristiansand 20th-century Norwegian civil servants 21st-century Norwegian civil servants Women police officers 20th-century police officers